A Unique Look At Gangs

Gangs & Greek Organizations

Sydney Thomas

Illinois College
Professor Fuller
SO 344
11 May 2015

A Unique Look At Gangs

INTRODUCTION
If you take a look at various definitions of gang, it is commonly defined as a
group of deviants or criminals. Specific characteristics exist that distinguish gangs from
other social organizations. These characteristics include engaging in criminal activity,
having a name, displaying specific colors, symbols, or signs, claiming territory, and
having a leader(s). Territory is the most important aspect of gangs. Gangs often rely on
territory to choose a name, and resort to violence, to protect their territory. Gangs also
have an extensive history in the United States. Dating back to the 18th century, gangs
often consisted of low class immigrant groups who moved to the United States; these
individuals relied on gangs for friendship, entertainment, and goods even if they were
achieved through delinquent acts (Snchez-Jankowsk 2003: 203). Some countries
already had gang subcultures, and carried them over as they immigrated to the United
States. During blue-collar expansion, gangs were formed by youths who heard negative
accounts of blue-collar jobs. They created gangs to provide financial resources for
leisure time (Snchez-Jankowsk 2003). In times of drug deregulation, tension between
Italians and African Americans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans resulted in the Italians being
cut from their job as the main and only drug retailer (Snchez-Jankowsk 2003). These
other ethnic groups stepped up and began heavy involvement in the drug trade and gang
activity. A lot of research on gangs exists, but a new approach should be taken to better
understand them.

MERTONS STRAIN THEORY

Mertons strain theory can easily be applied to gang research. Mertons theory of
anomie helps us understand deviant behavior. The main goal in society is to be
successful. The strain theory consists of two main aspects: the means and the ends. The
means refer of opportunities, such as institutions and social class, which allow the
individual to reach his or her goals. In shorter words, the means are how an individual
achieves their goals. The ends are the actual achievement of goals, such as wealth, social
class mobility, or power. One aspect of his theory involves innovation. The innovator
realizes he does not have legitimate means to achieve their goals and therefore come up
with different ways to achieve their goals. These alternative means are often illegal or go
against societal norms. Selling drugs is a common innovation and explained well by
Mertons theory. Often in poor neighborhoods, individuals need a way to provide for their
families. But legitimate means are not necessarily offered to them. Therefore, they turn to
illegitimate means. In the end, they still achieve their goals while using a different
process. Because gang members are involved in deviant behavior and they tend to be
innovators, we can understand their motives using the strain theory.

BECKERS LABELING THEORY

The labeling theory is a social approach, which states that individuals become
criminals when they are labeled as such; this labeling then, manifests itself in these
individuals and they accept this given identity as their personal identity. There are
numerous acts that can be considered as deviant. These acts are referred to as rulebreaking behavior. Even though all of these acts are essentially breaking social norms,
only certain ones, or in certain situations, are considered deviant. Labeling differs from

most approaches because it is not about the behavior itself but the response to the
behavior. If the criminal act is not responded to in a negative way, then that individual is
not labeled as delinquent or criminal. But when the act receives negative response, this is
when delinquency and being cast as a criminal comes into play. We can apply this theory
to gangs. While there are other organizations that engage in the same kinds of delinquent
activities as gangs, those individuals are not labeled as deviants.

THE PROBLEM WITH GANG RESEARCH

For my first article, I looked at Martn Snchez-Jankowsks Gangs and Social
Change. The article touched on numerous topics, in relation to gangs. The first thing
Snchez-Jankowsk goes into is the problem with previous gang research. He believes
that is very flawed and inaccurate. Most gang research generalizes too much and makes
heavy assumptions. Most research has treated gangs in one of two ways: either as a
gathering of individuals with a specific negative set of personal attributes or a group of
individuals who act in a deviant and/or criminal manner (Snchez-Jankowsk 2003:191).
This leads to the misrepresentation of which individuals join gangs. It also makes it hard
to distinguish between gangs and other social organizations. Using these collective
behaviors, many other groups could be confused for a gang. Another issue SnchezJankowsk has with gang research is the common desire of researchers to refer to gangs
as loose associations. He sees a problem with this because it blatantly defies gang history.
Snchez-Jankowsk declares that throughout history, gangs have maintained consistent
organization and goals over the past 150 years (2003). Gangs have withstood many
changes in history. Gangs have also remained around despite constant attempts by police

