Sunday, January 31, 2016

POST 10 : TATTOOS & GANGS

Why do you think more and more people wear tattoos (regardless of whether they belong to gangs or not)?k
I think that it exist various explications of why more and more people wear tattoos. The first explication is that the art of tattoo is fashionable nowaday. For exemple, because is fashionable, a lot of celebrities wear tattoos, and because this celebrities wear tattoos, the normal people wear tattoos. For a great number of people, the tattoo is a form of expression, with a symbolical meaning. For this people it's a way to say that they have the lived. In united states, more and more young people join the gangs, particulary the latino gang. This gangsters wear tattoos to show they lived, and their membership in the gang.


Why do young people join gangs? 
It exist various reasons of why young people join the gang. At first, a gang is like a substitutional family, where you can "chill" with the other members. Effectively, and more in the case of Afro Americans gangs, you don't have the obligation of doing illegal things, and most of the gangsters are just in the gang to speak and "chill" with the others. In the case of doing illegal things, like sell drugs or doing hold up, you gain a lot of money and respect. This power is intoxicate for the young people, and they want never leave their gang.

What link can you see between both topics and the notion of power?
The link between both topics and the notion of power is pretty evident. When you join a gang, has I sais in the question 2, you gain respect and money, and this respect and this money bring you power. In the case of a murderous gangster, the power reside in is gun. He have the power of deciding to kill people. When you have the tattos, it's a symbol to said that you gets a high living, and this leaving imposed respect, and with the respect you gain power. So, we have see that a gangster decidedly have a lot of power, and that the tattos bring you a certain form of power.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

POST 9: The Draw of 'Dead Town' - A Newsweek article (February 16, 2009)

here for the full article named : How do you leave a gang?

1)Who is Gabriel Hinojos?
Gabriel Hinojos is an ex gang member who trie to leave the criminal life. Is gang was the Florencia 13. His Street name is "spider".Gabriel Hinojos is a Ya Stuvo client, He have in fact a lot of tatoos, for example a teerdrope, the signification in this case is that he have been incarcerated.


2)What is Ya Stuvo?
Ya Stuvo is a Tattoo Removal Center. The tattoo removal is done by laser surgery, and it's a very painfull operation. Gabriel Hinojos saya that the pain is similar has when you are cooking and the oil hits you. The gangster go's here because when they remove their tattoos, his like a metaphor to say that they leave the gangsta life.


3)Black teardropes, explain the meaning of this phrase in the context of the article
The black teardropes tattoo, for a gangster, have 2 significations. The first signification is that you have killed someone. You put one tear for person you killed. The second signification is that you have do  a time in the penitenciary. In the two cases, the gang member that have this tattoo is very respected by the others gangstas, because he have do is part in the gang, his concidered a OG (Original Gangsta).


4)This is his 45th visit. What does this short sentence imply about Gabriel Hinojos?
This sentence imply that Gabriel Hinojos have a lot of tattoos, all this tattos related to the F13. The presence of this tattoos impy that spider gets a huge criminal life. It imply also that he don't get scared about the pain, because the laser removal tattoo surgery is very painfull.


5) Is getting out of a gang easy? Quote back up your answer
No, is not easy at all to leave a gang! First, you have to do your part, kill mens, sell dope (crack in the case of the afro american and latino's gangs), and go to the penitenciary are maneers to do your part. Then, when you have the respect, you can in theory leave the gang, but it's risky, because your ex bro's can take you for a traitor, and they will trie to kill you if they. their is an other problem, is the case of Gabriel Hinojos, This problema is that you like the criminal life, the power, the money and you fall another time in the criminal life "Getting out of a Street gang in LA, is about getting a tattoo removed: slow, painfull, scaring"


6)Is it always possible? Quote to back up your answer
Yes, it's posible. If the others gang members understand your decision. But you have to have accumulate a huge respect in the gang! "In practice, a gang member like Gabriel can get out of though, but no suicidally murderus gang, like F13 if he has served time in prison and "done the work".


7)On what conditions is feasible?
Is feasible, like I have said in others questions, in the condition that you have "done the work" (in Street language "the work" is called "the part") the part is sell dope and killed. You have officialy do your part in the moment that you go in prison, because here you can recruit new persons for your gang.


8)What is extremely difficult?
It's extremely difficult escaping the attraction of the gang life. In the gang you have all the power and the money that you want so leave this life and you leave the power to. The common life is like disgusting, boring for you.


9)Explain the last three lines of the article.
The last three lines expalin that when Gabriel leaved the gangster life, he was concidered an example. He have been mediatised, considered a message for the gang bangers. This message is that you can leave a gang! To make the message impactant, the journalists have do fotos of Gabriel in company of Laura Bush. çBut, a few month laters, Gabriel have another time runed the streets, and go to jail.


10)briefly describe the photograph and expalin how he illustrates the article.
In the photograph, we can see Gabriel in a seance in Ya Stuvo. We see the laser surgery, one of is tattoos is beeing removed. He have a face of a man who is suffering. This photograph illustrates the aricle in the fact that Gabriel, doing this surgery, His leaving a tattoo. Leaving this tattoo is a metaphor of leaving the gang. Is face here is also a metaphor. Is suffering the removed of the tattoo, and is also suffering leaving the gang. The photograph illustartes very good the article, because the article talk about the pain of leaving a gang.




 This man is Gabriel Hinojos