Honor, Normative Ambiguity and Gang Violence
Author(s): Ruth Horowitz and Gary Schwartz
Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 39, No. 2, (Apr., 1974), pp. 238-251
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2094235
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HONOR, NORMATIVE AMBIGUITY AND GANG VIOLENCE*
RUTH HOROWITZ GARY SCHWARTZ
of and
University Chicago Institute Institute for Juvenile Research
for JuvenileResearch
American Sociological Review 1974, Vol. 39 (April): 238-51
This paper examinesthe social context in whichgang violenceoccurs in a MexicanAmerican
community. Wearguethatgang violencearisesin situationswhereone party impugnsthe honor
of his adversary. This sort of conduct violates the norms of interpersonaletiquette and
a
constitutes,in Goffman'sterminology, violationof "personalspace." Gangmembers fluctuate
uneasilybetween conventionaland honor bound responsesto these kindsof insults. Thepaper
outlines a theory of normative ambiguity that deals with this movement between two
antitheticalcodesfor conduct.
I. INTRODUCTION comes from two sources: our own rather
T his paper examines the social context in limited firsthand observationsof violent inci-
dents and more abundant reports of the
which gang violence occurs in an inner
participantsin them.2
city, Chicano community. We will look
As we define it, a clashbetween peersmust
at the ways a gang member'sadherenceto a
satisfy three conditions to be classifiedas an
code of personalhonor shape his response to
instance of gang violence. First, at least one
what he perceives as an insult. Our approach
party to a face-to-face encounter must feel
to what Albert Cohen (1965:9) calls the
that the presence of the other party in this
"microsociology of the deviant act" focuses
setting or his behavioron this occasionendan-
on the normative"processeswhereby acts and
gers his safety and impugns his dignity. In
complex structuresof action are built, elabo-
ratedand transformed." light of the actor's definition of the situation
Our data consist of approximately fifty as threateningand provocative,he must make
episodes of inter-gang violence. These inci-
dents involvedone or more membersof a gang members) were generally ambivalent. They were
of male teenagerswith whom we had regular willingto let the fieldworkerspend as much time as
she wished in the park with them. She went to their
contact for over a year.' Our information parties with them, accompaniedthem to court, etc.
But, past a certain point, intimacy with the field
*The research for this paper was supported workerbecame problematicfor most gangmembers.
by an Illinois Law Enforcement Grant, no. It was only after she stopped hangingaroundwith
2-09-25-0410-03,JosephPuntil,ProjectDirector.We the group that some membersbeganto revealthings
would like to thank Dr. Merton S. Krausefor his about themselvesthat were never mentioned when
detailed criticismsof an earlierdraft of this paper. she was with the group. In this paper we refer to
Don Mertenalso gave us valuablecommentson this 'gangs" in accordancewith the literatureon con-
draft as did the entire ILECresearchseminarat the flict-oriented street groups, but they are called
Institutefor JuvenileResearch. "clubs" by their membersand most people in the
'Contact with the gang was made by "hanging community.
around" the park where they congregateduntil 2Participant accounts of violence are edited to
someonenoticed that therewas a new personon the suit the audience to whom they are addressed.
scene. Shortly after the field workerarrivedon the Nevertheless,comparing our own observationsof
scene, the "mainman" of the Lions asked her what violent incidents with those of our informants,we
she was doing in the community. She told him that believe they are substantiallycorrect.Whileit is easy
she was writing a book about the community,and to embellishone's role in a fight or omit significant
she subsequently acquired many nicknames (e.g., details about what transpired,it is impossible to
Lois Lane, after the girl reporter in Superman fabricatethe entire incidentbecausegang fights are
comics). publicevents. Inasmuch othersparticipate them
as in
As a well-educated person (who also speaks and everybodytalksabout them, an individual could
Spanishfluently) the field workerreceiveda certain not invent tales of his valor on the battlefield
amount of deference, but as a woman she was without corroborationby his opponents or allies.
definitely an inferior being in the eyes of the gang. Gangmemberswere quick to dismisspersonswhose
Hence relationswith the gang (but not with some claimsexceededtheir deeds.
238
HONOR,NORMATIVEAMBIGUITYAND GANGVIOLENCE 239
a decision on the spot. If he does not assume few officers collect dues regularly,although
the role of an aggressor,he may play the part there are no formal guidelines for allocating
of a victim. Second, the actor must respondto funds. These all male groups are internally
this emotionally charged situation in a way stratified according to age linked distinctions
that visibly revealshis resolve(i.e., he feels his (e.g., midgets, juniors, seniors). Ethnicity,
words, gestures or actions express a definite friendship and a common stake in the out-
intention) to inflict physical injury on his come of contests with other groupsconstitute
antagonistor by actually doing so. Third,the the basis of gangsolidarity.5
actor must account for his conduct on this Judging from self-report studies, official
occasion in terms of his status as a memberof statistics reflect only part of the actual inci-
a gang.3 dence of delinquency (Erickson and Empey,
In brief, we are concerned with incidents 1963). Miller's (1966) thorough documenta-
that are part of a longstandingrivalrybetween tion of the activities of gangs over a two year
gangs or that give rise to these kinds of period in a multi-ethnic, bi-racial,inner-city
animosities. Any provocative or threatening area of Boston provides us with reliable
incident can become the basis for a collec- information about the relative frequency of
tively held grievance. But, until it does, we different types of gang violence. Millerpoints
feel that physical conflict between peers out that there is much more verbal than
should not be classifiedas gangviolence. physical violence among gangs and that as-
Street gangs in this community are jealous saults were less common than theft. Most
of their "name."4 They wear sweaters with crimes against persons were simple assaults.
special insignia and stake out street cornersor Fights that pitted entire gangs against each
a section of a local parkas their hang-out.But other were much less frequent than incon-
they do not claim or defend entire city-block clusive skirmishes between a few members.
areas of the community as their exclusive There was little evidence of the widespread
"turf." use of deadly weapons and no guns were used.
Gang ideology is simple. The membersof Miller concludes that "the practice of violent
these groups believe that they must respond crimes was an essentially transientphenome-
to insults in kind. In theory, derogation of non of male adolescence"(1966: 111).
one of their members affects their collective Miller may be correct about the compara-
honor. In practice, gang members pursue tively low level of gang violence in the inner
offenses committed by the members of other city. But his conclusion about its severity is
gangsless vigorouslywhen a peripheral rather no longer true. The reason for the change in
than a core member of the group reportsthat the character of gang violence is obvious.
he was attacked or insulted. Gangsnow rely on guns to defend themselves
The gang's organizationis rudimentary.A againstthe predationsof other groupsand as a
potent weapon against formidableopponents.
A number of the members of the group we
3We use account in the technical sense of the
word (Scott and Lyman 1970). That is, if called on studied had been shot, and there has been a
to explain his violent conduct, the gang'smember's small but steady number of deaths from gang
rationaleshould state or imply that he was involved violence in the area.6
in the incident"becausehe was a Lion."
