Re: your March 26 article, “Supporting an injunction�:
An expert on Latino gangs quoted in the article said that there was a connection between the disappearance of well-paying jobs and the increase in gang membership. I don't know how he came up with that. You have to be at least 16 to get a work permit, and some of these kids have unconsciously joined the gang by the age of 12.
When police officers contact a group of older gang members drinking and smoking marijuana in an alley, sometimes they will find children as young as 11 or 12 standing around them. These 11- and 12-year-olds look up to these older guys. Sometimes, they are even used as lookouts to warn the gang members as police officers approach. These children don't know any better because they are not supervised.
The children are raised on the street by the older guys who hang out on the street corner. Is it because Mom and/or Dad works long hours, or is it because the parents may be gang members themselves? The point is, these kids are exposed to this lifestyle years before they are old enough to work. One does not make it to the age of 18 and suddenly say, “Well, all of the good jobs are taken; guess I’ll join a gang.�
Even if better paying jobs were the answer, would you expect a business owner to hire someone who is teetering on the edge of becoming a gang member over someone who is strong enough to resist that temptation? I'm sure they would prefer to hire someone that wants to be a leader, not a follower. Gang members, by their actions, clearly are not leaders.
— Bakari Myers, Oxnard
"and some of these kids have unconsciously joined the gang by the age of 12." Yes, there are some very young kids who have joined gangs, but the vast majority join when they are older. Many of whom would not have joined the gang had they had better options like a job. I don't know where you got your information.
So all I need to do is invite gang members to work in my home and business then they will magically turn into good citizens? Yeah right!! I knew some gang bangers, and they earn 10 times more money dealing drugs than they ever could getting educated and experience. Honestly, they have no desire to work a real job.