Self-Esteem: A Matter of Life, Death : Gangs: ‘Padre, I have nothing to lose,’ says the 13-year-old after a ‘homeboy’ dies. This despair is stronger than anything the law can do.

They cling tightly to the sides of their fallen homeboy’s open casket. Crouching slightly at the head of the coffin, they pose for a last picture with him. “Throwing up” their gang signs and vowing revenge for his murder, they cry like the children they are.

And so the 1990 tally of gang-related deaths in my neighborhood is begun.

As the citizens of Los Angeles attempt to interpret the record number of gang-related murders and other crimes in 1989, we are cautioned by law-enforcement officials not to panic. The 20% increase in gang-motivated homicide and the 30% rise in gang-motivated crime, we are told, should not indicate that such crime is beyond police control. For 1990, to meet this alarming increase head-on, the authorities offer us the hope of tougher law enforcement and additional jail space. The facts of 1989, however, do not seem to warrant this “more-of-the-same” strategy.

Within the parish boundaries of Dolores Mission (the Aliso Village and Pico Gardens housing projects) there are 10 active gangs (nine Latino, one African American). Some of them are involved in the sale of drugs, some are notable in their abuse of drugs and most are very active in “gang-banging”--going on the attack against other gangs. All of the gang members are unemployed and have in common a profound despair. Were they to be consulted on the causes and possible solutions to the marked increase in gang activity, additional jail space and tougher law enforcement would not figure into their equation.

Gang members know all too well that mass roundups like “Operation Hammer” and “tougher” police presence in the housing projects only exacerbate the deep antagonism that already exists between law-enforcement officials and residents of the barrio. Correctly, the gang members would say that this approach has been ineffective. Its deterrence factor is lost on gang members. They do not care enough about their own lives to fear incarceration or even death.

In this barrio, “gang-banging,” drug-selling, chemical dependence and all other criminal activity are symptoms of despair. Recently, I encountered a 13-year-old crack dealer and gang member standing alone at midnight in an area of the projects where one of his homeboys had been shot the previous night. I warned him of the dangers. He shrugged and said, “Padre, I have nothing to lose.” Before long, he was crying, unable to see his way clear beyond the dark confines of his own dysfunctional family and his gang allegiance.

Our strategies to date in attacking the gang problem presume that gangsters will be deterred by the likes of “Operation Hammer,” larger jails or tougher cops. Their despondency is deep enough to render these approaches useless. The failure of the educational system and the poor job market for minority youth have made it almost impossible for gang members to imagine a future for themselves. We assume that the youths in gangs hope for something better beyond the barrio, a future full of possibility, and would want to avoid having those dreams cut down. That assumption is wrong, and so is our reliance on it.

Our distress at the steady rise in gang activity must move us to address the root causes of the despair from which it comes. The problem challenges us to propose avenues of hope where none seem to exist.

The city’s resources would be better spent improving legitimate employment opportunities for these youth. On an average day, no less than 10 gang members seek my assistance in securing a job. The avenues of possible employment for them are slim indeed. The slightest hope that motivates their search for work is soon crushed by the fact that there is none to be found. If the community and its funds can fashion and present to them an imaginable future, born of gainful employment, they will seize the opportunity. The hope for redirecting their lives rests in breaking the paralysis of their despair, not police pressure. These young people can’t “just say no” to gangs unless offered a way to “just say yes” to life--to a tomorrow that holds something better for them.

To those children clutching the coffin of their dead homeboy, may the city of Los Angeles offer a strategy that confronts their despair.