'In this respect,the Mexican-American commun-
I
ity differs markedlyfrom the Italianareastudiedby Many young men join specific gangsbecause a
Suttles (1968) and Kobrin,et al. (1967). In a study friend or relativeis a member,but there are several
of the criteriaof status among street groupsin this cases where brothers are membersof different and
community, Kobrin, et al., (1967) found that sometimesantagonisticgangs.Age-grade groupswho
ascriptive criteria such as ethnicity and family sharethe same name sometimesform separate gangs
connections to the local political-criminal power and "hang"in differentlocations.They may or may
structurewere as importantas fighting prowess'in not be allies.
the overall-allreputationof a particulargang in the 6In June 1973 the initiatorof a partlysuccessful
area. In the Chicano community, gangs are not area-widepeace movement was shot while standing
integratedinto the adult sector of communitylife. in the corner in the park on the western section of
Nor do adults control semi-legitimate legitimate
or the community,talkingabout peace to a groupwho
opportunity structures that distinguished street was having problems with another gang. At a
gangswith "connections"from those without them. memorialceremony,it was estimatedthat fifty gang
Consequently,fighting ability establishesa group's membershad been killed in gang conflicts over the
reputationin the Chicanocommunity. past five years. This did not stop the shooting even
240 AMERICAN REVIEW
SOCIOLOGICAL
II. THEORIES INTERPERSONAL
OF VIOLENCE. The symbols to which Toch alludes are
Following recent discussions of inter- permeated with moral meanings. How a per-
personal aggression (Toch 1969; Lofland son responds to depreciation by another
1969; Short and Strodtbeck 1965), we assume revealswhat kind of personhe is. His status as
that gang violence is a response to perceived a moral agent, as a person who has the will
threats to an actor's self-esteem. In this and the fortitude to rightflagrantwrongs,has
context, threat ultimately refers to acts that been questioned. He feels that whatever he
imperil an individual'sphysical safety. How- does (even if he does nothing) will elicit the
ever, except in the case of a direct attack, approvalor disapprovalof others. His concep-
threatarisesout of an actor'sinterpretationof tion of himself as an admirableor contempt-
the intentions of others. ible personhangsin the balance.
Lofland (1969) argues that an actor's By treating violence as a responseto threat
perception of the desire of others to cast him to an actor's self-esteem,we do not imply that
in a depreciated role or derogatory light it is necessarily a defensive reaction. Toch
creates an embittering, foreboding sense of (1969) points out that "self-image promoters"
danger and provocation. In Lofland's words, habitually precipitate violent situations in
an individualsenses imminent "social deface- which they can demonstrate their power,
ment and disgrace" when he believes that courage and importance. Conversely, "self-
others want to belittle, demean or embarrass image defenders"are extraordinarily sensitive
him. A sudden or drastic reduction in his to any action that appears to discredit their
self-esteem becomes particularly ominous image of themselves as persons with whom
when he thinks others are treatinghim as an others do not trifle. We shall see that a
inherently weak or unworthy human being.7 heightened concern with personal honor
A person doubts his own efficacy or makesa personboth a self-imagedefenderand
suspects that he has been exposed as a lesser promoter, i.e., one demands deference from
person when he believes he has been publicly others and is sensitive to any act that suggests
humiliated. Toch (1969:122) describes the that one is not worthy of respect.
resultantspiralingangerand distrust: Gang members subscribe to a code of
personal honor that stresses the inviolability
Each person comes to see the other as of one's manhood and defines breaches of
representing what he views as hateful or interpersonal idiom.
etiquette in an adversarial
threatening or humiliating or fear-inspiring. Any act or statement that challenges a gang
As a result, he reacts negatively and the member's "right" to deferentialtreatment in
other person reciprocates, which reinforces face-to-facerelationsis interpretedas an insult
the original preconception. The confronta- and hence as a potential threat to his man-
tion that finally takes place is between two hood. For these youth, honor revolvesaround
symbols rather than between two real a person's capacity to command deferential
people. treatment (i.e., "respect") from others who
are, in other respects,like themselves.
though all the gangsin the area,except the gangthat Pitt-Rivers (1966) observesthat honor is an
shot him, werepresentfor the service. issue that arisesbetween social equals. Those
7 This state of affairs becomes especiallycritical who are clearly superordinatesand subordi-
when a personwhose dignity or worth is assailedin nates do not engage in contests over honor.
face-to-facerelations cannot draw on a past record Honor is a double-edged value. Refusal to
of conventional social accomplishments protect
to
his self esteem. A personwhose biographyis based grant another's claim to precedenceamounts
on valued social roles is in a better position to to an insult. On the other hand, willing
neutralizeor negatethe destructive intent of a direct acceptance of his claim to social superiorityis
insult than a personwhose biographyis deficientor tantamount to humiliation. Honor, then, in-
ambiguous this respect.Peoplewho feel that their
in
position in the world is secure can respond to troduces an undercurrentof tension in inter-
penetratingderogations of their characterwith a personal relations. Those sensitive to imputa-
retort that, in effect, says, "who areyou to say that tions that they lack honor are ever watchful
to me?" In addition, people who areimmersed an in for slightsthat betray contempt.
honor-basedsubculture,where the desire to back
away from a face-to-faceconfrontationis thoughtof People who live in an honor-basedculture
as cowardlyand unmanly,areparticularly vulnerable or subculture are often portrayed as vain,
to this sort of provocation. hype r-sensitive and contentious, always
HONOR,NORMATIVE AND GANGVIOLENCE
AMBIGUITY 241
searching for insults that lurk behind seem- on their reputation. Moreover, as Pitt-Rivers
ingly innocent statements or actions. Honor- observes, honor never depends on how an
bound cultures or subcultures do not always individualperformsthe duties of an office or
have elaborate classificationsof variouskinds a role. Honor adheresto those actions which
of insults, although they usually designate reflect personal decisions and judgements.
certain situations or occasions as the most What a person does or says in this context is
appropriate places to raiseand settle questions construed as a manifestationof his character,
of honor. However,in all honor based cultures as somethinghe intended to do or say. Since
or subcultures people are likely to interpret he is held personally responsible for his
any act that disturbsthe delicate equilibrium conduct, disputes over honor are settled by
between social equals as a possible sign of a recourse to personalratherthan legal forms of
deeper,, more pervasive disrespect for the justice.
other person's character.Here one does not In the second place, honor inevitably de-
need to go out of one's way to insult another volves on the integrity of one's physicalbeing
person. The possibility of insult inheresin any (cf. Pitt-Rivers, 1966:22,27). Dishonor is ex-
transaction between persons who are not perienced as a loss of one's manhood - the
exempted by kinship or close friendshipfrom physical capability of backing claims to a
the constant effort to determine whether dominant position in interpersonal relations
another person shows sufficient respect for and of resistingsimilarclaimsby others.
