La Vida Loca By Louis Rodriguez Summary
Escaping From Gangs A gang is defined as a group of people who want to control some places in the cities. Every group has a leader, who gives his people any tasks. The group's activities are usually criminal or pose a threat to the community. However, they don't usually see themselves as the real threat but rather as a group that works to improve their community. They wear specific colored clothing, jewelry, make certain hand signals, use certain graffiti, and specific jargon. It's usually assumed that gangs are composed of only males who have most likely dropped out of school and are unemployed. Louis Rodriguez is the author of "La Vida Loca: Two Generations of Gang Members", and he writes about his and his son's gangbanging experiences.
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Then at 2 years old with family he immigrated to Watts. He was involved in a gang's band. This is because as a youth Rodriguez had a hard childhood. According to Rodriguez, "At age 9, my mother walked me to the door and, in effect, told me: Now go forth and work"(67). It means that his family was suffering from poverty. That is why his mother pushed him away from home. He began using drugs at age 12, so he almost died at 16 because of toxic spray. Rodriguez was kicked out of three schools and finally dropped at 15.
A lot of his friends were killed by rival gangs, the police, overdoses, car crashes and suicide. Then he moved with Ramiro from Los Angeles to Chicago to escape the violence. One reason for teenagers joining gangs is to feel accepted. To understand why a teen joins a gang, you have to live in their areas and understand their environment. In gang neighborhoods, the majority of the teens may be in a gang. This is almost equivalent to a cool club, because those who are not in the gang are viewed as outsiders and members of the gang may choose to avoid them for not being part of their club. So, in an effort to be accepted and to be liked, many teenagers will join the gang. Most young people want to be accepted and want to be considered cool by their
Then at 2 years old with family he immigrated to Watts. He was involved in a gang's band. This is because as a youth Rodriguez had a hard childhood. According to Rodriguez, "At age 9, my mother walked me to the door and, in effect, told me: Now go forth and work"(67). It means that his family was suffering from poverty. That is why his mother pushed him away from home. He began using drugs at age 12, so he almost died at 16 because of toxic spray. Rodriguez was kicked out of three schools and finally dropped at 15.
A lot of his friends were killed by rival gangs, the police, overdoses, car crashes and suicide. Then he moved with Ramiro from Los Angeles to Chicago to escape the violence. One reason for teenagers joining gangs is to feel accepted. To understand why a teen joins a gang, you have to live in their areas and understand their environment. In gang neighborhoods, the majority of the teens may be in a gang. This is almost equivalent to a cool club, because those who are not in the gang are viewed as outsiders and members of the gang may choose to avoid them for not being part of their club. So, in an effort to be accepted and to be liked, many teenagers will join the gang. Most young people want to be accepted and want to be considered cool by their