- Thread starter Robert
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New Article - Gangs
With little or no control by the police & judicial system, the serious problems with gang criminal activities seem to be unending. Certainly, unemployment is a key element in joining such gangs and this will have to be addressed to help solve such a social problem, which appears to be growing on the island.The widespread posession of weapons such as handguns presents an avenue that Leonel is apparently trying to regulate. I am amazed at the open display of handguns even in banks, where the security guards only ask that hats & sunglasses be removed to enable the cameras to provide possible id if there is a problem! Certainly better education, coupled with apprenteships should help lead to better employment opportunities. I will be very interested to see responses from the highly experienced DR posters like "Hillbilly" & others. Canadian Bob.
Except for the a few odd editings, That is a pretty fair assessment of the situation.
They are not "bandoleros"...they are usually called "pandilleros" from the word "pandilla" a gang.
I think the use of the phrase "a known fact" is trite and not good writing.
The rest of the note is well worth reading.
HB
They are not "bandoleros"...they are usually called "pandilleros" from the word "pandilla" a gang.
I think the use of the phrase "a known fact" is trite and not good writing.
The rest of the note is well worth reading.
HB
Hey HB
A bit pedantic of you with your observations, but I guess u're a pretty good 'ole boy anyway.
A bit pedantic of you with your observations, but I guess u're a pretty good 'ole boy anyway.
There is no difference between criminals and the military. Both exist for the control of resources, the only difference is that the military is legitimate and criminals are not.
Gangs will exist as long as the drug trade exist. That is their number one reason for existence. They take control of several geographical areas (could be urban neighborhoods or rural settlements). The control is secured through the ability to use force to ensure the shipment of drugs goes through unhindered. Anyone who threatens such resource distribution will be eliminated.
Similarly, the military has the control of an entire nation (or as is often the case in Latin America, has control of cities. The countryside is hardly ever under the control of the state). A military works on behalf of the state, which in turns a state or government is manipulated by ruling elites. The manipulation of the state gives ruling elites access to the use of force via the military in order to protect the resources of the territory such state governs over. In other words, a state is a mechanism used for the sole purpose of ruling elites making a profit through the exploitation of natural resources. Whenever the exploitation of such resources is threatened, the military will simply eliminate the threat through whichever means possible. When a dissagreement occurs between the military and the state, the military creates a military coup to oust the ruling elites out of power and thus create a military junta which will run the country until the military decides to step down. This occured with Brazil, the DR, Haiti, pretty much all third world states.
Gangs challenge the authority of the state, thus they challenge the authority of the ruling elites in order to control resources of a particular geographic area. Both use the masses as bait for their catch and mouse game, where they terrorize the masses, often use the masses as pawn, and/or instill propaganda or simply put fear in the masses in order to control them. When a gang does that, it is effectively challenging the authority of a state and a state will often do one of a few things:
1. Attempt to take control by force (this includes police and military raids on gang infested neighborhoods, sudden eruption of gun fights in the streets, etc).
2. The state would attempt to contain the gang activities to certain geographic areas. (this is the case when police and military has strong presence outside gang infected areas but the police or military hardly goes into such gang dominated neighborhoods).
3. The state attempts to come to an agreement with the gangs. (This occurs whenever the state see's a serious challenge to it's authority and its existence. This is the case in Colombia where drug lords patrol the countryside while the state controls the cities.)
Both exist for the control of resources and as long as such resources exists and the demand for such resources continues, so too will the existence of gangs.
Also, in both cases the people with the power (in the case of the state it's the ruling elites and in the case of the gangs it's the drug lord or the head of such gang) remains unharmed. The only people actually doing the fighting are those at the bottom of the social scale within each system, used for the sole purpose of controlling resources and profit.
In both the military and gangs, the majority of the fighters belong to the lower class masses and/or peasantry. The generals and/or higher ranking officials in either military or gang often belong to the ruling elites of each system. In third world states this becomes visible through the preponderance of whites and light skin people in authoritative positions while non-whites (the traditional people, or the indigenous people, or the decendants of slaves, etc. ) hold less powerful and prestigious positions.
Also, both exist to fulfill a demand that eminates from the first world nations of the world.
This is the world we live in today.
-NALs
Gangs will exist as long as the drug trade exist. That is their number one reason for existence. They take control of several geographical areas (could be urban neighborhoods or rural settlements). The control is secured through the ability to use force to ensure the shipment of drugs goes through unhindered. Anyone who threatens such resource distribution will be eliminated.
Similarly, the military has the control of an entire nation (or as is often the case in Latin America, has control of cities. The countryside is hardly ever under the control of the state). A military works on behalf of the state, which in turns a state or government is manipulated by ruling elites. The manipulation of the state gives ruling elites access to the use of force via the military in order to protect the resources of the territory such state governs over. In other words, a state is a mechanism used for the sole purpose of ruling elites making a profit through the exploitation of natural resources. Whenever the exploitation of such resources is threatened, the military will simply eliminate the threat through whichever means possible. When a dissagreement occurs between the military and the state, the military creates a military coup to oust the ruling elites out of power and thus create a military junta which will run the country until the military decides to step down. This occured with Brazil, the DR, Haiti, pretty much all third world states.
Gangs challenge the authority of the state, thus they challenge the authority of the ruling elites in order to control resources of a particular geographic area. Both use the masses as bait for their catch and mouse game, where they terrorize the masses, often use the masses as pawn, and/or instill propaganda or simply put fear in the masses in order to control them. When a gang does that, it is effectively challenging the authority of a state and a state will often do one of a few things:
1. Attempt to take control by force (this includes police and military raids on gang infested neighborhoods, sudden eruption of gun fights in the streets, etc).
2. The state would attempt to contain the gang activities to certain geographic areas. (this is the case when police and military has strong presence outside gang infected areas but the police or military hardly goes into such gang dominated neighborhoods).
3. The state attempts to come to an agreement with the gangs. (This occurs whenever the state see's a serious challenge to it's authority and its existence. This is the case in Colombia where drug lords patrol the countryside while the state controls the cities.)
Both exist for the control of resources and as long as such resources exists and the demand for such resources continues, so too will the existence of gangs.
Also, in both cases the people with the power (in the case of the state it's the ruling elites and in the case of the gangs it's the drug lord or the head of such gang) remains unharmed. The only people actually doing the fighting are those at the bottom of the social scale within each system, used for the sole purpose of controlling resources and profit.
In both the military and gangs, the majority of the fighters belong to the lower class masses and/or peasantry. The generals and/or higher ranking officials in either military or gang often belong to the ruling elites of each system. In third world states this becomes visible through the preponderance of whites and light skin people in authoritative positions while non-whites (the traditional people, or the indigenous people, or the decendants of slaves, etc. ) hold less powerful and prestigious positions.
Also, both exist to fulfill a demand that eminates from the first world nations of the world.
This is the world we live in today.
-NALs
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