one's person and position in the community To say that gang violence emerges in
(cf. Campbell1964). situations where honor is at issue does not
In some cases, the membersof street gangs take us very far. Honor sensitizes actors to
raise the issue of honor explicitly by casting violations of their person which are inter-
aspersionson the characterof potential oppo- preted as derogationsof fundamentalproper-
nents. However, honor is more often a tacit ties of the self. There are, of course, other
issue in disputesover informalbut nonetheless ways of respondingto insult besides violence.
jealously guardedrights associated with inter- Violence is triggeredby the normativeframe-
personaletiquette. These young men are alert work within which people attempt to resolve
to any sign that indicates others are ready to interpersonal difficulties as well as by the
withhold the respect to which they feel values to which they give their allegiance.We
rightfully entitled. The standard maneuver shall argue that for these young men there is
that signals this state of affairs involves what an inherent ambiguityin the rules that should
Goffman (1971:44) aptly describes as incur- govern the selection of the appropriate means
sions on the "personal territories of the for resolving perceived violations of interper-
self': "If territory-likepreservesare the cen- sonal etiquette.8
tral claim in the study of co-mingling, then By normative ambiguity we do not mean
the central offense is an incursion, intrusion, that the norms of properinterpersonal behav-
encroachment, presumption, defilement, be- ior are themselvesimprecise,ill-formulated,or
smearing, contamination- in short a viola- confused. These young men share with the
tion."
From a polite, middle-class perspective, 8Weassumethat in our society people expect to
these moves look like exaggeratedforms of find normativeguidelinesfor resolvinginterpersonal
dilemmasthat affect the maintenanceof the public
bad taste: a calculated violation of the stan- order. This is especially the case when the issues
dardsof ordinarydecency and good manners. dividing the contending parties bear on the legit-
For gang members, these maneuvers consti- imacy of conventionalmoral norms. Seen this way,
tute intrusions,by either word or deed, on the the word "should"does not refer to the disjunction
personal space they see as the foundation of between what a person "ought" to do and the
existential demands of the situation in which he
their self-respectand social dignity. findshimself.Instead,it refersto a lack of normative
Whatever the specific issue, Pitt-Rivers specification in the rules that govern interpersonal
(1966) notes that honor touches the person etiquette in our culture [for a comparisonbetween
directly. It does so in two ways. In the first "tight" normative systems such as ours and those
place, honor is an individual attribute. One that maintain"loose" connections between general
norms and situationalconduct, see Ryan and Strauss
cannot transmit or confer one's honor to (1954).] And this absenceof normativespecification
others, although the membersof groupsshare occurs in a very special domain of our cul-
honor insofar as they must remove any stain ture: situationsthat involvepersonalhonor.
242 AMERICAN REVIEW
SOCIOLOGICAL
rest of our society a coherent, if uncodified, erable facility these young men display in
body of understandingsabout what consti- switching from street to conventionalmodes
tutes good manners, behavior that shows of behavior is to describe their conduct at
consideration for the sensibilities of others cotillions. A cotillion is a party given for a girl
and respect for their person. In this context, by her parents and relatives on her fifteenth
normative ambiguity refers to the absence of birthday. It involves a religiousceremony and
higher-orderrules for reconciling contradic- a dinner and dance for two or three hundred
tions between conflicting codes for conduct in guests. The girl, her escort and fourteen other
situationswhere one or both parties feel that couples attend the affair in formal dress, and
ill-manneredbehavior of others is a sign of the entire event is marked by the sort of
calculateddisrespect. protocol one sees at expensiveweddings.
In its most primitive form, normative Gang members not only attend these af-
ambiguityrefers to the following situation. If fairs regularly but are often part of the
someone insults me, I have two courses of ceremonial party. At one cotillion, the gang
action besidesignoringthe entire matter.I can we studied attended in their best clothes.
return the insult and escalate the probability When they were not dancing,the gang stood
of a violent encounter. Or I can treat his quietly and conversed in a polite, subdued
conduct as a boorish mistake that reflects manner. Unlike their conduct on the street,
poorly on his lack of judgment and tact, not gang membersavoided the loud profanityand
on my character. In this way I defuse a rough joking that would reflect poorly on
potentially explosive situation.Whatis ambig- their ability to blend into the scene. There
uous here is that there are few rules for was an open bar. Gang membersdid not rush
determiningon what occasions and for what to finish all the liquor, but drank in a way
offenses I should respond in one or the other that was befitting the relaxed, goodnatured
manner. sociability such an event is supposed to
What appears to outsiders as a slight stimulate. Characteristically, one of the gang
disruption of the flow of ordinary social members noticed that the field worker was
discourse often becomes highly charged for tired from helping serve the food and repeat-
gang members. Such presumably "minor" edly offered her his chair. Since this was the
questions of interpersonaletiquette as who first time they had ever seen her in "fancy"
will sit or stand where at a party or who has clothes, a number of them went out of their
the right to possess a sweater with group way to complimenther on her appearance.
emblems can become intensely problematic. When a gang member believes that a
This is not because these young men lack the violation of his personal space was meant as
social skill to resolve these matters in a an insult, he enters, to speakmetaphorically, a
conventionalmanner.In contrastto the severe state of normativeambiguity.He must choose
social disability that characterizes black gangs between conventional and honor bound re-
studied by Short, Strodtbeck (1965b), and sponses to this situational impropriety. And
Gordon (1967) Chicano gang members are these codes for conduct point to quite differ-
quite adept at the nuanced behaviorrequired ent coursesof remedialaction.
by conventional society. These young men The conventional response falls into the
know how to do the "right" thing on these broad category of interpersonal strategies
occasions, and they quite often follow the Goffman calls impression management.With
spiritas well as the letter of the laws of proper respect to situational improprieties,impres-
decorum.9 sion managementimplies that the actor main-
Perhapsthe best way to convey the consid- tains enough distance from the on-going
course of action to deflect any amputations of
9Gideon,age twenty, and presidentof the Lions, unworthinessaway from himself and back on
took the fieldworker lunch at a restaurant
to outside the "objective" properties of the situation.
the community. In a confident manner,he got the For example, if a personat a gatheringbumps
waiterto give him a good table away from the door, into another person he can say "excuse me"
orderedexpertly from a largemenu for himself and in a way that puts the onus for the violation
the fieldworker,paid the bill and left a reasonable
tip. Comparethis to Short's(1965a) discussionof a of the other's personal space on the setting
Blackgangleader'sanxietiesoverhis own and his girl that brings them together. He thereby extri-
friend'stablemanners a YMCA
at dinner. cates himself from a difficult situation by
HONOR,NORMATIVEAMBIGUITYAND GANGVIOLENCE 243
providingthe other with adequategroundsfor admission of weakness. To use the idiom of
treating the offense as accidental.Impression the street gang, one's pride ultimately tips the
managementdemandsa "cool" orientationto precariousbalancebetween honor and impres-
potentially conflictful situations. sion managementin favor of violence. Thus,
To continue with the bumpingincident, if relatively minor incidents have a notable
the person who commits the offense says, in tendency to snowball,and it is this movement
effect, I take no cognizanceof your feelings in toward a violent resolutionof perceivedviola-
this matter, then honor becomes an issue. In tions of personal space that we call momen-
contrast to impression management, honor tum.
