Teacher Day Time Branch TA Class

Stage: warm- Aim: By the end of this stage students will be introduced to the topic / see doc.
up/introduction entitled (neighborhood gangs)
Page: 1 • Method: The teacher will ask each student to describe for the class their close
Time: 16/18min network of friends that they hang around with and share activities and what
kind of activities / list these on the board/ write (our gang )on the board
• The teacher will explain that that in many cases this society of friends is
referred to as “our gang” And that this term is also used by groups of people
that form a group for the purpose of engaging in illegal activities
• The teacher will ask the class to describe any clubs or organizations that they
or people they know belong to, and what they do and how they work /list these
on the board
• Teacher will explain that there are clubs and organizations that that are
similar , but have an agenda related to criminal activity, and these are called
gangs
• Teacher will ask the students to share what they may know about gangs,
Chinese, other countries, movies, television, ethnic, ect.
• The teacher will then read (neighborhood gangs)
• Teacher will prompt feed back from the class

Comments

Stage: practice Aim: Introduction of the topic and vocabulary / see GANG AGENDA’S AND TYPE
Page:
Time:16/19 • Method: Introduction of the different gang categories
• Teacher will write the main topic on the board (Gangs) and list the different
subcategories / gangster / prison gangs / ethnic gangs / famous gangs /
neighborhood gangs / gangs in china / tattoos ,symbols and colors .
• Each subtopic will then be addressed one at a time
• The students will first be asked what they know before the teacher defines the
subtopic. Ex: “what is a gangster can any one in the class tell me”
• The teacher will then explain the definition of the subtopic and write a brief
definition on the board instructing the students to each copy it down. The
teacher will then ask the class if they can think of anymore gang types that
might be added compelling the class to tell what they may know. These new
types will be added as well as a short definition of consensus , and will also be
written down

Comments

Stage: Practice Aim: Students will understand the vocabulary from the previous stage
Page:
Method: Students helping students
Time: 16/19min
• Students will be divided into groups of three
• Students will work together in their groups going over their lists helping each
other to make a list of questions about gangs in general (3Q,s)
• The groups will take turns asking their questions
• The teacher will ask if any one can answer the question
 • The teacher will answer any questions for the class that it cant answer for itself
• The teacher will then go down the list and ask the class short questions about
the definitions

Comments

Stage:practice Aim: Define what gangs do / see gang activities

Page:
Method:
Time: 16/19min
• While still in their groups of three the teacher will ask the class to brainstorm
and talk between themselves for a few minutes to answer the question “what
kind of activities are gangs involved in and why”
• The teacher will prompt class to give as many descriptions as they can and will
write them on the board
• The teacher will then try to fill in the list by asking the class by asking reverse
questions to class like “do gangs help people who can’t afford to pay them by
loaning them more money”
• The teacher will then fill in the class list with the ones off the gang activities
list
• The teacher will then go down the list and get the class to define the activities
• The class and teacher will then discuss it’s content
• The teacher will elaborate on it’s content and with the classes help finish the
list of gang activity items (definitions)
• The teacher will ask the class questions about it’s content and gang activities
in general as comp. check

Comments

Stage: practice Aim: To help students understand why people end up in gangs / see human interest
Page: article (see Mr. Stone)
Time: 17/19min Method: Discussion and debate/ see doc. TACOMA

• Teacher will read short human interest article about an ex gang member
• Class and teacher will discuss the article
• The teacher will tell the class that in most countries criminal penalties for gang
related offenses are very harsh and don’t take into account the fact that most
people in gangs are the victims of their environment and social conditions that
are out of their control, hungry scared and abandoned children that turn to the
gang life for refuge
• The class will then be divided in half, one half will be given the task of
defending the proposition that persons convicted of gang related crimes should
only be lightly punished
• The other half will uphold the proposition that all gang related crimes should
be severely punished
• The teacher will take turns taking both sides in an attempt to heat up the
argument
Comments

