Sociology

(Course code) In Los Angeles, gang violence is nothing new, but a recent gang scuffle in Sta. Ana has brought the issue to the fore once again. On February 4, the Los Angeles Times reported another set of life sentences to Florencia 13 gang members who were rounded up just last year for crimes committed for no other reason than racial motives.

The gang members recently convicted to federal prison without parole were Francisco Flores, Jose Gonzales and Arturo Cruz, joining ninety-four other defendants who have already been convicted. The criminal charges against them included racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, attempted murder, and violent crime in aid of racketeering. Asst. U.S. Atty. Peter A. Hernandez commented that the crimes perpetuated by the Florencia 13 gang were targeted at African Americans in their extreme racial hatred for them. Usual activities of the gang, not only included the charges that were stated earlier, but also included robbing blacks just because of their race, according to a couple who were recently victimized by the gang.

The fight is far from over as there are still three who have pending trials and five others who are fugitives from the law.

Although the cultural norms in communities vary, there are still social norms that are quite universal in nature and are applicable in this case. One of the cultural norms being violated, in the context of American liberal views, is the acceptance and integration of cultural differences, no matter from which background people come from. Florencia 13s attacks on the black community violate their right to live peacefully with others in the area of Sta. Ana. They also violate the norm of race non-discrimination in the larger sphere of Los Angeles, where the diversity of races and culture are so many that they are a conglomerate of races that just have to live with one another as a rule of thumb.

Another universal cultural norm being violated is the use of drugs. It is generally accepted in any American community that substance abuse is not to be done by its citizens as embodied in the laws all over the county. The use of drugs and pushing others to do the same is a violation of this norm and is counterproductive to the progress of the communities in the US.

In this case, there are many who have the voice to label the Florencia 13 gangs behavior as deviant. The first is the people or the community. The members of the community can say that these behaviors are deviant because they have been living in the community with different races for so long and a racial targeting upsets them, especially when they, themselves, have set the norm of living with each other as fellow immigrants from other countries (or their descendants) who are trying to make their lives in America.

Another group who can brand their behavior as deviant is the government whose main objective is to employ their social contract of protecting the people. With the government having a set of rules to live by and enforcing them to the public who (generally), readily accept the rules that enable them to live peacefully, they have set the norms of the particular society they are over through the force of law. Those who do not follow these explicit rules, which are echoed implicitly by each and every member of the community, can be branded by the government as deviants.