demands total involvement in the immediate The idea that gang members gravitate
consequences of actions that violate one's uneasily between conventional and honor
personal space. One not only takes insults bound responsesto provocation is analogous,
seriously but refusesto postpone or otherwise in some respects, to Matza's (1964) concep-
delay a satisfactory resolution of the issue. In tion of delinquent "drift." Matza arguesthat
order to succeed at impression management subculturaldelinquency does not depend on
one often must disassociate one's feelings criminal norms that prescribevarious modes
about the moral validity of the other's con- of illegal conduct. Instead, a delinquent "ex-
duct from one's estimate of the costs and ists in a limbo between convention and crime,
benefits of alternativeapproachesto him. One responding in turn to the demands of each,
contrives to appear spontaneous while self- flirting now with one, now the other, but
consciously following a particular line of postponing commitment, evading decision"
action. This allays any doubts the other may (Matza 1964:28).
have about the congruence between one's So too, the gang member's refusal to
public performanceand privatemotives. commit himself wholeheartedly to either
Honor, on the other hand, impels one to street or conventional values puts him in a
take an unequivocal stand, to choose deci- position to invoke either the norms of the
sively and openly between divergent courses gang or of the legitimate world to justify his
of action, and to enforce one's claim to conduct. He can freely admit that killing is
deference as a non-negotiableright. One may morally wrong and that fighting is foolhardy,
even have to defend an inadvertent slip as a and, at the same time, contend that one must
deliberate expression of one's character.The defend one's honor even if this leads to
effort here is to be what one wants others to homicide. We believe that as long as a young
think one truly is. man remains in the gang he rarely becomes
Honor, then, entails the consummationof acutely conscious of this dilemma. It is only
an expressivevalue. Direct action takes prior- after a variety of circumstances push him
ity over rational assessment of rights and toward a conventional or street careerthat he
wrongs and over the long-runconsequencesof may see that the capacity to operate smoothly
an intransigent posture toward insults. This in two contrasting social settings involves
does not posit a Newtonian law of interper- what the largersociety regardsas allegianceto
sonal relations: to every insult there is a two antitheticalcodes for conduct.
direct and equal reaction. However, there is Unlike the idea of drift, the concept of
clearly a tendency toward "momentum" in normative ambiguity links the fluctuation
situationsof normativeambiguity. between conventional and violent behavior
One can legitimately respond to a certain among street groups to the normative struc-
amount of provocationby impressionmanage- ture of interpersonal relations, not to the
ment. But over time violations of one's latent impact of the law (as Matza claims)on
personalspace are resolved decisively only by those who are brought before it. Normative
actions that return the insult in kind, pref- ambiguity,however, is not a social-psychologi-
erably with interest added for accrued dam- cal anomaly of lower class life. Nor is it a
ages. This means that provocation builds in a condition everyone in our society faces but,
dramaticfashion for gangmembers.Not every under the harsh conditions of inner city life,
incident merits instant retaliation. But at becomes a majordilemmafor those who claim
some point one must respond in a way that special status in this world. We believe that
visibly reinforcesone's reputation.The repeat- normative ambiguity links the "situation of
ed failure to do so is tantamount to an company" to use Matza'sterminology, to the
244 AMERICAN REVIEW
SOCIOLOGICAL
structuralposition of the Chicanocommunity The ecological setting of this community
in the wider society. does not distinguishit from other inner-city
In this community, young people who are ethnic enclaves that are called "slums."But,
not in gangs also experience the tension as Suttles (1968) has recently shown, this
between the excitement of street life and word masks a great deal of social diversity.
conventional aspirations and goals. But, for Similarly, composite indices of the socio-
reasons that go beyond the scope of this economic rank of urban communities based
study, gang membersdo not seem to see this on standard ecological and demographicvari-
as a matter of deliberatechoice until relatively ables sometimes are misleading. In a recent,
late in their adolescence. Instead, gang vio- well-publicizedstudy of how eighty-fivecom-
lence serves as a symbolic vehicle through munities in this city ranked on these indica-
which the contradictions between the desire tors, the 32nd street area ranked 84th from
to "make it" in Americansociety and the real the top.' 1 Yet a closer look at the statisticson
probability of actually succeeding is repeat- employment reveal that this community is
edly enacted but never resolved. In other relatively free of the un- and under-employ-
words, gang fights reflect the tension between ment associated with deprived inner-city
street and conventional values that is built areas.1 A glance at the well-kept houses and
2
into the structuralposition of this community small apartmentbuildings in the community
in the larger society. We suspect that gang belies any vision of such areas as uniform
members experience this contradiction(al- islandsof deterioratedhousing.
though they are not the only personsgiven to Lenski's(1954) concept of status inconsis-
violent defenses of personalhonor) with great tency characterizesthe marginalsituation of
intensity because they are not able at this this community in the socioeconomic system
point in their lives to confront openly the of the city. If income, education and ethnicity
disparitybetween the course of their lives and are three importantcriteriaof a group'sstatus
their desire to have a conventional adult in the larger society, this community ranks
career. relativelyhigh on one criterion,relativelylow
on another and is difficult to rank on the
III. THE COMMUNITY
third. The majority of the Chicanofamiliesin
Almost all of the residentsof this arearefer this community have fairly substantial in-
to it as 32nd street. Many of the small comes. 3 Their educationallevel, however, is
businesses that cater to a Mexican-American low by middle class standards.' 4
clientele are located along 32nd street. This Looking at the picture based on income
community is bounded on the north and east and education, one might say that this is a
by railroadtracks, on the south by a canal, stable working class population with a some-
and on the west by a major thoroughfare. what low level of education. The status
Factoriesring the southern fringe of the area. inconsistency in this case lies in the contradic-
The ethnic composition of this community tion between their limited success and their
of 44,500 persons has undergone a marked desire for a better future and the fact that
transformation in the last decade. Before
1960, the area had a predominantlymiddle paper presented at the annual meetings of the
American Anthropological Assn., Toronto, 1972,
European character. Since that date, the which asserts that the percentageof Spanishspeak-
percentage of Mexican-Americanshas risen ing residentsis closerto seventy.
dramaticallyfrom 30% to about 55% of the 1 1This ranking was done by a prominent ur-
total population in the area.' 0 banologistusing 1970 censusdata and was published
in a majormetropolitannewspaper.
