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People tend to have negative attitudes towards everything they consider uncommon. This is a mere display of fear of the unknown and utmost desire to protect themselves and their families from possible danger. Gangs and gang culture will always evoke concealed fear and hostility in any society for the stereotypes people have regarding gang members make them avoid any contact with these individuals. Mass media informing about horrific fights of young gangsters and their undisguised disrespect for law contribute daily into the society’s sustaining the already existing stereotypes. In his “Gangstas” Richard Rodriguez describes what exactly he does not like about gangs and their members paying special attention to gang culture, mostly the members’ music, dressing style, and language. Rodriguez presents facts without coloring the truth and lets everybody know his exact opinion about gang culture. In “Gangstas” Richard Rodriguez states that people have contradictory attitudes towards gangs and gang culture and can express two kinds of emotions towards gang members: either pity or hate; they hate gang members because they fear to object to their culture and they pity them because gang members become who they are against their own free will.
To begin with, most people have a negative attitude towards gangs and gang culture. Richard Rodriguez points out that he hates them because of their music, dressing style, and specific language, or gestures, to be exact. His article starts with obvious hate and displeasure towards gang members, “Oh, how I hate their stupid sign language, occult and crooked palmings, finger-Chinese. I hate their Puritan black… I hate their singlets. I hate their tattoos, sentimental prick-roses. I hate their jargon. I hate their bandannas. I hate rap.” (Rodriguez) There is no doubt that most people keep to the very same point of view regarding gang members. The society believes that there is nothing good in these gangs and that their members continuously display disregard and disrespect towards elderly people as well as towards those who dare to criticize them, “Keep your eyes to yourself. Read your paperback. Read your magazine. Do not make eye contact. They are children so wary of any “dis” they might “smoke” you for staring.” (Rodriguez)
Hate for gang culture mostly derives from the annoying music gang members tend to listen to. Not all people are able to admit that rap music can be indeed called “music”. Rap is quickly penetrating modern society with more and more young people starting to listen to it. Elderly population believes that music is a combination of sounds which evokes positive emotions in listeners, unlike rap which mostly annoys them. Some people may hate rap mostly because it is a part of gang culture, the culture they have to encounter daily in public transport and public places which are also used by gang members, “They get on the bus in their Raiders jackets, their ears plugged with huge brainstorms of rap–that’s what they hear; we hear a tiny, metallic tish, tish, tish leaking from their earphones.” (Rodriguez) The inability to eradicate gang culture from society makes people hate it; their fear of getting into trouble because of openly objecting to this culture adds more to their hatred.
Pity is another feeling which society can have towards gangs. Rodriguez believes that young people who get enough care and attention from their parents can hardly become gang members, “Is it so inexplicable that a child never embraced might be seduced by the cult of power?” (Rodriguez) Just like other people, Rodriguez, despite his ardently criticizing and expressing his hatred towards gang culture, agrees that all gang members have been children once, and it is not for nothing that they grew into uneducated criminals. Young gang members come from families where no one cares about children; they have a right to be angry with society for not treating them right, and they express their hatred for those who have normal childhood and life. No wonder, that they get the same hatred back for there are not so many people who can interpret their actions in a correct way. Society often feels sorry for gang members namely because they lack understanding and because they have gone through woe, poverty, and humiliation. It is hard to imagine that they themselves have chosen this way of living.
In sum, Richard Rodriguez brings up one of the most controversial subjects in his article “Gangstas”. He presents two contradictory attitudes of society towards gangs and gang culture. These attitudes are hate and pity. People hate gang members because of their uncivilized behavior which runs counter to all existing standards set by a society. They listen to music which annoys people, they wear clothes which people criticize, and they use language which is considered to be obscene. Nevertheless, society fears them and opts to stand by for their own good. Other people pity gang members keeping to the idea that they lead such a life only because of corresponding circumstances.
Works Cited
Rodriguez, Richard. “Gangstas”. Politics and Current Affairs. 1994. Mother Jones. Web.
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