Stage: practice Aim: Immersion in the gang experience

Page:
Method: Role playing
Time: 16/118min
• The teacher will have the class form into groups of three or four?
 • The groups will be told that now as a group they are a gang
• They’re task as a group {gang} is to choose a leader, a name and form an
agenda
• The object to they have to achieve is to try to form a gang that despite being
criminal organization , has a mandate that is an asset to society (beneficial)
Ex; Half of all the blood money we make goes to help the poor, we only sell
drugs to people over 25yrs. old, and kill everyone that sell to children
• The teacher and class will debate the various gang agenda’s weighing the good
against the bad
Comments

Stage: summary Aim: general review

Page:
Method: Review
Time: 8min
• Teacher and class will review the material covered asking and answering
questions
Comments
 GANG AGENDA’S AND TYPES

TYPE’S
1. GANGSTER- The term gangster (or mobster) refers to a criminal who is a member of a crime
organization, such as the Mafia.
2. PRISON GANG-Refers to gangs that for and are active within correctinal facilities. They offer more
than protectection for their members. They are involved in many illegal activities like gambling,
drugs, and weapon manufacture.
3. ETHNIC GANGS- Are primarily made up of people that have a common cultural origin. Many
prison gangs are ethnic ( hispanic, russian,white arryan,afro-american ect.) Most often a person of
ethnic descent will join one of the gangs as a way of protecting themselves against other gangs or
people in the general prison population.
4. FAMOUS GANGS- Refer to gangs that are well known either because they have made a name for
themselves in the media or have been the subject of movies and television programs (holly wood
gangs)
5. NEIGHBORHOOD GANGS- Are gangs form mostly in small neighborhoods in large cities, and are
made up from people that live there. Quite often the members will be friends that started out just
hanging around with each other.
6. CHINESE GANGS- In china there is what is known as the Chinese mafia, and has an international
powerbase that extends far beyond mainland China. Their activities include drug trafficking, contract
killing, money laundering, gambling, prostitution, car theft, extortion, and other forms of
racketeering. A major source of triad income today comes from the counterfeiting of copyrighted and
trademarked goods such as clothing, computer software, music CDs and movie VCDs/DVDs. They
also trade in endangered species as well as bootleg tobacco and alcohol products.
7. GANG SYMBOLS- Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti
tags[3 colors, hand-signals, clothing, jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans[4], signs such as the
swastika, the noose, the cross, five-pointed and six-pointed stars, crowns and tridents [5], flags[6] for
example the Confederate flag, secret greetings, slurs, or code words and other group-specific
symbols associated with the gang's common beliefs.
A gang is a group of individuals who share a common identity and, in current usage, engage in illegal
activities. Historically the term referred to both criminal groups and ordinary groups of friends, such as Our
Gang . Some anthropologists believe that the gang structure is one of the most ancient forms of human
organizations.

Some commentators use "gang" to refer to small, informal, and disorganized "street gangs", while "
syndicate " or " organized crime " are used to refer to larger, more powerful organizations, such as the
Italian-American Mafia , which may control entire legitimate businesses as "fronts" for their illegal
operations.

The word "gang" generally appears in a pejorative context, though within "the gang" itself members may
adopt the phrase in proud identity or defiance.

Gang Activities
Most commonly, the word "gang" refers to street gangs (a.k.a. Youth Gangs), groups who take over
territory ("turf") in a particular city, sometimes simply for lack of something better to do, and are often
involved in "providing protection" (a thin cover for extortion , as the "protection" is usually from the gang
itself), or in other criminal activity. Since roughly the 1970s , street gangs have been strongly connected
with drug sales (especially crack cocaine ). Some commit burglaries , car theft , and armed robbery . Most
members retain their gang affiliations when sent to prison (see prison gang ).

