So this weekend the Globe had a story up on two “reformed” thugs trying to help stop gang violence in Massachusetts.
I generally dislike these stories because often you’ll hear that the thugs are still committing crimes, and they’re using their philanthropic goals as a way to avoid unwanted police contact. Plus I just dislike gangs in general.
Still mixed into the story was a little pull-back of the curtain.
While gangs have been around for decades, they’ve been spending less time hanging on street corners in recent years as the FBI has stepped up arrests.
To attract less attention, gangs have focused less on fighting and more on making money. Most of it comes from selling drugs and guns, said Nardone.
…While Framingham gangs still focus on drug dealing and gun running, prostitution is now an added way for them to make money, said Pomales of the Framingham police.
His department is now working with local motels and hotels to try to have managers better screen people who buy up blocks of rooms. He said gangs use websites such as Craigslist and Backpage to link customers with prostitutes.
“Gangs have been around for ages,” Pomales said. “It’s about making money.”
Now let’s look at that. Making money is the key driving force of gangs. There is some other things, like giving “Families” to people who really don’t have anything resembling that, and just the fun and thrilling life of a gang member that is attractive to many young boys and me.
Still Money is the big one. Not only does it put food on the table and afford members creature comforts, but the flashy cars, clothes, and jewelry associated with “Thug Culture” are very attractive to poor people in the inner cities.
What makes them money? Guns, Drugs, and prostitutes. Why do they make a lot of money? They’re illegal! The risk of prosecution and the cost of running a business underground out of the eye of Johnny Law means prices can be inflated.
Further given that the drugs and prostitutes are 100% illegal, and what they are essentially doing is running a business, they can’t do all the fun things business owners do in our modern society. Somebody steals from you, fails to make payments, or otherwise violates our agreed trade laws you can contact the police or the courts.
Gang’s can’t do that as the police will just put them in jail. So they need guns. Somebody steals from you, you kill them. Somebody attempts to compete with your business, you kill them. Somebody fails to make payment on goods and services, you kill them.
Rival gangs are at war not because they’re evil savages, but because they’re competing enterprises operating outside the law. Wal Mart and Target need to compete with each other in goods and services. Do you think if the police were openly hostile to Wal Mart and Target they wouldn’t just burn down each other’s stores, or kill their employees so nobody could stock the shelves?
There is only so much capital in a given moment to go around, and you’d like the capital to go to your business, and not the other guy’s. Inside the law, companies have to lower prices, offer better goods, or make their stores better to shop at. I choose Target over Wal Mart because I hate shopping in Wal Mart’s stores. The prices are higher at Target, but to me its worth it. To others they prefer Wal Mart, so goes the free market, and right now both stores run a VERY healthy business.
With gangs they don’t have to play by any rules because THEIR game is against the rules from the word “go”! So they can offer bad goods, bad services, at high prices, and just KILL the other guy, and its actually cheaper and easier that way. Add in “Snitches get stitches” as their from of Omerta, and it makes policing these illegal acts very difficult.
Of course the end result is horrible violent crime, and dangerous inner cities. This is where our violent crime problem comes from. If you eliminated the gangs, violent crime in America would drop to statistical noise levels.
How do you solve this? Take away their money. What happened to the Capone gang after prohibition was ended? Well it still existed, and many members went on to shining careers as politicians, but they were fucking us with laws rather than with stolen tommy guns!
Frankly I’m not scared of drugs or prostitution. Hell prostitution should be a no-brainer. Give them legal ways to ply their trade, set rules against harmful conduct and disease spreading, and let them work in a safe environment. Its just sex in the end, and all of us have it without any ill effects, why should the exchange of money be a big deal?
Drugs are a little different, as they DO do harm. Still its not like junkies are uncommon, or they’re dissuaded because drugs are illegal. Now look at what illegal drugs get us. Town SWAT teams. Laws that whittle away at the 4th Amendment. Failed states in Mexico and South America. Gang Violence. Overflowing Prisons. Money Laundering. Drugs that are laced with poison, or are of unknown strength causing overdoses.
I think America would be a scary place when you could buy heroin at any drug store…but it would be a LOT less scary than gang violence and the war on drugs!