1 2Only 4.45% of the male labor force is catego-
1 'The 1960 censusdid not includea categoryon rizedby the censusas unemployed.
the Spanish speaking;but there were 11,650 (24%) 1 3 The 1970 censusdata indicate that the median
Latins born in Mexico, or at least one of their family income was $8,560, and the percentageof
parentswas born there. This does not include those familiesbelow the povertylevel was 17.7.
of Mexicandescent whose parentswere born in the 1 4 Only 21%of the population have finished high
United States. Accordingto the 1970 census there school, and many do not even start but drop out in
were 24,463 residentsof Latin descent (55%).The of
the seventhor eighth grade.The percentage those
percentis considerablylower thanthat estimatedby graduating from high school has not increased
a local survey of the neighborhood.See, "Action significantly; of those graduating,
but many moreare
Researchin a Chicano Community," S. Schensul, going to college.
HONOR,NORMATIVEAMBIGUITYAND GANGVIOLENCE 245
these people, by virtue of where they live, are Hollywood versions of the "blackboardjun-
seen as "poor, inner-city residents."As far as gle." Armed guards patrol the halls, girls are
their social identity in the larger society is afraid to use the washroomsout of a justified
concerned,the generalizedstigma attachedto (judging from personalaccounts) fear of being
residence in inner-city, ethnic neighborhoods raped, and racially-tinged fights are a common
is not congruent with their "hidden af- occurrence. In the senior class of 1973, two
fluence" or the older generation'sacceptance hundred of that class of four hundred grad-
of the "workethic." uated. None of those students who go to
The members of this community do not college are accepted on the basis of standard
identify with the embattled residentsof urban admission criteria. According to the school
ghettos except on those occasions when mi- newspaper, only two out of approximately
nority groups confront the establishmentover two thousand students had an A averagein
common grievances.Many do not feel that the springquarterof 1973. Some of the more
they are subjected to quite the same sort of affluent or ambitious families (28%) send
racialderogationas blacks and Puerto Ricans, their childrento Catholic schools.
although they too have to force the larger The community has not accepted the low
society to recognize their cultural heritage as of
educational standards the schools passively.
valid. Chicanos by and large feel that they During the summer of 1972, the community
differ socially and culturally from their less successfully removed an elementary school
fortunate neighbors in the inner-city. At the principal who had been a sore point for
same time, they are well awareof the fact that parents and students alike. In the spring of
Mexican-Americans not accepted as social
are 1973, community groups publicly picketed
equals by the dominant Anglo society. While the school board for a new high school.1
ethnicity does not scale as neatly as income or Bypassinglocal agencies,some of the residents
education, we think that it is a highly ambig- of the community obtained federal funding
uous component of the Chicano status in the for drug, mental health, remedial education,
wider society. They fit somewhere in the and college preparatory programs operatedby
"middle"of a vaguestatushierarchybased on local persons.
ethnicity. On the whole, the members of this com-
Mexican-Americansare outsiders in the munity meet the basic requirementsfor in-
urbancommunity. Few people in positions of clusion in what mainstreamAmerica views as
power and influence mention this community the socially respectableand politically signifi-
in announcementsof decisions that affect the cant segments of the working class. Mexican-
welfare of inner city residents.The communi- Americans hold steady jobs and make a
ty has no representativeson the city council decent living. Very few intact families are on
or in the state legislature. The majority of welfare. They clearly want their children to
local precinct workers who constitute the get ahead in the world and believe that
infrastructure the regular democratic orga-
of education is the stepping-stone to upward
nization in the city are still drawn from the mobility. The majority of young people in
older ethnic groups that have traditionally this community speak English fluently and
dominated city politics. These few Mexican- command the verbalskillsnecessaryto negoti-
Americanswho are precinct captains do not ate their way throughurbaninstitutions.
align themselves with local groups, and their As an ethnic enclave in the inner city, this
loyalty to City Hall is understoodby everyone community receives little in the way of vital
in the community. social resources. The schools in the com-
Similarly,only a tiny percentageof police- munity offer little hope for young people who
men (178 out of approximately 13,000) have want somethingmore than a low level white-
Latin backgrounds,and recently residents of collar or blue-collarjob.1 6 Highly motivated,
this communitypublicly demonstratedagainst
the failure of the local transit agency to 1 The protests were both violent and peaceful.
recruit and hire Latin bus drivers. The local Duringthe takeoverof the school no officialswould
public schools are the source of widespread negotiate with them about their demands. Conse-
quently, severalpolice cars were wreckedand a few
discontent. The high school which servesboth policemensustainedminorinjuries.
black and Latin areas as well as a shrinking 16 A recent study which commanded headlinesin
white population gives some credence to daily newspaperscompared reading scores in this
246 AMERICAN REVIEW
SOCIOLOGICAL
achievement oriented young people have to we had the closest, most continuous con-
forgo many of the pleasures of a normal tact - are known throughout the area as one
adolescence in order to maintain the arduous of the toughest gangs. Out of the present
struggle to pull themselves up by their aca- membership of sixty our material concerns
demic bootstraps. This means that they avoid thirty-one of the more active membersof the
the excitement and the risks of street life - a"Little" and "Junior"segments of the Lions.
police record might jeopardize their move- Their ages rangefrom sixteen to twenty.
ment into professional or semi-professional All of the Lions participate in violent
occupations. episodes, althoughsome obviously relish these
On the other hand, gangmembershave not occasions more than others. Yet for the
opted out of the American dream. Rather, thirty-one "Little" and "Junior"Lions, there
they are hedging their bets. They measure seem to be two divergent paths along which
themselves against a code of personal honor some of the membersare moving. Eight seem
that has local currency. But they have not to have organized their lives in order to
closed the door completely to the possibility facilitate a conventional adult career.18 Eight
that they will find the right track to success.appeardeeply immersedin street life. And the
The phenomenon of normative ambiguity other fifteen members do not seem to have
exposes the marginal position of Mexican- decided whether they will spend part of their
Americansin American society. Many young youth in correctionalinstitutions or will get a
men cannot afford to relinquish their alle- job or the schooling that eventually takes
giance to a code of personalhonor until the them out of the orbit of street life.
ideology of success through educational Apart from these differences, perhapsthe
achievementyields tangibleresultsfor persons single most important indicator of a gang
who are not unusually gifted, motivated and member's commitment to conventional adult
willing to forgo the company of a male peer career is his attitude toward going to jail.
group. Whateverprestige or status they will Those who gravitate toward a more global
acquirenow comes from their peers, although street existence (i.e., for whom gangactivities
they know that their reputationon the streets are more than a way to spend "free" time)
is not a marketablecommodity elsewhere. seem to take the police and courts more
casually than their more "achievement ori-
IV. GANGFIGHTS ented" counterparts.This is not to say that
Not every young person who comes into the street-oriented gang members are more
contact with street life becomes a gang mem- prone to violence.' 9 But when they are
ber. Yet once he attaches himself to a group
this bond is not easily dissolved. He is Martin,twenty-two,is a studentat a local city junior
expected to support his fellow gang members college, a draftsman, and a Vietnam veteran. He
in fights with the membersof other gangs,and decidednot to die in the streets:
those who violate this norm sometimes are You should grow up and out of violence, then if
severelychastised. Not all the street groupsin you don't bother anyone, they won't botheryou.