Gang identification
Gangs have been known to claim colors such as red or blue, a trend that started as far back as the late 18th
century and early 19th century with the rivalry of the Roach Guards and the Dead Rabbits of New York 's
Five Points district and later with Mexican bandits and roving marauders in what would later become the
Southwest/Western United States . (In the United States, especially in the 1950s and 1960s , "gang colors"
can refer to the entire design of a gang jacket.)

Gangs often spread by a parent or family moving out of the gang neighborhood, and the children taking the
gang culture and lore with them to a new area and recruiting new members for their old gang. This concept
has been referred to as satellite gangs. Some very well known gangs are the Crips and the Bloods . Other
large gangs include the Aryan Brotherhood , a mostly prison-based white power gang, the Nazi Low Riders ,
or NLR, the Latin Kings , the Gangster Disciples of Chicago , the Los Angeles -based 18th Street gang , and
the Jamaican Posses . In the 1980s , other gangs, such as the Central America n Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13),
the Miami based International Posse or In/p and the Asian Boyz (ABZ) emerged. At one point, there was an
alleged cybergang by the name of Glock 3 , but it turned out to be a hoax.

Gang types
Apart from street gangs, there are motorcycle gang s (such as Hells Angels , the Gypsy Jokers , Mongols ,
Vagos, etc.), as well as other clubs that might be designated as gangs based around other shared hobbies or
activities.
There are alos numerous prison gang s or Security Threat Group s (such as the Mexican gang la Eme â ”the
Mexican Mafia ), organized criminal mafias (a term deriving originally from the Italian , but now also
applied to the Russian Mafia ).

There are also ethnically identified gangs, such as Asian criminal gangs (such as Chinese triad s, Indian
thuggee s and the Japan ese yakuza , as well as Chinese-American outfits like the Ghost Shadows ). It is of
note that most gangs, at their inception, could be considered ethnically identified, and that many gangs
(especially prison gangs) maintain some ethnic majority or stereotype.

Gang signs
Main article: Gang signal

Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti tags[3] colors, hand-signals,
clothing, jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans[4], signs such as the swastika, the noose, the cross, five-
pointed and six-pointed stars, crowns and tridents [5], flags[6] for example the Confederate flag, secret
greetings, slurs, or code words and other group-specific symbols associated with the gang's common beliefs,
rituals, and mythologies to define and differentiate themselves from rival groups and gangs.[7] As an
alternative language, hand-signals, symbols, and slurs in speech, graffiti, print, music, or other mediums
communicate specific informational cues used to threaten, disparage, taunt, harass, intimidate, alarm,
influence[8], or exact specific responses including obedience, submission, fear, or terror. One study focused
on terrorism and symbols states: "... Symbolism is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist
to act and then in defining the targets of their actions."[9] Displaying a gang sign, such as the noose, as a
symbolic act can be construed as "... a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize
another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of
the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience...an offense against property or involving danger to another
person that may include but is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment, stalking,
ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief

Gang Activities

Most commonly, the word "gang" refers to street gangs (a.k.a. Youth Gangs), groups who take over
territory ("turf") in a particular city, sometimes simply for lack of something better to do, and are often
involved in "providing protection" (a thin cover for extortion , as the "protection" is usually from the gang
itself), or in other criminal activity. Since roughly the 1970s , street gangs have been strongly connected
with drug sales (especially crack cocaine ). Some commit burglaries , car theft , and armed robbery . Most
members retain their gang affiliations when sent to prison

Triad Society") is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or organizations
based in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia and also operating in Mainland China, and
countries and cities worldwide with significant Chinese populations such as San Francisco.

