Don't confuse FEAR with RESPECT! American Sub-Cultures can be beautiful, a variety of styles of music can sound good, different foods can taste great, but many gang members have Cultural Pride and Gang Pride mixed up. They can do a lot of harm to their own people they claim they are fighting for and proud of. Misplaced cultural pride is why many kids join gangs. There is also a connection between gangs and poverty, between racism and poverty, but still it is no excuse for hurting or even killing other people who look just like you. If being poor or a minority were guarantees for being a gang member then every kid in the Varrio or Ghetto or Chinatown , etc. would be in gangs and we know that is not the case. To end these problems takes positive social action over the long-term. We can't solve this tragedy in 1, 2, 5, or even ten years. It may be two full generations before we can solve it. But we must start sometime without excuses for criminal behavior. As long as some community leaders keep making excuses for any type of criminal behavior, we will not change the situation. Police and Gangsters both need to be held accountable for their actions!

Police are not the main reason for gangs nor can they be the only solution. Police are more like firefighters, putting out small and large fires when they occur. Police departments need to do a better job of weeding out bad cops at the beginning of the recruitment process and do a better job of recruiting bilingual-bicultural cops who understand the complex issues of the community they work in. Corrections and the community must not be in denial about gangs. Gangs create a large part of the disciplinary problems in jail and prison and are responsible for much of the violence in custody and out on the street. Corrections must come to terms with this fact and do a better job of closing the revolving door and help those who really want help to leave the gang and drug lifestyle. Ex-offenders must abide by their conditions of release or risk going back to prison. Abiding by society's rules, staying away from other felons, drugs, and gang members are a part of the conditions for freedom.