Study Questions Gangsters Without Borders PDF

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Professor Thomas Ward's Study Guide for the book Gangsters Without Borders...

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ANTH 371mg: Cross-Cultural Research on Urban Gangs Professor Ward

Study Questions: Gangsters without Borders Chapter Two 1. What types of violence did these children see in El Salvador during the war? a. mortar waves, helicopters constantly, murders n such. poverty n repression b. human corpses 2. When did the Civil War in El Salvador start and end? a. began in 1980, end in 10 years 3. What is a guinda? a. forced relocation or displacement of salvadorenos. a flight from home in response to violence 4. What is a placaso? a. gang nickname 5. What is ORDEN and what was its purpose? a. large paramilitary force to “keep order” in countryside. job was to spy on neighbors, report any suspicious activity (such as criticizing government) and “finger” ??? people for assassinations b. goal - instill terror in general population. c. did not wear uniforms. so no one knew who were the spies 6. What is the FMLN? a. Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front - guerrillas. they launched a final offensive which began the twelve year civil war following the massacre people protesting government policies in 1980 7. Who were the Death Squads? a. off duty security officers who painted their faces black - called themselves the La mano blanca, went out at night to terrorize people suspected of being subservisve. death squads resurfaced in 1998 after end of war to deal with growing gang 8. What was the ‘terror at home’? Give an example. a. joker getting his nose broken by his father. domestic violence was the terror at home. snipers dad making him crawl on his knees on dry corn 9. What caused family dislocation and separation? Give an example a. the civil war caused dislocation and separation. an example - psychos home controlled by FMLN during the war. since salvadoran army made frequent sweeps into area where his family lived, he and his family had to flee their home from aerial strafing and bombing 10. What types of problems did these Salvadoran youth have crossing borders and coming to the United States? a. problem often lies in charges from “coyotes” (human smugglers). often the problems lie in coyotes not wanting to pay for bribes or making them go on foot. had to drink water from river and eat whatever they could. one group of undocumented immigrants which Lil Silent traveled with got 1

lost. often packed into box cars or confined spaces - can die of heat exhaustion 11. Why did these youth want to stay in El Salvador instead of coming to the United States? a. el salvador was their homeland and they had developed strong emotional bonds with their caretakers 12. Who was Horatio Alger? What does his story illustrate? a. fictional immigrant youth who became immensely successful in banking. symbolized the us being a land of promise Chapter Three 1. What problems did these youth have with family reunion in the US? a. they had to rebuild the emotional connections they had before because they were separated for so long. they had a distaste for authority as well (because they suppressed their feelings of betrayal) emotional development of children is intimately connected with safety and nurturance provided by enviornment, so these youth were emotionally stunted and ready to react violently i. ie sniper saying “one has to get to know” using the singular impersonal than the first person singular 2. What is the meaning of aguantar? a. to suffer in silence. many resented the fact that they just had to “grin and bear” being brought to america 3. What is a bicho? How do Salvadoran parents use the term? a. bicho (both negative and positive connotations) - can mean cute (bug) or ugly (like a cockroach). parents use them to refer to their children, reflects lack of patience with children 4. What is confianza and why is it important? a. spanish word for trust, so important because it was missing from their childhoods. its not something you “do” but something you “have” 5. How did Psycho’s mother react to his staying away from home for several nights? a. his mom didn’t protest his absence. she was just glad he came back 6. What is the double generation gap between Salvadoran immigrant youth and their parents? a. large gap of time and experience that colors and shapes tastes, attitudes, and worldviews, but also theres a gap in culture (represented in language, form of dress, music, mannerisms, and sense of identity) 7. What kind of parental supervision did Lil’ Silent have in Los Angeles? a. his mom was a live in maid in beverly hills so she was only there on sundays, when she would make him enough meals to last the week. his mom took in a boyfriend (an alcoholic from mexico) 8. What problems did these youth have at school? a. alienation and discrimination. difference in culture (chicanos versus el salvadorans) - other kids made fun of the way the el salvadorans spoke. got teased for lack of speaking english and the way they dressed (they 2