Their activities include drug trafficking, contract killing, money laundering, gambling, prostitution, car theft,
extortion, and other forms of racketeering. A major source of triad income today comes from the
counterfeiting of copyrighted and trademarked goods such as clothing, computer software, music CDs and
movie VCDs/DVDs. They also trade in endangered species as well as bootleg tobacco and alcohol products.
Structure Yakuza

During the formation of the yakuza, they adopted the traditional Japanese hierarchical structure of oyabun -
kobun where kobun (children) owe their allegiance to the oyabun (father). In a much later period, the code
of " jingi " (justice and duty) was developed where loyalty and respect are a way of life. The oyabun-kobun
relationship is formalized by ceremonial sharing of sake from a single cup. This ritual is not exclusive to the
yakuza -- it is also commonly performed in traditional Japanese Shinto weddings.

During the fascist period in Japan, the more traditional tekiya/bakuto form of organisation declined as the
entire population was mobilised to participate in the war effort and society came under strict military
government. However, after the war, the yakuza adapted again.

Prospective yakuza come from all walks of life. The most romantic tales tell how yakuza accept sons who
have been abandoned or exiled by their parents. Unlike their Italian counterpart, the yakuza accept non-
Japanese (mostly Koreans) as members and blood relation is not necessary.

Yakuza groups are headed by an Oyabun ("father") or Kumicho (family head) who gives orders to his
subordinates, the kobun ("children"). In this respect, the organization is a variation of the traditional
Japanese senpai - kōhai (senior-junior) model. Members of yakuza gangs cut their family ties and transfer
their loyalty to the gang boss. They refer to each other as family members - fathers and elder and younger
brothers. The Yakuza is populated entirely by men, and there are no women involved except the Oyabun's
wife who is called "ane-san" (older sister). This is due to the fact that women, in general, are considered
weak and unable to possess the absolute loyalty required of yakuza. Their role is therefore to raise children
and provide for their husband’s comfort.

Each member's connection is ranked by the hierarchy of sakazuki (sake sharing). Kumicho are at the top,
and control various saiko-komon (senior advisors). The saiko-komon control their own turfs in different
areas or cities. They have their own underlings, including other underbosses, advisors, accountants and
enforcers. Those who have received sake from oyabun are part of the immediate family and ranked in terms
of elder or younger brothers. However, each kobun, in turn, can offer sakazuki as oyabun to his underling to
form an affiliated organisation, which might in turn form lower ranked organisations. In the Yamaguchi-
gumi, which controls some 2500 businesses and 500 yakuza groups, there are even 5th rank subsidiary
organisations.

Rituals
Yubitsume or finger-cutting is a form of penance or apology. Upon a first offense, the transgressor must cut
off the tip of his left pinky finger and hand the severed portion to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do
this penance to the oyabun if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation. In recent
years, prosthetic fingertips have been developed to disguise this distinctive appearance. (When a British
cartoon, Bob the Builder , was first considered for import to Japan, there were plans in place to add an extra
digit to each of the title character's four-fingered hands to avoid scaring children. The same thing was also
considered for the show Postman Pat .)

Another prominent yakuza ritual is the sake -sharing ceremony. This is used to seal bonds of brotherhood
between

Current Activities

Much of the current activities of the yakuza can be understood in their feudal origin. First, they are not a
secret society like their counterparts of the Italian mafia and Chinese triads . Yakuza organizations often
have an office with a wooden board on the front door, openly displaying their group name or emblem.
Members often wear sunglasses and colourful suits so that their profession can be immediately recognised
by civilians (katagi). Alternatively, they can be more conservatively dressed but when the need arises, they
can flash their tattoos to indicate their affiliation. On occasion they also sport insignia pins on their lapels.

Until recently, the majority of yakuza income came from protection rackets in shopping, entertainment and
red-light districts within their territory. This is mainly due to the reluctance of such businesses to seek help
from the police. The Japanese police are also reluctant to interfere in internal matters in recognised
communities such as shopping arcades, schools/universities, night districts and so on. In this sense, yakuza
are still regarded as semi-legitimate organisations. For example, immediately after the Kobe earthquake , the
Yamaguchi-gumi, whose headquarters are in Kobe , mobilised itself to provide disaster relief services, and
this was widely reported by the media as a contrast to the much slower response by the Japanese government.
For this reason, many yakuza regard their income and score (shinogi) as a collection of a feudal tax.

