Conventionally, gangs in the United States start and thrive in urban areas. The first occurrence of gangs in the US was witnessed in 1783 following the collapse of the American Revolution. However, the incubation period took over three decades until 1820s when grievous gangs started forming in the New York City. In 1926, “the first well-organized gang formed in the back room of Rosanna Peers’ greengrocery” (Kennard, 2012, p.65).
Between 1860s and 1920s, different gangs made of people from disparate nationalities and especially Chinese, Italians, Poles, and Australians had taken root in New York. Scholars differ on the exact reason behind the formation of gangs. However, gangs conventionally form due to lack of mentors, school dropout, joblessness, and peer-pressure among other causes.
In most cases, gangs are involved in a wide array of activities ranging from violent crimes, gaming, prostitution, human, arms, and drug trafficking among other sophisticated crimes like fraud and identity theft. Gangs come in diversified forms ranging from locations of operation like prisons, the age of the members like juveniles, to ethnic groupings like black-American gangs.
The government has come up with numerous initiatives to address the gang issue, but despite the efforts, the problem is highly prevalent in the American society. Unfortunately, the gangs have even infiltrated the military and a 2008 report notes, “1-2% of the U.S. military belongs to gangs” (Kennard, 2012, p.72).
Thus, the government should act proactively to counter the issue of gangs in the US. Graffiti can be a key element in gang activity as they can use this form of art to communicate. Even if the government were to come up with measures to counter gangs’ activities, they could use graffiti to pass coded messages. Graffiti is s key communication tool for gangs.
Should we continue the war on drugs?
The debate on whether the war on drugs should continue is a complex one. Both the proponents and opponents have strong and convincing arguments to support their stands.
On one side, the war on drugs should continue. Drug users are likely to interfere with the lives of the people around them. While adults should have the right to choose on how to live their lives, they lose that freedom once they become intoxicated. An addicted person cannot restrain from bothering others. In addition, drug addicts cannot lead productive lives. In most cases, they become dependants, which is detrimental for any economy.
Moreover, most drug users are criminals and in some cases, they seduce children as young as 10 years into the drug business for personal gains. Losing the war on drugs is like losing the war against death, yet individuals do not call for the closure of hospitals for people have to die. Likewise, the war on drug should not stop simply because it has not yielded much so far.
On the other side, the war on drugs should stop. So far, the war has failed terribly and the more it intensifies the more people engage in drugs. Tougher rules have only elicited more crimes. The Netherlands has embraced a proactive way of dealing with drugs by legalizing and controlling their use and the United States should learn from such a move.
Moreover, some legalized drugs like alcohol do not pose unparalleled problems like illegalized substances. Therefore, the law should not be selective and thus drug use should be legalized. The war on drugs is expensive and those resources could be used in other areas like creating awareness and capacity building for the already addicted.
References
Dalrymple, T. (1997). Don’t Legalize Drugs. City Journal, 7(2), 14-22.
Jensen, E., Gerber, J., & Mosher, C. (2004). Social Consequences of the War on Drugs: The Legacy of Failed Policy. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 15(1), 100–121.
Kennard, M. (2012). Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror. London, UK: Verso.