Gangs online...?

yet another perspective on globalization...

Street gangs are proliferating around the world. The United States has unwittingly spurred this phenomenon by deporting tens of thousands of immigrants with criminal records each year. But that only partly explains how gangs went global. Credit also goes to the Internet, where gangs are staking out turf and spreading their culture online. Gang members may have never heard of globalization, but it is making them stronger.

it's true... you can see nearly identical varieties of gang graffiti in la, chicago, buenos aires, skopje, macedonia, and thessaloniki, greece...

[W]hen people move, they take their culture with them. For example, Trey, a member of Chicago’s massive Gangster Disciples, moved to a small town in Arkansas where his brother, who is not a gang member, had found a job. Although Trey tried to “go legit,” he soon found that his status as a Gangster Disciple from the housing projects of Chicago gave him a formidable reputation in small-town Arkansas. Within nine months, he started a new Gangster Disciples “chapter” with 15 members. But this new gang had no formal connection with the group in Chicago.

cyber-gangs...

A search for particular gang slogans or phrases on any major search engine uncovers Web sites with gang manifestos, bylaws, pictures, symbols, and, yes, even turf. The Internet provides a new platform for gang warfare, and cyberspace is serving as an outlet for activities that could lead to violence if attempted on the street, such as “disrespecting” rival gangs, making claims of superiority, or disclosing gang secrets.

gang wannabes...

Still, few gang members ever discuss or mention the Internet. Many don’t possess the hardware, software, or technical skills (not to mention the necessary telephone lines) to manage the Web. Most gang-related Web activity appears to come from gang members who have moved beyond their neighborhood, perhaps to attend college, or gang members and wannabes in suburbs or smaller towns. On the Internet, it’s easy to co-opt the identity of well-known, mythic gangs.

A now defunct Web site of a gang calling itself “The Black Gangster Disciples,” after the notorious Chicago gang, contained several pages of gang prayers, oaths, and other sensitive organizational materials. The Web page’s guest book was a virtual street corner where surfers gave shout-outs (salutations or greetings) or disses (slanderous remarks) toward the group. Ironically, the site also contained a picture of the gang—a group of white, adolescent males flashing gang signs (the wrong ones, I might add), in someone’s well-furnished basement.

it won't be long, i predict, before trey in arkansas or his former associates in chicago are wired and online... one only has to see the packed "cibers" (storefront businesses offering internet access) throughout latin america to appreciate how rapidly the internet is catching on in all socio-economic levels... when trey gets his wireless-enabled laptop and can chat online in real time with ricky in durango, look out...

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