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As I sat down to write this column, I paused to reflect upon an exhausting
week. First, my wife informed me that the teenaged son of a dear family
friend sat locked up in our county juvenile detention center. His crime?
Hanging out with ‘a buddy’ who had been engaging in a drug
transaction…and was arrested by police. Second, I had just finished
a closed-door teaching on the dangers of street gangs to a select audience
of school administrators from one area of my home city. Finally, I had
the opportunity to watch a portion of Ving Rhames’ production of
the movie ‘Animal’, a no-holds barred drama about the struggle
of a former criminal who was sentenced to prison for his crimes associated
in the ‘perfecting’ of his ‘craft’ of ‘street
thuggsterism’…only to wind up eventually shot to death by
the son he had left behind. The son had chosen to ‘follow’
in his father’s footsteps as the terror of the neighborhood, even
though the father--now returned from prison a changed man--tried to prevent
the son from repeating his mistakes.
It is not my intent to ‘reinvent’ the wheel when it comes
to the subject of street gangs.
There are reams upon reams, and dozens of articles on the Internet about
‘gangbangers’ (or ‘bangers’ as I prefer to call
them), the different ‘crews’ and ‘cliques’, colors,
hand signs and gestures, and the impact of the current culture on ‘spawning’
a highly intelligent modern generation of bangers. It IS my intent to
help as many parents, schools and churches as possible to avoid being
labeled as ignorant when it comes to this subject.
Much of the first part of my series will be aimed at the modern church.
Church sponsorship and use of gun buy backs, prayer vigils, community
rallies, commissions, slogans, finger pointing and public forums will
not deter gangs from sowing their deadly oats. Soul winning, street evangelism,
an emphasis upon repentance and holiness, coupled with a new realization
that bangers of ALL races and sexes need salvation will do wonders to
neutralizing their worship of money, mayhem, and muscle to make their
voices heard.
In short, it will take a spiritual solution to confront this spiritual
problem.
That’s right…I did say ‘a spiritual problem.’
In the world of the gang, their ‘religion’ is spelled out
in broad, fleshly terms: “If one can put it in a pocket, around
a neck, in a blunt, worn on one’s back or take for a drive down
the street, it is worth worshiping. In the gang culture, there IS no such
thing as sexual discrimination. Young women can serve to pleasure the
males in a gang, or, they can go out and practice the art of the beat
down in their OWN gangs. In my home city of Indianapolis, Indiana, there
have been at least three girl gangs identified by local law enforcement
authorities as far back as 2004. In Washington, D.C., there are more than
40 identified gangs run by teenaged females. They just want to get in
on the fun of banding together to right perceived wrongs and ‘handling
their business,’ just like their male counterparts. Locks in socks
have replaced lip-gloss as a daily accessory in more than a few girls’
purses and handbags in some schools. A beat down given by a group of girls
against one girl is just as dangerous and hurtful as a group of boys doing
the same thing to one boy.
The ONLY way to stop them is a three-pronged approach: A strong law enforcement
presence, coupled with a strong church presence and a no-nonsense community
of determined people ready to regain control over their homes and streets.
Please keep in mind that there are many who do not WANT the problem to
get better in order to ‘maintain’ their own perceptions of
‘community visibility’ and power. After all, a ‘barking’
watchdog gets more press than a ‘doing’ watchdog. In addition
the visible people also give a perception that they are ‘concerned’
about the problem. This, plus the power to command state and federal monies
rather than expending their own resources adds to their visibility, but
does nothing to solve the real problem.
JUST HOW DO GANGS WORK?
As one who has spent the better part of one career or another involved
in the areas of crime and justice, I am no stranger to the destructive
and cunning nature of street gangs. It is no accident that these predatory
organizations surface can, and have been beaten back on occasion. Unfortunately,
like a strong patch of weeds, gangs will lie dormant and rise again--stronger
than their original version.
Today’s street gang is not like the gang model many are familiar
with from movies like “West Side Story”. Many modern gangs
are no longer ‘segregated’ by race, language, communication,
location, or sex. Thanks to the wonders of high technology, teens of different
races and backgrounds can learn, model and belong to gangs whether they
are in Oshkosh, Phoenix or Indianapolis. ‘Wannabe’ bangers
can have web pages on teen-oriented sites such as MySpace, Black Planet,
or Facebook--complete with their favorite slogans, signs, symbols and
affiliation. It matters little ‘which’ gang may be dominant
in the headlines.
