thank you! You too <3
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I LIVED in Chicago! I honestly didn’t see any gangs or hear that much about crime.
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there’s different areas that have gangs. You most likely didn’t live in the area where gangs were prominent because chicago has one of the worst gang violence in the country. For example, Baltimore city is much worse than Baltimore county. Baltimore county is much safer than the city. there’s also more poverty in the city, making it more dangerous
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Okay. Thanks for the info.
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no problem!
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Bump!
Yes! Another thing with gangs is that a lot of people join them because they see it as a form of family. I know many people who have joined gangs because they never had a supportive family, they didn’t have any siblings, they had been disregarded and put down at school by teachers and classmates, they had never felt a sense of belonging. Joining a gang often gives them that feeling of acceptance and that feeling that they belong somewhere.
Another thing is, because it’s so romanticized, many people I know have joined gangs because “it looked cool” and now they’re stuck. They’re stuck constantly running from the cops, doing and dealing drugs, stealing, getting drunk, beating people up, etc. Even though many of them now realize they don’t want to be a part of that life, they can’t get out!
Also, many people are born into gang families. Their entire family is part of the gang so it is expected that they will too. It’s very VERY hard for people to get out of a gang when this is their circumstance. But a lot of the time they don’t want to get out because that’s all they’ve ever known.
And YES oh my god! If you wear the wrong colour in the wrong neighbourhood, it doesn’t matter if you’re part of a gang or not, you are in danger. I know when I go to certain towns in my country not to wear blue, red, black, or yellow because there is a very high chance you will get beaten, r*ped or killed.
Many people who are in gangs aren’t inherently bad people. They are of course people! Their morals just lie a little different to other people. A lot of them are still very nice people, the majority I have met are very kind and compassionate, but they are loyal to their gang and their views on certain things and solutions are a lot different to someone who is not in a gang.
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Yup, everything you said was absolutely right. Actually, everything you said is exactly what I’m trying to show in my story 
But yeah, I really hate it when people judge others because their actions seem bad, but can anyone really blame them? You can’t expect someone to know better when they’ve never experienced better
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I grew up with pretty bad parents who weren’t there for me, so when people see me lashing out at others and being disrespectful, they judge me just like they judge these gangs. But really, gang members and people who live these lifestyles are humans too. I wish more people understood this like you do
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I’m really sorry to hear that about your parents 
But yes, some of the nicest people I’ve met are from gangs. Gangs have very strong morals and they teach loyalty, so while I may not agree with what they do, they do look out for the people they care about and the community.
Not even kidding, in NZ there was a gang that actually went around helping out the community. I remember over the years they have supplied food for hungry families, child care services for single parents, and parents that had to work multiple jobs, helping families after a crisis. Even after the Christchurch shooting one of the gangs decided to team up with police to guard the mosque and keep them safe from any copy cat shooters or people wanting to insight violence. In this instance, many of the gangs came together in solidarity to show their respect for the people lost and actually worked together to keep mosques safe all over the country.
So many people in gangs are genuinely good people!
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Exactly!
Although their lifestyle is very dangerous, a lot of the gang members didn’t have the privilege of a better lifestyle, mainly due to poverty. Overworking parents who try to make a living, or just bad parents in general don’t guide their kids, so a lot of them learn bad things and make the wrong choices because their parents couldn’t give them the guidance. Really, a lot of gang members are loyal, but they aren’t asking for this lifestyle. It’s just how it is
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Exactly!
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Someone who understands>>> 
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wow… Try living in New York. I live in Harlem and if you listen to our precincts police scanner you will notice they are never dull. When I was around 6 my family couldn’t afford a tv so we would play the police scanner. In the late 2010s there were more than 5000 deaths regarding gang activity in my city.
That’s because we got some of the most dangerous gangs such as the Latin Kings, The Bloods, and The Neta’s. There aren’t many Crip gangs in New York because of their biggest enemy, the Bloods basically own New York.
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I’ve read a few. I find myself staying away from most gang related stories anymore. Just not been my cup of tea.
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Not everyone’s cup of tea! But honestly it gets so annoying of how inaccurate these gangs are. They show these gangs as rich, but a lot of the people are poor (only rarely are any rich)
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Oh I agree 
.
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bump!
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