Gangs
Fred Rice
11/03/08
Dr. Gadsden
Criminology
MS 13 : The Business of Murder
MS 13 is one of the most violent and well known gangs in the entire world. The name MS 13 stands for “Mara Salvatrucha”. Mara, being the Spanish word for gang, and Salvatrucha, refers to the Salvadoran guerrillas who were the early source of most of the gang's manpower. The gang’s roots stem from Los Angeles, where during the 1980’s the group was born. They originally organized to help protect the Salvadorian immigrants in Los Angeles from the more organized gangs in the area. Since then, this group has spread to all reaches of the United States and continues to spread even in other countries.
The movie, MS13: The World's Most Dangerous Gang, examined the MS 13’s history, members, and practices. A current member, who the crew referred to as ‘Jester’, gave us a look at how the group operates in Los Angeles. At the age of 21, Jester had already been a part of the gang for about 11 years. He joined when he was 9 by being ‘jumped in’. That is when current members will join and beat up the individual trying to join the gang. According to Jester, this ritual happens to every member and will last up to about 13 seconds before it ends. After this rite of passage, the person is told the rules of the gang and the duties that they must carry out in order to pull their weight. Each member from MS 13 must recruit new members, bring in money, and prove their loyalty and toughness by both assaulting and or killing members of rival gangs, or anyone else that is trying to stand in their way.
After watching the documentary, the one concept I could clearly see throughout the gang was social learning theory. This theory explains how people learn their behavior. When an individual observes a positive, desired outcome from a certain behavior, they are more likely to model, imitate, and adopt the same observed behavior.
In the movie...
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