and other institutions to take them down. Because of this, Snchez-Jankowsk also
believes that gang individuals are actually quite intelligent (2003). Another problem with
gang research lies in the reasoning behind why individuals join gangs. There is a common
misconception that broken homes and lack of a father figure lead youths to seek out
male-dominant groups that can provide them with what is missing at home (SnchezJankowsk 2003:193). Because of this misconception, researchers believe that gang
involvement would simply diminish, if fathers stayed with the mothers of their children.
While broken homes and gang involvement are indeed correlated, we cannot generalize
that broken homes are the sole cause. Snchez-Jankowsks last issue with gang research
is the constant belief that gangs are purely criminal. Researchers discuss that gangs are
filled with criminal members who devote all of their time to delinquent and criminal acts.
Simply because gang members engage in crime does not mean that they are, or should
be understood as, inherently criminal groups (Snchez-Jankowsk 2003: 200). Contrary
to belief, he finds that most gang members are not dedicating all of their time to criminal
activity. In fact, most of their day is spent doing normal activities, like most individuals in
society. Overall, this article probes researchers to look at gangs and gang research
differently.

STREET GANGS
The second article I looked at, Street Gangs: The View from the Street, took a
more negative approach to gangs. The article discussed gangs in the same manner that
most individuals in society would discuss them. Jim Parker describes gangs as tough and
inhumane, even brutal (Parker 2007). This is the view that most of society has about

gangs. Gangs are looked at as delinquent individuals who leave a path of violence in their
wake. Parker discusses how gangs have a code of ethics based on the giving and getting
of respect, and those who transgress the codeknowingly or notare often executed on
the spot (Parker 2007). This is a bit extreme. While it can happen, this mentality of
gangs leads to the misconception of gangs. But Parker also touches on why some
individuals join gangs. For many inner-city kids, gangs are one of the only available
ways of making money (Parker 2007). This point relates back to the strain theory. Some
individuals do not have access to legitimate means and are almost forced into deviance.

DEVIANCE IN COLLEGE
Because research on college deviance and their relation to gangs is limited, my
research turned toward books. Deviance and Crime in Colleges and Universities: What
Goes on in the Halls of Ivy by Julian Roebuck takes a look at deviance in college
universities. College students, especially those in Greek organizations, often supply
minors with drugs and alcohol. Roebuck mentions, the concerns are about drinking
alcoholic beverages (especially for minors), drugs, and sex (Roebuck 2009: 61). All of
these acts are indeed considered deviant by most of society, but college students tend to
get away with them, without being labeled as deviants. He interviewed a male college
student who revealed insight on the drug problem in fraternities and sororities. He said,
in our fraternity, Ecstasy was a huge drug, huge drug, taken with alcohol all the time.
Youd take it to get through hazing. You knew which brothers had access to certain
drugs (Roebuck 2009: 68). As most of us know, college students do not have squeakyclean reputations. But most of their deviance is overlooked by society. These individuals

are in college, and typically middle to upper class.