wore school uniforms with button downs and snug pants). they were put in ESL classes where they couldn’t learn much because they were didn’t know the language. to protect themselves from getting beaten up they would form gangs 9. Where did Sniper meet his friend Johnny? What happened to Sniper at school after he joined Johnny’s gang? a. at school. he met sniper and found out he was from el salvador and told him to hang with him. joining johnnys street gang meant increased fighting at school which meant he eventually got expelled from school 10. What is la Gloria Brincada? a. jump in. ritual of initiation in street gangs. la gloria - ascension, brincada ascension. for mara salvatrucha, initiation lasts 13 seconds and three to five people do it. 11. The night of his initiation, how did Joker react afterward? a. at first he was happy and felt on top of the world but afterwards he had doubts when he saw himself in the bathroom mirror. he had killed off his old identity as carlos and replaced it w/ gangster status of joker 12. Why did Sniper join the gang? a. he said he didn’t think about it too much, he started dressing like a cholo and one day just decided to become a cholo. they went to a party and he just decided to get jumped in 13. What attracted Joker to join the gang? a. jump in signifies shift in identity from wannabe to street gangster. gangster demands respect and keeps tallies of his homies who have been harmed. gangster dishes out revenge and does whatever he wants b. he was gradually incorporated into the gang with the gang look (plaid long sleeved shirt, baggy khakis) he could drink and smoke as much as he wanted, liked idea of owning a gun. also personal safety c. danger involved but also the excitement of friendship and parties, sense of belonging, dating. becoming hard core gang member meant he was free to do whatever he wanted 14. What was the ‘tipping point’ for Joker in his decision to join? a. desire for status and surrogate family - one which accepted him for who he was at that particular place and time 15. Did anyone try to dissuade Joker from joining the gang? If so, who? If so, why? a. older wiser members of the gang tried to dissuade him. they tried to convince him because he was a good student and he was a good soccer player. 16. What material comforts are gang members seeking? a. a set of wheels, girls, drugs, alcohol, nice clothes and a “gat in his giddy up” (gun tucked into pants) 17. What are the six problem areas (risk factors) for joining a street gang? a. personality (psychological disposition), puberty (biological maturism), parenting (family dynamics), poverty (relative economic deprivation), prejudice, and peers 18. What happened to Psycho’s father? 3

a. he was killed by the military when psycho was 2 years old 19. What are jales, jainas, and ranflas? a. jale - drive by shooting b. jainas - a girlfriend c. ranflas - car 20. Why were these youth ‘ripe to resort to violence’? a. they had experienced and become desensitized to the effects of violence of death in their homeland, learned to identify w/ victims and perpetrators of violence Chapter Five 1. What does research suggest is the cause of the increase in women’s participation in street gangs? a. women’s increasing economic marginalization 2. How did Lonely’s death affect Angel? a. she became self destructive and a drug addict 3. Why did Angel decide to join MS? a. she decided to join ms because she was bounced around from home to home, and when she moved in with loquita, she eventually joined. (she never had a family or solid place to live of her own) 4. What was Angel’s attitude toward gangs before she joined? a. she looked down on gangs (she repeated what her aunt said to her about gangs) 5. How did Angel’s father treat her? a. he didn’t want to go over to see her so she had to go down to downey to see him. they had a ten minute conversation where he ignored her and talked to her brother. she called and left him messages but he never called back 6. What are females who join gang running away from? a. to escape boredom and harshness of impoverished lives. gang represents economic opportunity and freedom from restrictions of traditional female subservient domestic roles of housewife and mother b. many came from abusive or dysfunctional households, where they had alcoholic or abusive parents 7. Can a young woman get sexed into a street gang? Explain why or why not. a. not many do it because it makes their gang look weak and because a new member could say afterwards that it was rape 8. Who was Brenda Paz and what does her story illustrate about gangs? a. honduras woman who joined a gang in la and took nickname smiley. ended up in virginia in 2002 and she and her boyfriend conejo were arrested for stealing a car. he was a suspect in a homicide investigation so she entered into witness protection and cooperated with law enforcement. she felt lonely so she moved back to virginia and threw a party for her old homeboys. they found out she had information on them and murdered her. 4

