In today’s society violence is everywhere from tv to mass shootings, and this violence is going nowhere anytime soon. A very large part of this violence is gun violence and specifically gun violence in low income communities populated mostly by African Americans who have a gun murder rate that is thirteen times higher than among whites and three times higher than latinos (Males, 2015). Within the African American population there are two groups that are at even higher risk for gun violence and that is males that are in the teenager to young adult ages. In addition to this being in a poor community is a struggle and does nothing to resolve this issue especially considering a child born in the lowest income quartile has a 46% chance of staying there or still being very poor in their adulthood (Kearney and Harris, 2014). This stands to further aggregate the situation and work against cutting down the violence.
There is sound reasoning though as to why at the very least it is young men that are the most prone to committing gun violence and are the ones most likely to be victims of it. To begin with young men are going through puberty and that means increases in testosterone and these increases can be linked with increases in aggression (McAndrew, 2016). This can be seen in a study done on chimpanzees where the chimpanzees with the highest testosterone also show high aggression. This aggression is exacerbated by competition or a threat to status such as gangs competing for territory which is a form of competition and in turn would cause a spike in testosterone and aggression. This link between testosterone and aggression has been aptly named Young Male Syndrome and plays to the realization that young men are more likely to participate in risky aggressive behavior (McAndrew, 2016). This realization and study to find this syndrome does not help the outlook on gun violence.
In addition to high testosterone being related to aggression. Using and handling a gun for the first time has also been linked to increased aggression especially towards others. A study was done that showed handling a gun increased testosterone and affected aggression, in this study students were either given a mouse trap or a gun to dismantle and then afterwards were told to put hot sauce in water that would be given to someone. Those who dismantled the gun were shown to put more hot sauce in and were disappointed when they found out it would not be served (MCAndrew, 2016). This study demonstrates that the already high levels in a young adult can increase when handling a gun and influences their aggression which would help to explain at least some of the gun violence and partially what fuels it. With this increase in testoerone one can feel power from the surge of testosterone which appeals greatly to those that lack it or feel that many things in their life are out of control (McAndrew, 2016). This would apply greatly to those that have been in poverty long or feel as though they will not ever leave poverty would be enticed by the power a gun could give.
127 our experts are availableright now
One very likely way to get access to a gun is joining a gang, but getting or using a gun is not the only enticement that draws in young men from lower income neighborhoods. There is also the disillusionment created from films that the gangster life is a great one full of wealth, women, power and status (Srependa, 2011). These enticements create a great temptation for those in poor communities that see the gang lifestyle as the only way at a chance for status and power which subconsciously every man seeks (McAndrew, 2016). This would further explain the amount of gun violence in poor communities as those that gain status don’t wish to lose it and this is when aggression can reach its highest point, then add in a gun which has similar effects and you have a dangerous combination (McAndrew, 2016). The reason they may feel so threatened is that many who join gangs come from broken homes and see the gang as a family and a way of being someone so they have a lot riding when someone threatens it whether that be a rival gang or some other threatening force (Srependa, 2011).
The solution to cut down this violence and drain gangs of their recruiting pool is quite simple, at least in theory it is. Violence can be concluded to result from aggression, so in order to stop this aggression in teens and young men you need to find an outlet for it and since it comes out the most in competitive arenas, pushing sports would be the best route (McAndrew 2016). This would entail getting the youth of lower income neighborhoods to turn their attentions towards athletics as a way of releasing pent up aggression and stop them from ever having to handle a gun. Ways to implement this solution vary with some options being more realistic than others. The first way would be to lobby for a grant or some kind of funds to be offered to schools in lower income areas in order for them to implement or improve their sports teams so students would be more apt to join, the fall back with this is that poverty has been rampant for a long time so that is likely not very realistic. Another way would be to convince private schools to scout kids from the projects who show talent and offer them scholarships to play for them. A third option and possibly the best one to implement is a program run by a non for profit created specifically for the purpose of seeing an extracurricular athletics program a reality.
This program would work to have kids have an outlet as the athletics program would also have therapist involved that can help the young men with issues they are facing so that they can find a better way. The team would also hopefully bond creating the family atmosphere that those from broken homes are looking for and would help them turn away from gang life. Athletics also come with many benefits such as higher self-esteem, self-respect, and leadership skills (Kniffin, 2014). With these kinds of benefits it only reinforces why implementing an extracurricular athletics program would be so beneficial. In addition all the equipment would be paid with by donations.
In order to implement this program it would most likely have to be done through a non for profit dedicated to just this. They would be created to implement athletics programs in lower income areas across the country. The initial creation would most likely be to raise funds for one or two team sports like football, and soccer, then from there scale up to include more sports that way there is options for those living in these poor areas so they don’t feel discriminated if there isn’t a sport they like. In addition having it separate from school would be a plus as a non for profit running it is not confined monetarily like a public school in the projects would be. In addition the non for profit would need to find volunteers in child therapy to help the teens that wanted an outlet for other emotions they are not normally able to let out. To further maintain it the non for profit would help kids through athletics get out and help them to give back to future generations to bring in more teens off the streets and away from the temptation of gang life.
