A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent.
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.
Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups
A clique (pronounced /ˈkliːk/, also /ˈklɪk/ (U.S.)) is an inclusive group of people who share common interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity.[1] A clique as a reference group can be either normative or comparative. Membership in a clique is typically exclusive, and qualifications for membership may be social or essential to the nature of the clique.
There are street gangs, which are people with similar backgrounds and motivations.[34] The term “street gang” is commonly used interchangeably with “youth gang,” referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups that meet “gang” criteria. Miller (1992) defines a street gang as “a self-formed association of peers, united by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership and internal organization, who act collectively or as individuals to achieve specific purposes, including the conduct of illegal activity and control of a particular territory, facility, or enterprise."[35]
As I listened to a reformed gang member on The People's show last night, I heard him say that this thing (the gang thing) started not as a gang but as friends looking out for friends. I had heard words like that before from others. I began to think about us.... human beings and our need to come together in groups and the fact that this has been forever a phenomena. I wondered whether this new 'gang' culture among young people could really be solved by persons who belonged to groups of people who are so far removed from the reality of the 'gang' members' life. This young man, seemed like a good start, he was coming from within to speak it like it is. He had somehow found a way to reach 'brothers' within his space, his reality and bring to an end a war, at least on a personal level, which may have led to his demise. I am still worried for him, so I pray that he will continue to survive and bring change from within and also change in the minds of his peers.
The fact, however, is that we humans have always seemed to better exist in some sort of group setting. From the early days of life in tribes, clans or bands, we would have learnt our places within these structures. Many different forms of societies have evolved over the ages and has kept the human being in its defined place within these structures throughout civilization. Closest to my mind and my reality is the 'clique'. I remembered my youth. I recall hanging with a group of girls....my best friends.... throughout my childhood who were my world. I think we were friendly, popular and well-known throughout our school life. Sometimes, I would switch gears and find new friends....girls from my neighbourhood or another 'hood' but not necessarily what my mom would call the most savoury characters...other times, I became close to girls who were 'better heeled'...then to other friends would criticize and say they are 'bourgeois'! It seems to me that we are encouraged to stay within our groups....people we know, maybe parents went to school together, work together or attend the same church or are together in some type of club themselves. In the meantime, as we stay within these 'cliques' we are unaware of other people. We may know people by face but not know their name, far less the circumstances under which they live, work or play. After leaving school many of us are surprised to bump into former schoolmates who sat with us on school benches yet we have not a clue who they are because we just did not pay any attention to those outside our circle.
So now to get to the real meat and bones of this piece! If the above is a true fact, then I can surmise that we have not a clue who belongs to 'gangs' because we are too busy in our own 'cliques'! We know all know 'our' world! The structure of both worlds are the very similar based on the meanings I gleaned from Wikipedia. The 'gang' world is similar to the 'clique' world except that their outlook on life is only very slightly different. They come together based on similarilites. The nature and stucture is exclusive. They need, want, do and feel the same things but most is achieved through a different methods. The education, skills and the demarcation on the social ladder of the gang as opposed to those who 'clique' together is such that they might only meet public places and one would hardly be aware of the other or they may meet due to violence.
The effects of violent gang behavior on the whole of society, in recent time, is taking it's toll, and many cliques are spending time trying their best to see how this phenomena could end. Many espouse very creative ways in which this could be stopped! But I believe as the young man said last night....respect in needed, someone else mentioned love and acknowledgement! Can we really do care for our fellowman...is that actually possible in these times...has it ever been possible? Is this, what we see happening now, a natural progression of a human condition which we have allowed to become so deeply rooted within us that today we are reaping the reward....A change can be made but it will have to be a change of a very human kind...a change from within the very core of who we are!
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Great piece Carla. I think the other side of this though is what makes people in whatever a group is called decide that it's us against them. What causes the negative turn? I think it's basic instinct. Even dolphins have engaged in gang behavior. They'll even defend their territory against porpoises who don't eat the same foods, have relations with female dolphins, or affect their "area" in any way. The dolphins just don't want them there and will literally brutally kill every porpoise they can - like a genocide. Humans are supposed to be more advanced than that. Right?
ReplyDeleteCarla, this is a very insightful analysis on your part. As I think about the "us vs. them" mentality, I think about St. Kitts society and its different strata. It is very easy to feel like an outsider in St. Kitts although it is a small place, and maybe indeed because it is a small place. When you don't feel acceptance within the inner circles aka the cliques in the society, and you see the sea or the ocean all around you, you feel trapped. No one welcomes you and you can't take a bridge and cross over to elsewhere. You are stuck there. You, especially if you are poor, are quite disenfranchised. You therefore look for others like yourself.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when I returned to St. Kitts in 1999 to see so many young men hanging around doing nothing. Having nothing to do and not wanting to go home and face "liks" and screaming and cussing and verbal abuse that many of these youngsters face caused them to "hang out" and after awhile, enough of them "hanging out" created a sub-group, constituting a counter-culture at variance with the dominant culture.
That was 12 years ago. Many of these youngsters have wound up on the streets, in the jail or in the graveyard.
One of the problems is that no one wants to hear any critique about the society. The minute you criticize or critique, it is seen as an act of hostility, and you are labeled as not liking St. Kitts, often hearing "we ain't no worse than any other place."
As long as Kittitians take offense to criticism, there will be no solution to the problems. It's like having a malignant tumor and ignoring it. It won't go away, it will grow and metasthesize and spread all over the body because it was left untreated.
I am horrified at what I see happening and I am heartbroken. A lot of playing the ostrich has taken place and now our collective rear ends are being kicked and our heads are now stuck in the sand in which we originally stuck them.
What can be done? I am not sure. I do sense that unfortunately, this madness will continue and will perhaps increase.
There is a culture of fear that permeates the environment.
I know that when I lived in St. Kitts, I saw crime on the rise. It has only escalated.
Our young people have very little to look forward to. The price of living in St. Kitts has spiraled out of control, at a very fast pace. The young people often have no job and no visible means of support. When faced with these odds, the survival mode must kick in, and the Darwinian doctrine of "survival of the fittest takes over."
I pray constantly for the protection of all whom I love and hold dear in my beautiful home, but I know that the word of God in the Book of James states that "faith without works is nought." Faith is a verb, it requires action. God will never do for us what we can do for ourselves. Therefore, the decent, loving, law abiding citizens in St. Kitts and Nevis must put aside the petty differences that they have, that divide them, and unite as one for the common good and future of the nation.
A house divided against itself will fall, and he who troubles his own house will inherit the wind.
The country is too divided. Seeds of bitterness, anger and pain have been sown. We are reaping our very bitter harvest.
We, both at home and abroad, must unite and draw a line and say: ENOUGH! Until this happens, nothing will get better.
That's it for now, God bless and keep you.