They ALL operate on three basic principles:
*Power: Modern Street Gangs bring a lot of muscle to
the table IF they are allowed to gain in strength. Let a gang loose in
one school and they could be in all of the schools of a school corporation.
Let a gang spread their graffiti on one side of town, and you will have
the murder rate and drug traffic increase at an alarming rate. Some gangs
have ‘front’ businesses established to launder money and put
on a good front for the media. Others have quietly been able to turn their
power into capital to finance political campaigns and turn out the vote
movements. Still others have taken their power into seemingly ‘upright’
social organizations dedicated to recruiting new members.
*Fear: There is nothing quite like a few dead bodies
on the six o’clock news to frighten an area into silence. A few
injured community activists who are against the gang drug trade will prevent
others from coming out against the gang in their prevailing neighborhood.
A few well-placed threats against a preacher and his family will have
many a pulpit quiet on Sunday morning when sin NEEDS to be exposed. A
few high profile kidnappings will cause even the best community leader
to quake when the clock strikes twelve late at night. Trust me; many bangers
quickly push themselves up the criminal ladder past the shaking down of
kids for lunch money.
*Ignorance: Of the three, this may be the deadliest of
the trio. While some teachers, police officers, and counselors may understand
the signs and symbols of the gang scene, many more do not. Roughly every
12 to 18 months, bangers change their signs. The elementary or middle
school child who will doodle some seemingly innocent names, symbols, and
lyrics onto her notebook cover or have airbrushed onto the back of his
sneakers is not just practicing creative expression; the child is ‘reaching
out’ to evil. They are seeking out potential gang members by ‘hoisting
a flag’…letting gangs know of his/her interest in joining
a gang. Unfortunately there is always a risk that a rival gang may spot
the child’s intent and correct his efforts with a beating--or a
bullet.
THE CHURCH HOUSE REMAINS SILENT:
I’ll make another point, which may ruffle some sanctified feathers
in many, a church house. Since many churches have determined that the
necessity of soul winning, coupled with street evangelism are out of date
by modern standards, the message of the gospel and the power of the scriptures
have become muted in the marketplace. This is an interesting phenomenon
especially when one considers the religious trappings associated with
gang activity. A ‘Banger’s Bible’ is the constitution
and bylaws of their respective gang. Many signs and symbols, numbers and
prayers are modeled after what gang members have seen modeled in many
churches. Even the initiation process could be likened to one coming forward
and being ‘re born into’ street gang life--complete with official
nickname. Make no mistake about it. Gang bangers regard their gangs and
turf as a church, their crimes and collections as forms of worship and
have members programmed to be quite willing to die to protecting gang
secrets.
It takes a willing church and congregation to preach against the sin gangs
represent, firmly confront the wrongs that they are doing in a community,
and reprogram young minds into the intricacies of good religion, a strong
work ethic, and a needed education. Taking a stand against bangers is
not for the weak. In some cases, church congregations are going to have
to go up against single (and some married) parents who don’t see
gang membership as that big a deal--until their son or daughter winds
up on the six o’clock news being carted off to jail, prison, or
the morgue.
The modern church IS going to have to step into the challenge. Yes, we
have already seen the church’s weak stands against divorce, homosexuality,
and out-of-wedlock children. Yes, many gang members and their families
attend church without fear of correction or confrontation. Thus some church
members may be wearing gang colors under their youth choir robes while
presenting a good ‘front’ to the congregation and the pulpit.
However, either the gang is going to win, or the church.
WE have to make a choice and declare whom our children will serve.
A SAD STUDY:
The church MUST get back into the rebuking and repentance business. Yes,
gang members must be made to understand there may be some repentance;
but TRUE repentance involves a change of heart and a change of direction
in one’s life. Repentance means that one determines NOT to commit
the same sin again. However, the church also must stand strong and remind
gang members there also may be some jail time IF the weapons and drugs
are not put down and they walk away from the gang scene.
The good news is that American cities have not become ‘overrun’
by street gangs. There are still far too many young people who are going
to school, getting their homework done, and graduating to take their rightful
places in society. Yes, some of them do go to church, and even more of
them still view the teachings of scripture as being relevant in their
lives. The thing concerning those who work in the juvenile justice system
is the fact that the ‘good’ students have remained relatively
silent when it comes to confronting, or even correcting their wayward
classmates. If the truth were told there is a lot of interaction and below
the surface communication within the average U.S. high school. Students
themselves often know the ‘ins and outs’ of who is in what
relationship, and who is in which gang. Sadly, they oftentimes have to
sit idly by; cowed into silence by the very young people they could be
helping.
