Last Friday night one of my friends was stabbed seven times. He
ended up with a collapsed lung and will be in the hospital for at
least a week. He
’s very lucky to be alive at all. When a brother in his
fraternity was being attacked, my friend stepped in to try and pull
the attackers off his brother. Before he knew what had happened, he
was on the ground bleeding. The people who attacked him are
supposedly in some East San Jose gang.
Last Friday night one of my friends was stabbed seven times. He ended up with a collapsed lung and will be in the hospital for at least a week. He’s very lucky to be alive at all.
When a brother in his fraternity was being attacked, my friend stepped in to try and pull the attackers off his brother. Before he knew what had happened, he was on the ground bleeding. The people who attacked him are supposedly in some East San Jose gang.
The whole event has brought up a lot of questions for me. What exactly was this guy thinking when he was stabbing my friend in the back and the chest? How could he be so sick that he thought it was the right thing to do? What makes a person reach the point where they can rationalize trying to kill someone? When is there ever a reason to stab someone seven times?
I was comfortable with my pretty-much perfect, sheltered little life, foolishly thinking that stabbings were just things that happened in the movies or in some creepy alleyway in downtown San Francisco. Not on the corner, right outside my sorority house, and not to someone I care about. I felt like nothing bad would ever really happen here.
I’m not excited to admit that there were nights when I’d walk to the ATM machine on campus or jog around the block, by myself. I can’t believe how stupid I was.
But now that I do know better, I’m trying to deal with this new feeling. The feeling that I’m not safe here. That no one is. The feeling of knowing that there are people out there who have so much hate inside of them that they can pull out a knife and hurt someone else without even thinking twice.
And street gang violence? I never thought about that either. But I guess I should have, because street gangs have a presence in 94 percent of all U.S. cities with populations greater than 100,000. There are active gangs in more than 800 cities nationwide. Street gangs have typically been defined as an aggregation of youths who perceive themselves as distinct in some way, who are viewed as distinct by their community, and who present a consistently negative image of themselves through their actions.
I can’t even begin to imagine how hopelessly lost all these people must be. They’re insecure and pathetic by themselves, so they join together to intimidate other people: to feel bigger, more powerful. They need more self-esteem and a sense of belonging. The answer? Join a group of people who all have absolutely no direction in life other than to hurt other people. Forget going to school, playing a sport, getting a hobby. Lets stab and shoot people. That’s fun, right? Maybe they think being accepted into a gang will change their life in some positive way.
But I wonder what the two guys who are sitting in jail right now, for attempted murder, are thinking? Do they still think it was worth it to stab someone? How exactly is this gang helping them with their lives now? It’s not.
Some people think being in a gang offers them protection in a violent world. Are you kidding me? Lets guess where most of the violence is coming from. Groups of people who decide to kill a guy because they think he looked at them the wrong way or he accidentally bumped into them. How is that offering protection? Here’s an idea. Drop out of your little gang and there won’t be anything to protect yourself from.
I don’t know what it’s like to be in a gang or how hard it is to get out of one. I have a friend who was in a gang in high school and when he realized he couldn’t handle it, he ended up with nails hammered into his kneecaps. It seems like gang membership is taken very seriously. But there are other options out there to consider before you reach the point of joining a gang.
Many communities have mentoring programs and supervised recreational programs where kids can go after school to engage in recreational or educational activities. There are programs and people out there to help.
Maybe not many people are aware of the seriousness of gang violence, but now I know what it can do to people. When all this was happening Friday night, most of the guys in my friend’s fraternity were out there, trying to protect their brothers. And the guys who weren’t there felt sick, knowing that they weren’t there at a moment when some of their bros really needed them.
One guy even jumped in front of my friend and took a stab in the leg for it. And when they were both in the hospital, it seemed that every member in the Greek system was there, waiting until they knew these guys were okay.
It’s ironic, because I hear negative things about sororities and fraternities all the time, but if people need to feel a sense of belonging, and gain a stronger self-esteem, I think it’s a far better alternative to join the Greek system, rather than some street gang. Focus on community service and academics, rather than destruction.
Chrissy Bryant is freshman at San Jose State University. She writes A College View about local college life and things that catch her fancy. Contact Chrissy at ed******@*************es.com
