Groups tend to be something people strive to be in. For instance, from the time one is in grade school they are clammering to be in the top of their class, in the most popular group on the playground. This continues through school, and on into college. Then on into what we college students like to call "real life".
So what though? Why do we always want to be in the most popular group, the coolest group, or just a group in general? Well, according to "Organizational Behavior" by Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge, this is because we achieve a certain sense of security when we are included or associated into a group. Most people feel more confident and feel more wanted, therefore eliminating any doubts that they had that would cause them to feel alone. Groups also fulfill a certain level of affiliation with being associated with a group. People love the attention that comes with being in a group; the group wants to be with you- keyword being 'want'. With that feeling of 'want' and security members of groups take that and chanel it into having power. Power that gives them the confidence not through being an individual that is associated with a group, but in being a group of individuals- therefore having a group opinion and group power rather than one loner feeling one way.
Groups are associated with many positive things, but when I think of groups I think of gangs. Gangs are considered groups, but with gangs it is evident that they have a sense of securtiy and affiliation fulfilling social statuses, and with that comes their idea of power. They take advantage of the fact that they are associated with a group with strong willed individuals striving to achieve a common purpose. The power goes to their heads and they feel they are entitled to anything and everything they want, and in most cases they go to extremes to achieve this because they feel the power they have with the group behind them is all the reasoning they need.
The solution to this problem is to associate groups to only positive things and therefore allow for the negative factors of a group to be called something else. But calling the group of a gang something else will not change their negative ways. In order to change the negative groups into what something positive is going to take some sort of miracle because with the group they are in they have an invicible mentallity. Somehow the government will have to take the gangs out and show them who is boss. There is no need for more negativity in the world, but for now all we can do is research and analyze how to get to the center of these negative groups and from there take action; see also www. gripe4rkids.org and ojjdp.ncjrs.org/programs/antigang/index.html