GANGS VS GREEK ORGANIZATIONS

As we can see, Greek organizations are often involved in deviant behavior. As
deviance in college fraternities/sororities has been outlined, the similarities between them
and gangs can be defined as well. Although there are distinct differences between the two
groups, we can still analyze the two in relation to one another. Both gangs and Greek
organizations have specific colors and hand signs associated with their group, specific
territories, use of drugs and alcohol, and group initiations. Territory is the biggest aspect
of gangs. But we see this with Greek organizations. Many of them have frat houses or
certain parties that outsiders or other fraternity or sorority members are not allowed at.
The difference is seen when gangs react violently to violations of their territory, whereas
fraternity members cannot engage in the same kind of violence. Snchez-Jankowsk
poses the question, do middle-class children avoid gangs or criminal involvement
because schools are more competent in controlling their behavior, or because they have a
privileged lifestyle with plenty of possessions and liberties that could be lost if they were
arrested and convicted of a crimes (195). This question allows us to look at gang
membership in a new way. Maybe these individuals become involved in gang activities
because they have nothing to lose. Those who join Greek organizations might push away
from organized crime because they can many liberties and opportunities taken away from
them. Gangs can provide entertainment, status, and excitement to its members (SnchezJankowsk 2003). Gangs and Greek organizations share this aspect. One goal of both
groups is to provide leisure and entertainment to its members. Status is often what pushes

individuals into these organizations. According to Sanchez-Jankowski, Individuals

become involved with gang-related crime because they want status (Sanchez-Jankowski
2003:197). This is often the same reason why individuals join fraternities/sororities. They
desire status amongst their peers. Many college students want to belong to a group, and
we see this with gang members as well. But fraternities and gangs are two separate
entities:
Yet, fraternities and sororities are substantively different organizations form gangs.
Where youths in fraternities and sororities are involved in a social organization that
may become drawn into illegal behavior through their purchase and consumption of
drugs, unlike gangs, they are not socio-economic organizations that exist for the
purpose of making and selling drugsThe most obvious and important distinction
between gangs and fraternities/sororities entails differentials in economic assets.
(Sanchez-Jankowski 2003:192)
Gangs are driven by financial desperation, but most deviance committed by these Greek
organizations is driven by the desire for fun or entertainment. When we take a look at The
Saints and the Roughnecks by William Chambliss, we can apply his concepts to gangs
and fraternities. He discusses two different gangs, the Saints and the Roughnecks, who
are treated very differently by different institutions. Even though both groups are deviant,
only the Roughnecks are considered delinquent and as individuals who will not make it in
society. According to Chambliss, even though both groups engaged in frequent deviance,
one gang received more official social control than the other (Chambliss 1973). We can
consider gangs as the Roughnecks and Greek organizations as the Saints. These
organizations are already well-off and therefore society does not doubt that they will do

well; even if they are delinquent here-and-there.

CONCLUSION
As we can see, gangs can and must be looked at in an entirely different way. The
current research on gangs is almost inaccurate. Too many generalizations and
misconceptions are made. In order to fully understand gangs, we have to examine them in
their proper context. Although the purpose of this paper was not to declare gangs and
Greek organizations one in the same, but we can draw some distinct similarities between
the two. The strain theory can explain why gangs are involved in deviant behavior. Most
individuals who join gangs are from low-class neighborhoods. It is harder than not for
these individuals to make money and be successful. The appeal of illegitimate ways is
very strong for these individuals. According to Sanchez-Jankowski, defiant
individualism leads people to become involved with money-producing economic
activities whether legal or not (2003: 201). Gang members are innovators who use
illegitimate ways to gain money. Labeling theory can also be applied to gang research.
Automatically, gang individuals are labeled by society as deviants who harm society. But
other organizations, such as fraternities/sororities, might commit the same delinquent acts
but they do not receive the same stigma. The major difference between the two groups is
their economical assets. Lack of these important aspects force individuals into gangs,
while surplus of assets allows individuals in fraternities and sororities to be successful.
Overall, gangs seem to be misunderstood and research has to change direction, in order to
analyze them properly.
References

Chambliss, William J. 1973. The Saints and the Roughnecks. Society 11(1): 24-31
Downes, Colin. 2014. Greek Gangs. The Law, Lawyers, and the Court.

Parker, Jim. Street Gangs: The View from the Street. N.p.: Do It Now Foundation, 2007.
Print.

Roebuck, Julian. 2009. Deviance and Crime in Colleges and Universities: What Goes on
in the Halls of Ivy. Springfield, IL/ U.S.: Charles C. Thomas

Snchez-Jankowsk, Martn. 2003. Gangs and social change. Theoretical Criminology

7(2): 191-216