Gangs: Forms of love and belonging

In preparation for this podcast I watched a 2009 episode of Gangland about the Fresno Bulldogs. It was a disturbing show. The callous disregard for human life, the exaltation of violence and the desire amp up absolute fear in the general population made the Bulldogs a kind of urban terrorist organization.

But watching their violent acts played out on camera, hearing from Fresno police officers and an interview with one or two gang current members gave only a slice of the story.

I interviewed a friend of mine named Ivan Paz. Ivan grew up in the Bulldog gang and ended up serving time in the California State prison system. But even though he’s not gangbanging now there remains a deep bond with his gang buddies. “I never really left the gang, and I never call myself a dropout,” Ivan told me, “but I did retire from gangbanging if you want to use that term.” Ivan feels deeply connected to gang members to this day because of the intense friendships that were forged in the Bulldogs. “My friend Patrick got shot in the back for me,” Ivan said, and that’s just not the sort of friendships you find in every local church.

Ivan humanized gangs for me. They became something of a fraternal order when seen through his eyes; a bizarre kind of neighborhood association – a fraternity of college-aged men who share a strong sense of belonging and identity. This is not to whitewash the criminal behavior of gangs (or of fraternities for that matter), but it helped me to see leadership, love, and pride that exists in gangs where before I only saw corruption and a celebration of violence.

As a pacifist I’ve always been a little dubious about military camaraderie; as someone who likes to be near to those who are excluded from mainstream social systems I’ve kept an arms-length from fraternities and sororities; and as one who has seen firsthand the distress of people who have been cut out of economic systems I’ve felt angst towards businessmen’s and businesswomen’s associations. Oddly enough, it took an interview with a gang member to teach me to look beyond the exclusivity of certain clubs in order to find beauty in the basic human desire to create deep circles of belonging.

Take a listen to the podcast. Let it become a reminder of the possibilities that exist inside excusive circles, whether terror cells, the mafia, or the local Rotary club. We need to redeem those reservoirs of tribal love and intense belonging without fostering the twisted forms tribal warfare which follow close behind.