We are at a crossroads. On one side we have the path of hope, the one of community making. On the other, we have the way of despair, the way of gangs and violence.

How did we get to this point?

I have identified 20 trends among our kids and young adults that contribute to their involvement in gangs and violent activities.

Each one of these trends has received an answer from the gang world.

Every time we fail to make community with our young people, the gangs have been there, ready to incorporate them into their system.

I will point out how gangs have responded to each of our failures to make community by creating trends of their own, trends that not withstanding their negativity provide some relief to the alienation that many of our youngsters have experienced in our society.

Given our failure to incorporate our alienated youth into our system, I have termed our current society as a “pseudo-community.”

Let us evaluate the negative aspects of the trends of pseudo-community and formulate trends based on positive experiences taken from the most promising community development programs from around the nation.

Here are the trends generated by the pseudo-community in which many of our kids and youth find themselves. The response that they give to each one of these trends will lead them either to get involved in community making if they manage to follow the path of hope, or to get involved in gangs and gang activities if they give into violence and despair.

TRENDS GENERATED IN A PSEUDO-COMMUNITY

1. ALIENATION

2. PERCEPTION OF BEING UNWANTED

3. POVERTY

4. LOW SELF ESTEEM

5. BOREDOM

6. LONELINESS

7. INABILITY FOR DELAYED GRATIFICATION

8. DEPENDENCY

9. NO GUIDANCE

10. FEELINGS OF UNATTRACTIVENESS

11. LACK OF ABILITIES

12. INVISIBILITY

13. NO VOCATION

14. DISCONNECTION FROM OTHERS

15. LOW WAGE / HIGH LABOR

16. ISOLATION

17. NO SENSE OF SELF

18. POWERLESSNESS

19. DEPRESSION

20. CHAOS

Each one of these trends is addressed by the gangs through either external or internal factors that operate in the life, outlook, environment and network of the individual who joins them.

TRENDS GENERATED IN GANGS OR DESTRUCTIVE RELATIONS

1. BELONGING

2. WANTED

3. MONEY

4. ARTIFICIAL HIGH

5. EXCITEMENT

6. FAMILY/RELATIONS

7. HERE AND NOW RESPONSES

8. AUTONOMY

9. GUIDES

10. ATTRACTIVE

11. SKILL DEVELOPMENT

12. CLAIM/ VISIBILITY

13. CRIME CAREER

14. IMPORTANCE

15. LOW LABOR / HIGH RETURN

16. COMPLICITY

17. IDENTITY

18. FORCE

19. RAGE

20. ORDER

When we compare these trends with the ones generated by our modern corporations we find many similarities. The fact is that corporations that relentlessly pursue profit with no regard for civility generate the same trends and promote the formation of the same social character that we find in gangs and gang activities.

What can we offer the youth involved in gangs that they will not find in that system? We can discover with them the power of community making and civility, the participation in restoring the balance of interdependency, the power of hope and sense of purpose.

We can help them become the pride of their communities; discover the talents that they can offer the world and the sense of belonging to a place that loves them. When this process happens, we all discover a treasure worth more than gold.

TRENDS GENERATED IN COMMUNITY MAKING

1. HOMECOMING

2. FEELING LOVED

3. ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES

4. HEALTHY SENSE OF SELF

5. INTEREST, DISCOVERY, CREATIVITY

6. HEALTHY RELATIONS

7. VISION, ACTIVE DREAMING

8. INTER-DEPENDENCY

9. MENTORS, GUIDES

10. HONOR

11. CRITICAL THINKING

12. RECOGNITION

13. SENSE OF A GOOD FUTURE

14. SIGNIFICANCE, YOUR LIFE MATTERS

15. MEANINGFUL INCENTIVES

16. SUPPORT

17. AFFIRMATION

18. POWER

19. AWARENESS, HEALING

20. RITUAL, CEREMONY, COMMUNITY MAKING

It is quite clear that we need to change some of the conditions of our society, as well as foster personal attributes among our kids, in order to meet the trends of community making.

These trends require us to view our youth not just as problems to be solved, but above all as resources for our community. We cannot implement these trends with out them.

In order to see these trends come to fruition, we are going to need to invest ourselves in prevention and promoting positive change among our communities, our government, our organizations and our corporations.

It is clear that we all have a part to play if we want to encourage our youth to take the path of hope rather than the one of despair.

We will do well to remember that every civilization that has lost its youth has lost itself.

We cannot let this happen to us.

The following is a comprehensive view of our current predicament as well as our path ahead.