tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post5605827724915021424..comments2024-03-28T02:29:13.507-07:00Comments on Legal Ruralism: Solving rural gang problems with rural solutionsLisa R. Pruitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469550950363542801noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-12228389872347142622011-11-30T10:46:34.312-08:002011-11-30T10:46:34.312-08:00KevinN, gangs are not just an urban problem. Youth...KevinN, gangs are not just an urban problem. Youth join gangs for a variety of reasons. One is many youth in poverty find it difficult to see a way out and feel disenfranchised. Another reason could be the youth feel out of place in their own community. As KB points out, 40% of the families in the community are in poverty. Therefore, it seems apparent many youth will want to act out by joining a gang. <br /><br />I really enjoyed Mr. Jimenez’s use of the community garden because the youth are shown the value of hard work and able to spend their time doing something productive. Is this garden only for older students? I feel younger children could especially benefit as well.princesspeachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812874736023254802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-73684248086066043312011-11-29T16:24:32.656-08:002011-11-29T16:24:32.656-08:00This reminds me of "Ganglands" when it d...This reminds me of "Ganglands" when it described gangs on the reservations. Since alcohol was outlawed there, the gangs made profits off of smuggling it in from just outside the borders. With the money that drugs bring in, it is not surprising rural kids would be tempted to join the gang. The garden project here is, as you point out, commendable and inspiring. Perhaps more after-school programs (sports?) or weekend projects could help keep kids busy and remind them to contribute positively to the community.JThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16941461796518598088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-18652697586989544722011-11-29T00:06:13.431-08:002011-11-29T00:06:13.431-08:00With gangs seeing rural areas as places to conduct...With gangs seeing rural areas as places to conduct their clandestine activities (marijuana grows, methamphetamine labs), it is easy to understand why gangs would want to recruit locals to carry out their deeds.<br /><br />It is great to see the town of Woodland being so open to Mr. Jimenez's ideas to provide kids with some positive alternatives. But how many towns and residents of those towns are going to be as willing to help out a similar plan elsewhere? Or able to? Still it is wonderful that Mr. Jimenez was recognized for his good work.ScottA.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18192646741353414328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-25023318330428138982011-11-28T12:31:28.261-08:002011-11-28T12:31:28.261-08:00Gangs seem to benefit greatly from having a ready ...Gangs seem to benefit greatly from having a ready supplied of teenagers with nothing better to do. Mr. Jimenez seems to have found a good way to combat this. What's troubling to me is thinking how four-day school weeks might further this problem. Unless those communities that opt for such a schedule find other activities to fill the extra free day, gangs will probably mark Fridays as their big recruiting day.Scarecrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02175915711253730674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-16219327474405449882011-11-28T08:43:37.133-08:002011-11-28T08:43:37.133-08:00Sadly, I am actually not surprised to hear that ga...Sadly, I am actually not surprised to hear that gangs like the Norteños and the Sureños have moved their influence into rural areas. With large influxes of immigrants moving into rural areas, as we have discussed in class and on Legal Ruralism, language barriers and the marginalization of immigrant groups could lead to gang affiliation. With many rural immigrants who are Latino, it's unsurprising that they would chose to be affiliated with one of the two largest Latino gangs in the country. Starting one's own gang in a rural area would be difficult. A rural gang, unaffiliated with a larger gang, would be very small and it would be hard for its members to maintain gang activities. I'm really happy to read that Mr. Jimenez has found a way to connect with rural youth in Woodlake and hope to see his approach adopted in other rural areas.CEThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02633830407602623200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-60185337109138465172011-11-23T00:22:16.958-08:002011-11-23T00:22:16.958-08:00The fact that gangs are a problem in rural areas i...The fact that gangs are a problem in rural areas is somewhat surprising to me. I typically associate gang activity with urban places and have a hard time seeing how they would thrive in a rural setting. I would have also guessed that the lack of anonymity in rural places would make it more difficult for youth to get involved in gangs in the first place. Rural gang activity would almost have to take place entirely underground in order to not come across the radar of town officials and leaders, not to mention parents. However, given these apparent obstacles to joining a gang in the first place, I also think rural areas are better situated to combat gang membership than urban places. The small numbers, easy identification, and difficulty in carrying out overt gang activity all seem to give rural places an advantage in fighting the problem. It was heartening to read that Woodlake has been able to not only work against the gangs but also provide the youth with a usable skill in the process.KevinNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12817001832545833235noreply@blogger.com