Oregon daily emerald., March 13, 1997, Page 3, Image 3

Youth: Gangs develop shared mentality
■ Continued from Page 1
he said the problem that Eugene
is presently facing to a larger de
gree is the gang mentality that
has surfaced among many of the
community’s youth.
Tom Boerman, a community
service worker who works on
gang prevention through the Eu
gene police department, educates
school children on the dangers of
and facts about gangs.
What you find is that gangs
have a particular mentality from
which they develop a perception
of right and wrong, Boerman
said.
This gang mentality, according
to Boerman, originates in the
larger metropolitan areas because
of the need to survive. The
threats posed to young people
there are very real and very dan
gerous.
In response to these surround
ings, they develop a strong need
to protect themselves. Boerman
describes these tactics as a form
of “social darwinism” because of
the emphasis on survival.
Often the mentality begins to
surface in a city like Eugene
when a young person comes into
contact with gangs in a different
city. Gang values and attitudes
are then brought back and intro
duced to others.
“Then it becomes a ripple ef
fect on those that come into con
tact with it,” Boerman said.
Those susceptible to this men
tality develop anti-social behav
ior and an apathetic attitude.
This progresses into an inability
to accept criticism and a need to
respond with force to anyone
who challenges them.
Schools are perhaps the most
accurate determinant of the level
of gang activity a community
should expect in the future.
“The kids, the signings and the
taggings that go on buildings sug
gest to us there is a lot of gang ac
tivity going on and more all the
time,” said Don Jackson, princi
pal of the Opportunity Center.
“We have had situations that
were definitely gang-related, like
people bringing weapons to
school.”
Gang violence anects all com
munity members from the costs
of having to repaint the walls that
have been tagged to the loss of a
loved one in a shooting.
Anywhere there are young
people who are looking for ac
ceptance and self-assurance, you
will find the potential for gang
behavior.
“I think a lot of people are join
ing gangs because of low self-es
teem,” said Officer Terry Fitz
patrick of the Eugene police
department. “They are looking
for someplace to belong.”
“What a gang provides you is a
fifi
The kids, the signings and the
taggings that go on buildings
suggest to us there is a lot of
gang activity going on and more
all the time
— Don Jackson
Opportunity Center Principal
feeling of protection,” Jackson
said. “Unfortunately, there are
some very negative connotations
that go along with them."
Eugene, like many other cities,
is presently faced with the poten.
tial of having a large amount of
gang violence, Boerman said.
When interest toward gangs
grows in a community’s youth,
the problem escalates. It begins
with isolated incidents and sud
denly develops into a major
problem, he said.
The ways for a community to
combat such a trend, which ac
cording to Boerman has stretched
across the country, is to reach
children early.
“Seventy percent of people
who get involved in gangs do it
before they are 12 years old,” he
said. He added that schools need
to educate the children on the
dangers of gang participation and
react according to their behavior.
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