Gang members are often very tightly connected and have a feeling of devotion to each other, up to a point where they are willing to die for each other. They share a common pride, that what they are doing is just.
What is special about such a connection is their devotion to each other, i.e. a feeling that no one will sell the other out. Gang members could even go as far as getting killed in order to not sell out other gang members.
They share a feeling of a mutual guarantee, that their gang members stand behind each other, that they are parts of a big family willing to go to any lengths in order to get them out of any situation, from collecting money through to breaking them out of jail. Such a connection gives gang members a feeling of warmth, closeness, pride and meaning.
On the other hand, gangs fall short on the point that they are based on group egoism, an “us vs. them” approach that favors its own members and pits themselves up against others. Couple that with criminal activity that aims to benefit the gang through harming others, and it becomes a formula that frequently leads to tragedy.
We should, however, aspire to reach a connection of mutual guarantee in human society where we each look out for one another, not at the expense of others, and with no intent to harm others, but on the contrary—to benefit others over benefiting ourselves. In other words, we should aspire to all belong to one single gang—the humanity gang. If connection-enriching education, upbringing and social and media influences filled our society, then we would be on course to realizing these kinds of upgraded connections.
Based on the video “Why Gang Members Are So Attached to Each Other” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplas
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