Tattoos on the Heart: Success Essay

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

Homeboy Industries provides an approach to gang desistance influenced by ideas of Catholic social justice and therapeutic rehabilitation (Flores, 2016). Each year, over 10,000 former gang members seek their guidance (Homeboy Industries, 2005). By combining counseling, case management, education, vocational training, and job placement, Homeboy Industries helps former gang youth become contributing members in their families, communities, and society (Homeboy Industries, 2005). Homeboy Industries offers employment in their bakeries, cafés, silk-screening and tattoo removal studios, and landscaping and maintenance service divisions (Flores,2016).

Gang members recognize they are worthy when they receive attention. Father Greg explains the reaction Lula, a young ex-gang member, had when he states, “I roll down my window and catch his attention “Hey, Lula.” You would have thought I had electrocuted him. His whole body spasmed with delight to be known, to be called, to hear his name uttered out loud” (Boyle 47). Father Greg acknowledged Lula and made conversation with him. This made him feel happy because Father Greg knew who he was and took the time to converse with him. Even the smallest form of attention can help a gang member understand they are someone who

Tattoos on the Heart encompasses many themes, but Fr. Boyle predominantly focuses on life and death. In one distinct instance, Fr. Boyle depicts the story of an unnamed sixteen-year-old homegirl who tells him, with such joy, that she is pregnant. Fr. Boyle is unable to hide his disappointment, which leads the homegirl to say “I just want to have a kid before I die.” (90) This narrative was unfamiliar to my own life experiences, which consequently made the story difficult to relate to. Growing up in a middle class neighborhood I was never fully exposed to death that occurs in young adults due to gang violence, as a result I never knew what it was like to genuinely fear for my life or believe that I was going to die before I turned eighteen.

The book I read to better understand and gain sympathy for returning citizens is Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (ISBN 978-1439153154) by Father Gregory Boyle, S.J. $14 can afford this 240-page autobiography about a Jesuit priest serving one of the most troubled neighborhoods in the most unique way.

Resilience is the power or the ability to return to the original form. “Resilience is born by grounding yourself in your own loveliness, hitting notes you thought were way out of your range” (94). Father Gregory Boyle says this because he knows that resilience is needed in order to change. Resilience is important because we can become better people by doing things, we thought we couldn’t do. In the book, Tattoos on the Heart, The Power of Boundless Compassion, Boyle claims resilience is essential in our lives because it is the key to do better.

• Ray Stark and Boyle work together to create the Homeboy Industries, nonprofit to employ gang members

In Tattoos on the Heart, the reader accompanies Father Gregory Boyle throughout a series of heart-warming conversions he conducts through his interactions with numerous gang members in the Los Angeles projects. Likewise, J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy constructs a memoir of his tumultuous upbringing in the Midwest as well as of his familial roots in Kentucky. A commonality throughout the novels is the poverty faced by members of these communities and how it contributes to the conflicts that drive the plot. The topic of poverty, its causes, and possible solutions has always interested me a lot due to a concept of the Lottery of Birth, which is a philosophical position that comes up frequently in my debate competitions. Basically, where we are born, in terms of one’s position and class in society, is arbitrary; I did not choose to be born in the socioeconomically comfortable neighborhood of Massapequa Park. This is a perpetual unfairness to which there is no solution, but there has to be some action that can alleviate the suffering of the over three billion people worldwide who live on less than three dollars a day (DoSomething.org).

As horrible as gangs are, gang members themselves believe that they are beneficial to inner-city society. A former Gangster Disciple, for example, maintains that gang life taught him a lot: "I grew up without a father and I turned to my Disciple brothaz for love. They knew exactly how to treat a brotha and were always there for me, through thick and thin" (Douglas 162).

Determined to help his audience - people who stereotype against and do not understand gang life - find commonalities with gang members, Fr. Boyle shares his experiences with gangs in Los Angeles. At the beginning of the novel, Fr. Boyle articulates his thesis and expresses his purpose for sharing his experiences when he states, “Though this book does not concern itself with solving the gang problem, it does aspire to broaden the parameters of our kinship. It hopes not only to put a human face on the gang member, but to recognize our own wounds in the broken

The life-course perspective goes into detail about the onset, persistence, and the desistance process and show that there are connections that are present, and once these connections linger, then the relinquishing of the power that gangs have over people is released. These researchers note that often times juveniles are joining particular gangs, participate, and then leave. So, when studying this process, Pyrooz & colleagues’ (2010) found that by using the conceptual framework that life-course perspective adds, we can better understand the organization and the process of how gangs work over time. This research also provided us with an understanding of the ties that members associate with their respective gangs, and just how hard it is to break those ties and let go of the gang lifestyle through the life-course. In regards to these ties, the researchers concluded that leaving a gang can be tumultuous, it is a time of confusion and possible victimization. Another significant finding was that leaving a gang is not the same process for everyone, there are diverse variables that affect individuals differently. If these variables are not taken into consideration, then the ties to the gang and the desistance process is likely to be less successful (Pyrooz & colleagues,

After reading the first three chapters of Tattoos on the Heart, I was able to relate to Memo at the end of chapter three. Memo discovered the compassion that he has for others after simply hearing about people who live in places where they ought not to live. Though I live a much different life from Memo, I experienced this feeling when I went to Haiti for the first time. I went to Haiti with factual knowledge that Haiti was a country that lived in poverty, and that they could not seem to catch a break from traumatic events occurring in their country. However, I did not realize the extent of their living conditions until I was on the bus, riding to the compound that I would be staying in for the week.

In “Tattoos on the Heart,” by Gregory Boyle, Boyle experiences how to deal with gangs. The novel, a compelling story about gang violence and one man’s response towards giving those buried within it, tells a story of gang members working for a chance of redemption and solace. Can others be seen as fathers or even as a role models when gang life is such a large force in their lives? Through the story gangbangers that try to change themselves for the pursuit of a better future and a desire to succeed and escape gang life, Boyle tells an emotional, human story about life in the Los Angeles barrios. Boyle characteristics represent him as a father for three gang bangers: Joey Cesar, and Scrappy. While

The sociological analysis of gang membership explores the different types of effects that arise due to criminal involvement. Because of the social conflicts that are associated with gang membership, this paper will explore the different theories of social learning and both personal and control issues that relate to the recent surge in crime across Chicago. As we open the doors of a crime ridden society, the truth begins to unfold. It isn’t just the thought of helping, it is the action that remains the barrier between living a life of crime or a life that carries hope.

Many times individuals turn to a gang to escape a life of poverty or financial uncertainty. A sense of hopelessness and desperation can result from being unable to provide the basic necessities. “Young people living in poverty may find it difficult to meet basic physical and psychological needs, which can lead to a lack of self-worth and pride” (Lee, Dean, and Parker 1). Individuals who are faced with a lack of money many times turn to crime if they cannot earn enough at a legitimate job to support themselves or their families. “This partly explains why gangs exist in poor, rundown areas of cities” (Grabianowski 1).