the area, however, are equally attracted to I can't go back to what I did before Nam. It's
1 7The Lions - the groupwith whom stupid to die without a war. It's better to fight
fighting. the rich people. Politicians are corrupt. The
change has got to be political 'cause guerrilla
city's schools againsta nationalnorm. The national warfare isn't worth it ... .We need leaders.Martin
averagewas the fiftieth percentile,but the scores in Luther King was brilliant and made sense but if
the high school that serves this communityfor the you get involved, people step on your face and
ninth and eleventh grade were as follows: in 1971 will think you're corrupt... .What I need to
and 1972, ninth grade, fifteenth percentile, the makeme happyis money to travel....
eleventh grade was thirteenthpercentile. These
scoreswere not much differentfrom other innercity ' 8 Predictionsabout the careers gangmembers
of
schools; but, for the purposes of comparison,the can be made with increasingaccuracyas the mem-
ninth gradersin a white, middle class high school, bers get older. Withincreasing violencebecomes
age,
scored 70 in 1971 and 1972; the eleventh grade more problematic.Until he has to decidewhetherhe
scored69 and 64 in 1971 and 1972. will stay on the streets or seek a conventional job, it
17The Red Shirts(aged 18-22) arenot basicallya is very difficult to predict in which direction a
fightinggang, although previouslymost were mem- particular gangmemberwill go.
bers of fighting gangs. Their dues are used for 19 Ronnie, who has instigated many fights, is
parties, not for buying weapons. But they do ally probablyheaded for a fairlyconventional career.He
themselves with other gangs "when necessary." was the first of three Lions to graduatefrom high
HONOR,NORMATIVE AND GANGVIOLENCE
AMBIGUITY 247
charged with crimes that may lead to long- fore this incident he got a white-collar in a
job
term incarceration,they tend to see the entire downtown bank and had a perfect attendance
arrest and trial process as a lottery in which record. He enjoyed his work and was proud of
one takes one's chances,especially since many his progress on the job. Dennis was fired
feel that they can buy their way out of jail or unceremoniously from his job after his em-
go to Texas until things quiet down. The gang ployers discovered that he was on trial for a
members who have a greater stake in a felony.
conventional career tend to see such matters After this, Dennis enrolled in a GED
as a crisis - although they too have usually program (a high school diploma equivalent).
spent some time in jail. He had previously completed the eleventh
Whateverthe balance between a particular grade but he said that things were too "hot"
gang member's commitment to conventional to return to school for his senior year. Since
as opposed to street values,he experiencesthe his marriage,he spends less of his time at the
tension between them. We shall illustrate this park where the Lions and Greeks hang out
proposition with capsule biographiesof three which is a staging ground for gang fights.
gang members: one who is makingit in terms Recently, he has been a marshall at com-
of the criteriafor successin the largersociety; munity political demonstrationsand marches.
one who could go in either direction;and one Gideon is twenty, married and has two
who seems destined to remain in the street children. He is the leader of the Lions and a
world for the forseeablefuture. seventh grade drop-out. He wanted to follow
Dennis is a long-standing member and his older brother into the army but was
central figure in the Lions. He is nineteen, turned down because of an extensive police
married and has one child. Dennis fights record. When interviewedby another young
"when necessary." man from the community on a local radio
show, he confided to the field workerthat he
You got your pride, don't you. You can't
was worried that he was not articulate
let anyone step on you. Weknow when we
do wrong,we really do, but sometimesyou enough. His attitude toward school is repre-
have to do things. Like five guys come sentativeof "fence-sitters":
toward you and do somethingto you - we
fight back, man, we really fight 'em. You I really liked being in school. It was more
know even if we're outnumberedand you fun goofing around in school 'cause my
know you're going to get killed. But you friends were there. Out on the streets it
do anyways. You have to protect yourself, wasn't so much fun. I would have rather
you know we got pride and there's some stayed in school but they kicked me
things we have to do. I know other people out. .. But I felt much better out in the
will say "excuse me" or "it must be a streets than at home.
mistake" and walk off. We can't do that.
It's not in us. I know the consequences
when I do somethingwrong. At nineteen Gideon enrolled in and fin-
ished an automobilerepaircourse and worked
Dennis often carries a gun and has been regularlyfor six months. At the present time
involved in severalshootings. In Novemberof he is pending trial on three or four charges
1971 he was stopped by two plainclothes such as assault and battery and carryingan
detectives, frisked and charged with unlaw- unregisteredgun. He recently has been hired
fully carryinga gun. At the time, there had by a local community action group as a street
been several altercations with the Junior worker,and he takes the job seriously.
Greeks, and the Lions were prepared for Yet he has not given up his dedicationto a
trouble. Dennis found that this arrest upset code of personal honor. Quite recently, he
his life more than he anticipated.He had no was at a dance when his friend requested a
prior criminal convictions. Three months be- gun he had lent Gideon. Gideon was appar-
ently offended by the manner in which the
school at the age of seventeen.He is the only one of gun was requested. His friend sensedGideon's
six brothersto graduate.His mother wanted him to anger and a fight ensued. Gideon then pro-
finish so badly that she sent him to parochial
school.
Six months after his graduationhe was involvedin ceeded to beat him up in front of everyone.
an accidental murder, and he decided to get out By his own estimate, Harold has had
quicklyandjoined the army. serious contact with the legal system twenty-
248 AMERICAN REVIEW
SOCIOLOGICAL
six or twenty-seven times. He is a seventh pulled a gun. The Greeksweren't packed so
grade drop-out and most of the people in the they split to Dagwood's for the heats.
community think he is a "loser."He has been While they split through the back the
convicted of burglary, aggravated assault and police came throughthe front.
attempted murder. He is presently trying to The Greeks came back and wounded a
avoid trial on an accumulated assortment of couple of the Angels. They also blamed
two girls for betrayingthem to the police
chargesand has been keeping company with a and said they would beat their asses.They
groupthat engagesin burglaryand robbery. are my friends and I don't want to see their
However, Harold does not admit that his asseskicked but I can't help because they'll
life does not fit into conventional patterns. kick mine too. The Greekshang aroundmy
One night the Lions were joking about girls, place and I reallylike havingthem over but
and the field worker asked Haroldhow many sometimes they get out of hand. My
mistresseshe was going to have after he got boyfrienddoesn't mind if I go to other
married.He was genuinelyhurt by the sugges- parties as long as I don't hang with a club
tion that he was not capableof settling down; they're at war with. And I don't rat on the
guys - if I do I'm in bad shape.