b. illustrates punishment in gang for snitching. however law enforcement should have protected her better 9. What is the sexual double standard in gangs? Is it different from the sexual double standard in society? a. general societal prohibition - woman who sleeps around with a lot of guys is “loose” but homeboys who do the same are players. view in gangs that women are possessions or chattel 10. What are the rules about dating enemy gang members? Are these rules strictly enforced? Why or why not? a. don’t do it - if you sleep with the enemy secrets can get exposed. this rule is violated frequently but homegirls tend to get punished more often for it. 11. What is the Catch 22 of respect for homegirls? How do females get respect in street gangs? a. youre damned if you do damned if you don’t i. respect means acting aggressively masculine, but this comes at sacrifice of their femininity and sexual attractiveness 12. What is the least acknowledged role of female gang members? a. role of care taking - women become simultaneously the mother and the wife 13. How did Angel exit the gang? a. she got addicted to smoking crack cocaine - in gangs, being a “crackhead” is viewed as a liability because you aren’t able to bring in the same resources Chapter Six 1. According to Trouble, why are Salvadoran youth violent? a. trouble says “we don’t give a fuck what happens” b. “you live fast and then die young” c. “for whatever reason youre ready to fight. maybe its because you’ve been drinking beer of whatever. como sea. because they say that salvadorans pelean for gusto, to see who has more courage, toughness and stamina.” 2. What does más felón mean? a. more criminal 3. What does cora mean? a. meanings of heart, courage, and anger b. means one is willing to fight and take a beating 4. Who does MS consider to be an enemy? a. the 18th street gang (but they used to be friends teehee) 5. What is the meaning of the term enemy? a. the meaning of enemy is a shifting one b. in terms of street gangs, enemies are 18th street and ms. but once they go to prison, they can become good friends and enemies shifts to be defined by racial or ethnic lines 6. Do gang members consider police to be their enemy? 5

a. not really. most gang members interviewed had the attitude that the police are just doing their job i. some could be assholes tho 7. Give an example of a police tactic to punish gang members who have committed no crime? a. capturing gang members and dropping them off in enemy neighborhoods done to scare gang members or give them a lesson to not mess with the police 8. Why do most gang members discourage or punish fellow members from killing cops? a. “it brings the heat” - if a law enforcement official is shot by a member of a street gang, the gang can expect to receive increased suppression efforts against it 9. What is a common attitude of police toward a gang member who is killed in gang warfare? a. they aren’t concerned. cops are heard “theyd just as soon see the gang members knife off one another” trouble said “they don’t care if we kill off another homeboy. they consider that we’re doing them a favor” 10. What happened to Joker to cause his disability? a. he was on the roof of a building and hanging out when some other homeboys began to fight. he went down to separate them and they went to another place. they went to a 7/11 and a yellow cab with tinted windows turned around and shot him with a uzi submachine gun 11. Give three types of intra-gang fighting. a. intraclique fighting - fist fight of sorts essentially b. inter clique fighting with bottles, knives, guns c. intragang fighting 12. How did Loquita react to Demon’s suicide? a. it sent her off into a huge spiral. she lived 24/7 in the neighborhood. three months after she got shot. she bang drinking heavily, she couldn’t sleep. 13. Is MS the world’s most dangerous gang? Why or why not? a. not really. all gang members have dangerous members but these people tend to make up about 5% of the gang. gang violence represents a small proportion of violent crimes in the US 14. Is MS a criminal syndicate (organized crime family)? Why or why not? a. no. there’s a lack of coordination between cliques in different cities, states, and countries. they don’t “have leaders” and don’t take orders from gang members in other locations. too large and disorganized to qualify as an organized crime family. Chapter Seven 1. What are some of the reasons why people leave their gangs? a. mature or age out, going to prison, getting jobs, joining military or law enforcement, leaving as the gang subdivides, becoming disabled 2. How do most gang members exit the gang life? 6

a. mature out, some get help, or injured 3. What does calmado mean? a. “calming down” - “chill out” from gang life 4. Can an MS gang member leave whenever he or she wants? Explain. a. depends. in the us its easy to leave the gang - you can just walk away. in central america its more difficult 5. What does de corazón mean? Why is this important to gang members? a. it means heart, courage, and love or affection. feeling of empathy or compassion - relieve suffering of others. its important because it provides them a place to show their courage, strength and toughness, but it gives them a connection to family b. heart connection - emotional attachments that gang members have to each other 6. What happened to Sniper, Joker, Trouble, Lil’ Silent and Psycho? a. sniper - successfully retired. started a family and got a job as a cook. a homeboy stopped by his house one night and they went to a party together. they robbed a couple at knifepoint. it was his second strike so he was sentenced to 28 years in prison b. joker was shot five times and is now paralyzed. he had paid his dues and he went back to school to learn computer and website skills. continues to ganging though. separated from his life wife and realized there was no future in gangbanging. still sees his son regularly. c. trouble was deported to el salvador for drug possession. he claims the police planted drugs on him. when he went back, he got in a fight with someone who also got deported from the 18th street gang. he got stabbed a and a woman helped take him to the hospital.had to go to therapy to learn to walk again. got a job answering telephone orders. and now has two daughters. began volunteering to visit one of the prisons in el salvador. sought out the evangelical church and their rehabilitation program. d. psycho got a job working as a delivery man and got married and had two children. got a better job a few years later. e. lil silent was unable to find a permanent job, forced to work intermittently in construction. slipped into depression and his girlfriend left him. he eventually became homeless again

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