Yakuza frequently engage in a uniquely Japanese form of extortion, known as sokaiya . In essence, it is a
specialised form of protection racket. Instead of harassing small businesses, the yakuza harasses a
stockholders meeting of a larger corporation. They simply scare the ordinary stockholder with the presence
of yakuza operatives, who obtain right to attend the meeting by a small purchase of stock. They also engage
in simple blackmail, obtaining incriminating or embarrassing information about a company's practices or
leaders. Once the yakuza gain a foothold in these companies, they will work for them to protect the company
from having such internal scandals exposed to the public. Some companies still include payoffs as part of
their annual budget.

Yakuza also have ties to the Japanese realty market and banking, through Jiageya. Jiageya specialize in
inducing holders of small real estate to sell their property so that estate companies can carry out much larger
development plans. Japan's bubble economy of the 1980s is often blamed on real estate speculation by
banking subsidiaries. After the collapse of the Japanese property bubble, a manager of a major bank in
Nagoya was assassinated, and much speculation ensued about the banking industry's indirect connection to
the Japanese underworld.
 Neighborhood Gangs

The starting point for many hardened gang members can be traced back to a time when they were children
or young adults at an impressionable age. The place where it all began for them was probably their own
neighborhood. In most cases this is a neighborhood in what is called a ghetto, a cement jungle, a place
where surviving is full time job. Young peopled that are lured into the gang world come from poor families,
and have parents or quite often just a parent that isn’t paying attention to what they are up to, and don’t care.
These parents are typically poor role models. Something is always there for them though , a safe place,
shelter from the world, people like them that stand together to protect each other. People who share with
each other and no one else, and who will as a team hurt anyone that gets in their way. This is called a GANG.
TACOMA -- Twenty years ago, when Lawrence Stone ran with the Bloods, he sold drugs because that's
where the money was.

"I made $1,000 in an hour one day, selling crack cocaine," Stone recalls. "The attraction for me was it gave
me a sense of identity. And power."

Before he got into the thick of things, he never imagined he'd be stabbed 13 times, shot and sent to prison.

When he got out, he decided he wanted to try to steer kids away from gang life and crime.

Now he runs a one-man mentoring program called the Big Homie Project, funded by private grant money
from the Eastside Lutheran Mission, where he goes to church. The three-year grant runs out next year.

He visits Tacoma schools and walks the streets, talking to boys coming of age. He doesn't like to go into
much detail about the gang life he left behind.

"It's not something you boast about," he says. "I don't wear it like a badge. But the guys who play the game,
they know who I am."

Stone was traveling up and down the West Coast selling cocaine six years ago, when he was caught and
sent to prison for nearly 2 1/2 years in California. His wife and mother followed him to California so they
could see him while he was behind bars, but his wife eventually left him.

While in prison, he learned a lot from inmates serving life sentences. "I had a revelation from God," he says.
"I figured I was better than that environment."

Much had changed by the time Stone returned to Tacoma in 2000. Some of his old gang members were
gone.

Others had married or gone to college, and the remaining gangs were being run by younger men with much
less to lose.

He talks to young men like John Michael Spencer, 19, who records rap music under the name Strik.

"He's a guy who's going to tell you how it is," Spencer says. "He's not going to sugarcoat it for you."

Stone is a regular visitor in several Tacoma schools.

"(Students) share their thoughts with him," says Colleen Cline, a McIlvaigh Middle School counselor. "They
listen to his advice. ...He shares some of the poor decisions he made and where it got him."

In the gang life, Stone says, the "big homie" is the person who buys a new member his first gun, helps him
sell his first ounce of dope or takes him along on his first shooting.

"Now I'm the big homie with the positive information that can get you a GED, a job," he says. "I thank God
that he's blessed me with the ability to be 35 and still talk their language."