chapter 8
please respond to viktorea with 200 words
Topic 1: Friend
I believe that a good friend is there when you need them, and they have your back. I think they should want the best for you and vice versa. You should be able to have fun together but also be serious and emotional with each other when needed. I also believe that you don’t have to constantly be in contact over the phone or see each other a lot in order for it to be a great friendship. I believe as long as your interactions are fun and meaningful to both of you then that’s all that should matter, whether it’s over the phone or in person. It’s important to have at least one friend because it’s always nice to have someone to talk to outside of your family and to have an outsider’s perspective when you have a problem or a decision to make. It might be easier for your friend to give an unbiased opinion and to bring up topics that you feel are hard to bring up with family members. Having friends can be positive because it is a great way to learn about the differences between people and how individual we really are. It can also help you understand other points of view and be more open and accepting of other people’s lives. Having “friends” can be negative because not everyone has the best intentions and can hurt or bully you, which is why I put the word friend in quotations because they may not be a true friend even if you consider them a friend. Sometimes people who have bad intentions can be manipulative and if they know you will be loyal to them, they will take advantage of you. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right people and it takes time to find those who will stick around for the real you.
Topic 2: Gangs
Some problems with gangs are the violence, the mentality of being strong and never showing emotions or remorse for actions, having to be loyal with no questions asked, being involved in illegal activity, not wanting to be a “snitch” and allowing crimes to happen, the amount of death that happens daily, etc. According to Berns (2016) “gangs usually consist of males, although there are female gangs; they are not co-ed” (p. 318). Some characteristics can be tattoos, names, graffiti, slang, etc. Gangs are often involved in illegal activity and cause harm and even death to many innocent bystanders (Berns, 2016). Individuals often show signs of possible gang involvement early on in their life, it does not solely take place during adolescence. According to Jackson and McBride (1985) (as cited by Berns, 2016) “Gang members have experienced failure and alienation in their lives. They tend to live in depressed or deprived environments, which their families may be helpless to change. Because they feel they can’t accomplish anything individually, gang members band together to exercise influence over their lives” (p. 319). Gangs give these adolescents a sense of belonging and a purpose which draws them to it even more if their family is not giving them the stimulation that they need to feel accepted. Some methods to eliminate the need for gangs is for children to be involved in other groups or activities to feel accepted and important in some aspect of their life if they are not getting it at home. Things like peer groups, team sports, group interactions, etc. (Berns, 2016). Activities like this can help prevent a child from being involved in gang related activities because they have something to lean on and feel like they have a purpose and will be too involved in the positive group to even be interested in gang involvement.
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