To better understand gangs one must first attempt to understand the reasons why people become involved with them. To ignore this crucial first step is to immediately begin to travel down the path of ignorance, leading ultimately to the want (however justifiable it may be) to forms of summary and (more) extreme punative justice. The problem being, that whilst this will salve the genuine hurt of those innocently affected, in itself it will do little to prevent a recurrence of crime by the offender upon release from the CJS. Which, quite often, is release from the ‘universities of crime’ = Prison.
It is an immense subject, very complex, with many over-lapping sociological factors, as to why someone commits a crime. In my experience, there really is never solely one reason. Rather, it is a convoluted maze of brick walls & blind alleys. Offenders, generally not taking personal responsibility, will of course blame factors they plea is outside of their control. Naturally this means that quite often the criminal doesn’t exactly know all the reasons why they do what they do. Usually resorting to the most obvious, sometimes superficial explanation.
Whilst all crime is abhorrent, inexcusable, and downright selfish in the most Machiavelian way, it is all too easy to simply say that the offender is just a ‘nasty person’ , etc. This kind of ‘logical’ acceptance of futility is conditioning society to become de-sensitized in understanding humanities most perverse actions against our own species. Society is owed full comprehensive explanations of the human condition that makes someone break laws that are there to keep us all safe. And heck, the victims certainly deserve to know.
I will briefly skirt across some factors, bringing them once more out into the public domain. There will be no surprises, no new information really. Rather, i will mention the most important topics & concepts i have experienced & witnessed first hand in my many years immersed in that horrid way of life. Perhaps my acknowledgments will be some form of verification to such people who have their own opinions, yet never experienced this subject. Understanding of something, or someone, no matter how repulsive their actions are, is knowledge. And the old saying goes – ‘knowledge is power’.
As touched upon in yesterday’s blog, people feel angry. And frustrated. At what, there will be many ‘reasons’ gave. All will be someone else’s fault, or a ‘parental’ organisation, such as the police, governments, etc. No personal responsibility, an absence of the first crucial stage of personal growth. What I’m seeing, in the broader sociological sense is a more obvious expression of ‘every person for themselves’. There will be varying degrees of this of course. However, humans tend to generally be too wrapped up in themselves, and their own assumed needs. Local community spirit is most definitely not what it was 25 years ago. Families are much more fragmented. Intercine ‘wars’ feeding down from the larger community, to parents & siblings. Leading to living ones life much more as an individual, as opposed to belonging to even their family. Loss of identity can create such dissatisfaction within oneself. A sense of betrayal, feeling let down. with no direction in life and not having the skill set in place to attempt something productive, perhaps one will look to television for inspiration. What would my favourite character in that sit-com do? Sounds crazy i know, but is it? Think about where people get their inspiration from. One dives into such sadomasochistic reality every single day, feeding our sub-conscious with the crazy, alien, ways of being. In your face reactions to life’s challenges. If you disagree, ask yourself, if a person doesn’t know what way they are meant to react to a situation, just where does the inspiration to do something, ultimately come from? Going by the last few nights in England, it certainly isn’t from community leaders, the local soccer coach, a schools teacher. Oh, or is it, hmm…
So, we’ve got upset people. Who either don’t know how to, or don’t have the motivation to improve their lives. A way one cheers up another is giving presents. We have inextricably linked possession of goods with happiness. From when we are born, right throughout our life. Society has done this to ourselves. It is not surprising that someone who is feeling empty, lost, or in an emotional upheaval, that they turn to the false god of material possessions & happiness. I can go even one step further with this. People who are by & large acting out their lives with some modicum of normality & contentment, may suddenly like Mr. Hyde, become a criminal. Perhaps acting out some long-held grudge against the establishment, no matter how trivial. Or, even more un-nerving, simply seeing a golden opportunity to acquire some possessions quickly. Easily & for free. Add to that, the excitement, and pack instinct, the sense for one moment of acting out some pseudo-romantic hollywood ideal of being a criminal or gangster type, and we have a chemical cocktail inside oneself for a brief while akin to being on drugs.
Of course, these examples are only small pieces of a very large puzzle. The blog is by no means finished, and even when it is, the collective points will still only light up the surface of the subject of criminality. Allow me though, to begin to move briefly into the area of gang ideology, and the way they work..
Gangs are supplying a demand in the ‘market’. The market being human lifestyle. Organically formed, or deliberate, they fill a perceived gap within a person. Usually, though not exclusively – a young person. As intimated, the loss of identity, perceived failings of the community or family, that empty feeling of not knowing why one exists, if even on a sub-conscious level, these are filled immediately by a gang. And it’s camaraderie. Much like a law enforcement, or soldier will develop a strong bond with their fellow members, so to will gangs. Standing side by side, sharing blood, ‘protecting’ their areas, gathering resources, and, staying loyal. All these things, high adrenaline activities, create a very strong bond among one another. The former youth, feeling a stranger within normal society, in the blink of an eye has a surrogate family. One that understands the unspoken feelings of being out-of-place, of not being understood, or assisted….
To be Continued…
Stay Safe
Wayne
Wayne Harrison is a former gang leader & armed robber. In his thirteen years being involved in crime he had numerous attempts on his life. Shot at, stabbed, receiving punishment attacks alongside terrorists trying to abduct him. Waging his own private 'war' against society his photo was on the operational board of every local police station. Referred by the police in the High Court in Belfast as being a co-ordinator of crime in three seperate towns he was the subject of covert & overt surveillance routinely. Top level politicians branded him & his gang as 'extremely dangerous'. Serving numerous prison sentences, he has been in all four of the male prisons in Northern Ireland. Including the notorious HMP Maze.
Much of his life has been a series of appaling mistakes. Having got himself into the criminal lifestyle it was all he knew, and for many years he certainly neither saw a way out nor cared to look for one. It is a life he in which he feels he achieved nothing special. Certainly never regarding himself as anyone of note in the criminal underworld.
A culmination of life events brought about the opportunity for Wayne to take a hard look at himself. He hated what he had become. Having lost his family, and friends. And facing two Crown Court trials. The real chance of prison for 20 years seemed very real.
Realising that his whole life was in his own control. Should he wish it. Wayne embarked instinctively on a 3 stage process (which he will share). A process that is not only applicable to crime, but also most of lifes challenges. This is a story about the improbable. Of how one person whom has forged a deep indentity in his psyche can face up to his demons. A person who wobbled on the path to redemption many times. Yet kept trying. Who created and tried to escape the complexities of criminality.
For Wayne, bearing his life in the way he does tends to get peoples attention. The founder of 'Civilian Personal Protection', Wayne teaches Yoga, Reiki and other spiritual practices. Personal protection, consultation on criminal ideology, crime prevention & criminal rehabilitation all focus heavily in his CPP. Wayne has been able to use his negative experiences and turned them into a positive force for others.