Community Tolerance of Gang Violence

• NCJ Number: 108939
• Journal: Social Problems Volume: 34 Issue: 5 Dated: (December 1987) Pages: 437-450
• Author(s): R Horowitz
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at a conference on 'Juvenile Violence-Juvenile Justice,' Milwaukee, Wis., 1985.

Annotation

This paper explores the maintenance of tolerance in relationships between community residents and violent gang members in a Chicago Chicano community (32nd Street).

Abstract

Approximately five gang members are killed in this community each year, yet parents and other nongang residents experience their neighborhood as orderly and remain tolerant of violence. Gang members in this community, are not outsiders but are members of family networks in which they behave appropriately. It is shown that tolerance varies in degree and may be fragile but that it is generally maintained through active negotiation between community residents and gang members. Locally, the meaning of gang violence is articulated within the cultural framework of honor which allows residents to understand, if not approve of gang violence. However, it is also examined how this precarious negotiated order collapses and intolerance results when violent confrontations disrupt community affairs, such as dances or weddings, or when families become implicated in their sons' violent activities. 24 references. (Author abstract modified)