and furthermore, repliedthat he would not
he
marrya girl unless he reallyloved her. Harold The following is an abbreviatedchronicle
has applied-for several jobs and is always of the clashesbetween the Lions and the Aces
turneddown. over a period of fifteen months. Twenty-five
Along with the Blue Dolphins, a girl'sgang, conflict-laden incidents were recordedby the
the Senior Greeks occupy the park with the field worker over this period but not all
Lions during the spring and summer. The eventuated in fights or shootings. We have
SeniorGreeksand Lions(who are about six or selected incidents to highlight the cummula-
seven years younger than the Senior Greeks) tive natureof gangviolence. Since momentum
had been at war from the summer of 1969 is a subjective state of apprehension and
until a "peace conference" was held in June anticipation, it is difficult to document the
of 1970. During that time, five persons were way isolated incidents coalesce in the actor's
killed and many more were wounded. The mind to form a state of undeclaredwarfare.
hostilities began over what is now called a Late one August evening in 1971, three
misunderstanding the Lions were fighting
-
Aces walked up to Alfred (a "Little" Lion)
another gang and beat up a Greek in the
and his girl, Kimberly.They were sitting on a
melee. The Greeks returned the insult, and
bench in part of the park that "belongs"to
then the Lionskilled a Greek.
neither the Greeks or Lions. The Aces took
To illustrate the role that insults play in
out a gun and were threateningto kill Alfred
precipitating gang violence, we will use a
when his quick thinking girlfriendexplained
typical incident involving the Senior Greeks
and the Angels. A girl was giving a party for that he was a brazer(a recent immigrantfrom
the Angels though most of the girls present Mexico) and could not speak English. The
Aces claimed that Alfred was a Lion and that
were girlfriends the Greeks.One of the girls
of
since Kimberly'ssister was going with an Ace
tells what transpired:
she should not hang aroundwith a Lion. She
They (the Greeks) had just come in and assured them that Alfred was not a Lion and
said, "hey, you can't hide anything from that she was loyal to the Aces. The next night
us." So they went out and were hangingon the Lions assembledin the park but the Aces
the front steps drinking. I told my boy- did not return.
friend that I was going to a confirmation A few nights later the Senior Greeks, the
(that night) and he wasn't too mad (at Nobles and the Lions were waiting for the
finding his girl at a party with the Angels). Aces. Someone had seen a carload of them
The police came and told them (the earlier. The Greeks were "packed" (i.e.,
Greeks)to take their party inside. Rock (a armed). The field worker counted five guns
Greek) demandedthat his favorite song be and about thirty-five Lions were present.
played. The Greekstried to cool him down
but then they started sluggingand fighting They continually asked each other, "do you
all over the place. The girlswere screaming think they'll come?" They did not show up
to stop but more guys were getting in it. that night.
Henry Bain was having a good fight, Late in January of that year there was a
punching a guy up, and one of the Angels battle between the Lions and the Junior
HONOR,NORMATIVEAMBIGUITYAND GANGVIOLENCE 249
Greeks and Aces. According to the Lions, with the courts in ways that support Matza's
they were taunted by the JuniorGreekswhen (1964) descriptionof the vagariesof the legal
they were walking along minding their own system. The experienceof Alaster,a Lion, is a
business. Ronnie (a Lion) struck one of the case in point. He and another Lion and their
Greeks and the fight began. Some Aces two girlfriendswere on their way to churchin
spotted them from a car andjoined the battle order to confess before they stood up at a
on the side of the Junior Greeks. Ronnie was wedding. Quite by accident, they met some
struck forcefully on the head with a crowbar Greekswho demandedto know whether they
but continued fighting.Haroldstabbedone of were Lions. Accordingto Alaster:
the Aces who had to be taken to the Hospital.
I said, of course, and one of the Greeks
Later that afternoon the Lions arguedabout pulled a gun. I was packed too. I managed
whether the Ace had been stabbed two or to get my heat out and shoot him. I went
three times. They left again to find the to my sister's house and ordered a pizza
Greeks. Amos threatened to knife Pierre and then I was going to go to Texas (just
because he did not participatein the fight but about everyone on 32nd has relatives in
excused Nen because he had been shot twice Texas) but the police caught me and I
recently. Around eight that evening all the spent nine months in and out of court. I
Lions returned to the park. The Greeks had got me a good lawyer-he told me to plead
fired several shot gun blasts at them but not guilty but I pleaded guilty and the
missed. The Lions retreated since they were judge liked me and let me off. He told me
not to go back to 32nd street again (the
not armed at the time. Some Greeks were courts charged Alaster with murder in
arrestedby the police. The following Saturday self-defense and ordered him to live with
night Ronnie was alone and was stabbed in his sister in the suburbs). I never had
the back by the Ace who previouslyhit him anything against that guy - personally I
with a crowbar.The Senior Greeks disowned never saw him before.
the Junior Greeks and let the Lions know
that they would not take the Junior's side in The issues, as we said before, that precipi-
future fights between the Juniors and the tate gang violence seem obscure because they
Lions. strike persons who lack a heightenedsensitivi-
Similarincidents continued, fed by rumors ty to violations of one's personal space as
often carried by girls who report who was intrinsically trivial. Perhaps the single most
carryingguns and where they were last seen. pointed insult one group can level at another
groupis to appropriate their sweaters.
The tension between these groups is intensi-
fied by the fact that they attend the same Doodles started a fight with the Rock-
dances and move freely, often in cars, in the heads. He said that he had heard that one of
same part of the city. Provocation is a them had a Lion's sweaterbut could not trace
standard ploy in sustaining conflict. Those the source of the rumor. The source and
who take the initiative in insulting the other reliability of the information is, to these
group have, in effect, demonstrated their young men, of less importancethan allowing
superiorityfor the moment. an insult to go unchallenged. According to
Moreover, the members of these groups Doodles:
seek one anotherout for the purposeof laying You know I heard it somewhereabout the
down the gauntlet.For instance, an Ace threw sweater. They insulted us, so I jumped on
a brick through Amos' (a Lion) mother's them and startedthe fight.
window in early Februaryof 1972. Amos and
two other Lions ran into this Ace late in Not only do apparentlyminor slights lead
April. Amos beat the Ace unconscious with to serious fights but the fights themselves
the butt of his gun, but he regainedconscious- seem to snowball. Ofttimes many people
ness a few days later and identified Amos as become involvedfor such obscurereasonsthat
his assailant.Amos said he should have killed "peace conferences" have to be held. For
him but did not have ammunitionfor the gun example, the Lions thought that they saw a
at that time. Wildcatwearinga sweaterthey had previously
While such activities strike an outsider as lost in a battle with the Aces. Bumpkin
highly dangerous,both personallyand legally, started a fight with one of the Wildcatsand
gang members talk about their experience the rest of the Lionsjoined him.
