gangsterism

Gangsterism by Ryan Bacutoc

This is the scene I saw when I went out in the trenches of unpredictable secular world. You have heard this on radios; you have read this on social media and this were reported on televisions almost every week as well. Does anyone else see like this? Does anyone else notice this? Why do they fight? How do the parents feel? Do they even know or care? So many questions to be answered and while we try to answer one, another child dies. I do not want to be a superhero nor do I want to change the way we feel toward each other over night, even though it would be nice. I just want to sleep at night without wondering whether or not one of my friends is going to get hurt. I do not want to read in newspaper that yet another teenager has been killed by somebody because of senseless violence. This is the road not to be taken. It is not a mall, it is a warzone. This is the war of our generation.Ladies and Gentlemen, today; we have a word for this “Gangsterism”.

Gangsterism is one of the common problems in communities. It is the habit of using organized violence to achieve one’s ends. Young people join with gangs for a variety of reasons. A search for love, structure and discipline, a sense of belonging and commitment, the need for recognition and power, a sense of self-worth and status, and a place of acceptance. These are true according to some articles I read on the internet, kids as young as thirteen, start to join gangs. They had hazing like fraternities where aspirants are whipped with belts or hit with wood. Even girls are initiated, slapping and singeing of the skin with cigarettes. And then they are off to fight with other gangs. They bring around weapons-knives, ice picks, and the most basic and common- rocks. Most members are out of school. For them, they joined gang because there is brotherhood, thus the brother must fight for a member. Some survives riots unharmed; others are not so lucky and get injured. The unluckiest member gets killed. It is not just the members who get in trouble, even bystanders and neighbors whose properties are damaged by the guns fired and stones thrown. There are also those hit by stray bullets.The Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Adac) in Davao City put task the parents for their lack of control of their children who are into gangs. Lawyer Eliseo Braganza, action officer of the Adac, said parents can be hailed to court to pay for the damages that their children had done. And because of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Law does not allow the minor members of gangs to be rounded up and jailed, then the barangays and the Department of Social Welfare and Development have to take this problem seriously. This Juvenile Justice Act of 2006 encourages felony among the youth and this discourages the police to arrest minors.

Who will be next, whose child, whose child, whose grandchild, whose niece or nephew, whose sister or brother, whose cousin, whose friends? The number one killer among children is another child. If we do not wake up soon, it may be too late. We may not wake up at all. Ladies and Gentlemen, is it a must to asked legislators to repeal the law? The answer lies on you.