While attending a law enforcement training on gangs, my group was presented
with a national study of 2,000 teens involved in the gang scene. It highlighted
some eye-opening information on how young people are quickly sucked into
this life:
YOUTH FIRST MEETS A GANG MEMBER--AT 8.9 YEARS OLD
YOUTH PERFORMS FIRST GANG ACTIVITY--9.2 YEARS OLD
YOUTH EXPERIENCES PUBERTY--9 TO 10 YEARS OLD
FIRST TIME INTIMIDATED A PERSON AT SCHOOL--10.4 YEARS
FIRST TIME DISCHARGED A FIREARM--11.3 YEARS OLD
FIRST TIME OBSERVED A DEATH/INJURY RESULT FROM GANG ACTIVITY--11.3 YEARS
OLD
FIRST TIME JOINED A GANG--12 YEARS OLD
FIRST TIME ARRESTED--12 YEARS OLD
FIRST TIME HAD A WEAPON FOR PERSONAL USE--12 YEARS
FIRST TIME TATTOOED--13 YEARS OLD
THE CHURCH HOUSE NEEDS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM!
Many modern churches have been outclassed by the tug of the streets on
our young people. Sunday after Sunday, teens enter churches not only full
of the world’s knowledge of how to be a better negative, they recognize
teens--and some adults--who appear to have gotten away with “it”,
meaning their dual identities of street thug and church member. Once more,
they actively see the double standard of encouraging young women to dress
for success, and allowing young men to exist in their mess--complete with
sagging and bagging.
Let me be as upfront as I can at this point: Sin spreads not only by people
engaging IN the activity, but people who know better AND give their silent
consent! With the arrival of ‘casual’ Sundays on the church
scene, teen members have taken this to mean ‘wear your own colors’.
Inside (and outside) of many a church on a Sunday morning, those young
men and young women who have experienced a ‘flutter’ with
gang life PROUDLY wear the colors associated with their favorite ‘nation’
or ‘set’ AND may ‘flash’ a few signs to rival
members, or the general public without fear of public rebuke. Add to this
the fact that some televised national ministries feature pastors and preachers
appearing in the pulpit in casual dress with the ‘be like them to
win them’ mentality, and one better understands how far the ‘modern’
church has fallen.
How may a church in a city regain the upper hand when it comes to the
spread of gangs? Let me dare say again that this is a spiritual problem
that must be dealt with via spiritual means. This is not an arena for
the faint of heart. A pastor and a church must realize that this is an
ongoing conflict that must be bathed in prayer.
One will be shocked to find how far the arms of gang life ‘stretch’
into the average congregation. More than a few congregations are clearly
seeing first generation bangers who are between 12 to 17 years old, who
are usually on probation or parole. Many of these young men and young
women know their gang signs and affiliations better than their ABCs. Second--as
in dealing with those who may be trapped in cult or occult activity--
pastors and churches must realize that they have to regain control of
the language of the debate, in order to rescue the individual.
Take the use of the word LOVE. Many Bangers have clearly stated to parents,
social workers and teachers that they only know of ‘love’
as members of a gang. In truth, how can a group expert in inflicting pain,
and engaging in criminal activities show an individual member LOVE? If
a group of people are hurting you, asking you to lie, cheat, and steal,
or coercing you out of your virginity ‘for the good of the gang’
is showing LOVE, then the church needs to ‘take back’ and
define this word--and others--in biblical terms, clearly and unashamedly
explained from the point of view of the Holy Scriptures. Lastly, churches
and pastors must acknowledge that they are in need of training as to what
is going on out in the streets of our communities. There are police officers,
judges, probation officers and teachers in many a congregation who can
bring teaching to the church as to how gangs function, operate, and flourish
IF pride is swallowed by church leadership and the pulpit.
Gangs are nothing new to many communities. However, it is up to those
who call upon the name of the Lord to go about the Father’s business
and take those out of the kingdom of darkness and bring them back home.
Many young people DO have the prodigal story committed to memory. All
they are waiting for is for some courageous Christian man or woman to
show them the way out of the darkness, before it not only bites them…but
also devours them.
Mike Ramey
THE MANHOOD LINE
M. G. RAMEY is the Pastor of ‘The Forward Church,’
of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is also a Juvenile court Probation Officer,
Street Gang Specialist/Certified, and Cult/Occult Researcher. You may
contact him at manhoodline@yahoo.com.
©2006 Mike Ramey/Barnstorm Communications. |