250 AMERICAN REVIEW
SOCIOLOGICAL
Since the Wildcatswere outnumbered,they cultivatedart in modernsociety, particular-
retreatedto a nearby house that happenedto ly among upwardly mobile persons. This
belong to one of the Nobles. The Lions began ability is inculcated in their children by
throwingrocks at the windows and the Nobles middle class parents at an early age, and
entered the fray. Though nobody knows how this may prove to be one of the major
differentiating areas of early family ex-
the Angelsgot involvedin the fight, they were perience between gang and non-gangboys
there too. By the end of the day, two young within the lower class (Short and Strodt-
men had been shot. beck, 1965:236).
We could add many more such inci-
dents, but the pattern is essentially the same. On the whole, the members of Chicano
Gang violence occurs when honor becomes a gangs were not distinguishedby the sort of
pressing issue in interpersonal relations and social ineptness Short and Strodtbeckreferto
when the participants feel that they cannot as a poorly developedcapacity to assumeroles
gracefully talk their way out of a situation congruent with the demandsof diversesocial
that impugns their dignity and self respect. situations in an urban society. Most of the
The same young men show considerablepoise members of the street gang we studied were
and tact in the etiquette that surrounds quite adept in role taking - though we prefer
interpersonal relations. They made certain to call this talent impressionmanagement. As
that the field worker had a comfortable seat they grow older, these young men can deal
at a party or did not have to walk on the side quite effectively with employers, the courts
of the street nearest the curb. This display of and school administrators.20 Even those
elegant manners is not a disguise for hidden young men who dropped out of school very
aggression. Rather, the capacity to manage early were by and large able to hold jobs for
situations with great respect for the symbolic relativelylong periods of time. Almost all the
nuances of "good manners" co-exists with a older participants in the street gang milieu
desireto avengeany sign of disrespect. (e.g., the Senior Greeks)combined their activ-
ities in this sphere with steady working-class
V. CONCLUSION jobs, although they tended to spend more of
Of all the studies of gang delinquency to their leisure time in bars than on the streets.
date Short and Strodtbeck (1965b) focus Finally, it was not unusual for the field
most specifically on the factors that produce worker to encounter a gang member whom
gang violence. Short and Strodtbeck argue she had assumed was a "loser" who had
that these young men are attracted to an enrolled in a specialcollege program.
alternative "status universe" in part because One of the important differencesbetween
they lack the verbal and interpersonalskills the black ghetto Short and Strodtbeckstudied
that constitute social competence in our and the Chicano community is that the
society. They prove their worth in terms of former has a more "closed" and the latter a
the standards the conflict-orientedgang.
of more "open" relationshipto the street world.
They have conventionalpersonalgoals. But Chicano groups, as a rule, do not mark out
they are socialized in a mannerthat deprives entire city block areas of their neighborhoods
them of the ability to achieveeven a modicum as their sovereign domain (cf. Keiser, 1969).
of successin the largersociety: Nor do they usually force unaffiliatedyoung
men in the neighborhood to join their gang
The family does not equip the child with
role-playing facility adequate to the de-
mands of such instititutions as the school, 2
?Several gang members who are also street
and the unsatisfactory experiences in the workersare involvedin a court advocacyprogram. A
school further narrow the range of role- Senior Greek describes his job in the following
playing opportunities which later facilitate terms:
job success - "getting along" with em- First you have to go to see who the judge is and
ployers and fellow workers,and more than what kind of mood he is in. You have to get the
this, "getting along" in new and strange feel of the situation, then you know how to
situations generally. The ability to move present the dude's case for a lower bond. Of
easily from one role to another and to course, if he's got a record you've got to be
adjust rapidly to new situations is a much careful and it's tough ....
HONOR,NORMATIVEAMBIGUITYAND GANGVIOLENCE 251
against their wishes. The "openness" of the can Sociological Review 30 (February):
street world in this community reveals that 5-14.
alternativesto the gangexist for young people Campbell, K.
J.
1964 Honour, Family and Patronage:A Study
even if these routes to conventional careers of Moral Values in a Greek Mountain
look tenuous from a middle class perspective. Community. London: Oxford University
In sum, we suggest that Chicano young Press.
men experience their position in the social Erickson,Maynard Lamar
and Empey
structure differently than their counterparts 1963 "Court records, undetected delinquency
and decision making." Journalof Criminal
in black ghettos. In the Chicano community, Law, Criminology and Police Science
most adults obtain at least some of the things 54:456-69.
associatedwith successin our society. But this Goffman,Irving
sort of success, by itself, does not resolvethe 1971 Relations in Public. New York: Harper
and Row.
problems inherent in their marginalstatus in Gordon,RobertA.
the largersociety. We believe that gang mem- 1967 "Social level, disability, and gang interac-
bers in the Chicano community experience tion." AmericanJournalof Sociology 73
the contradiction between their relatively (July): 42-62.
favorable economic prospects (judging from Kobrin,Solomon, JosephPuntil,and EmilPeluso
1967 "Criteriaof status among street groups."
the ability of others to get moderately well- Journal of Researchin Crime and Delin-
paying jobs) and the restrictionsimposed by quency (January): 98-118.
the largersociety on their aspirationsin terms Lenski,Gerhard
of what we have called normativeambiguity. 1954 "Status crystallization:a non-vertical
dimension of social status." American
In other words, these young men fluctuate Sociological Review 19 (August):405-13.
between commitment to conventional and Lofland,John
street values. This tension is never formally 1969 Deviance and Identity. New York: Pren-
resolvedbut ratheris lived throughuntil one tice-Hall.
is old enough to decide whether one is going Matza,David
1964 Delinquencyand Drift. New York: Wiley.
to move away from the risksof street life. Miller,Walter
This means that involvement in conflict- 1966 "Violent crimes in city gangs."Annalsof
oriented street gangs depends, as Short and the AmericanAcademy of Political and
Strodtbeckpoint out, on social marginalityin Social Science 364:96-112.
the larger society. But in this community a Pitt-Rivers,Julian
1966 "Honourand social status."In Honorand
code of personal honor rather than social Shame.Edited by J. Peristiany. Chicago:
disability per se sustains the traditions of Universityof Chicago.
conflict-orientedgangs. Nor do we find that Ryan, Bryceand Murray Strauss
violence in this community is closely related 1954 'The integration of Singhalesesociety."
to threats to a young man's status within the Research Studies of the State Collegeof
Washington 22:179-227.
gang. The notion of an alternative "status Scott, Marvin StanfordLyman
and
universe" captures a vital ingredientof street 1970 "Accounts."In SocialPsychologythrough
life. It refers to more than a young man's Symbolic Interaction.Xerox College Pub-
concern about his position vis-a-vishis peers. lishers.
Decreased self-esteem, as Short and Strodt- Short, JamesF. Jr.
beck argue, is a criticalvariablein the precipi- 1965a "Social structure and group processesin
explanations of gang delinquency." Pp.
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