Origin

Structure

Even in 1996, it is common for educators to assume that all gangs, including Asian gangs, are basically the same.  However, Asian gang structure, activities, status in the ethnic community and greater community, relationships with other ethnic gangs and roles in the schools vary according to several factors.  These variables include the following: Degree of social isolation, such as living in public housing, in "Chinatowns" or in newly formed "Asia Towns". Rejection and mistreatment of Asians by proximate populations. Acceptance or rejection in schools. Exposure to gang organizing forces. Lack of access to culturally appropriate social and recreational opportunities. Employment policies discriminatory against Asians; and the presence of other gangs in the neighbourhoods surrounding Asian enclaves.

A general American stereotype is that all Asian youth and communities are the same.  Unfortunately, this invalid assumption is widely held and is extremely detrimental to understanding and interacting with Asian youth and their families. Other common stereotypes of Asian gangs are that their gang members are more "vicious" than other ethnic gang members, or that Asians are "all the same" and that they "do not have the respect for life" which Westerners have. These concepts are inaccurate and demeaning.  Such beliefs communicate an extremely pejorative view of Asians in general.  The fact that Asian family roles, values and religious beliefs often differ from some Western archetype of acceptability does not justify making such generalizations and judgments.  In addition, available information suggests that an extremely small number of gang members commit most of the conspicuous violent acts attributed to Asian gangs. The perception that frequent, extreme violence among Asian gang members is the norm may be due to the publicizing of some of the more violent episodes.  These highly publicized violent crimes committed by some Asian gang members present a marked contrast to another public perception, that of Asian youth as quiet, respectful, academically high-achieving students.  It is perceived that the strong family bonds within the Asian community provide a protective factor which largely inhibits marginal gang affiliation among Asian youth.  Thus, age eligible youth are seen as either avoiding gangs completely or as characteristically making a break with the traditional family structure and establishing a primary affiliation with a gang.

Many influences, including positive and negative stereotypes, have contributed to the rise of Asian youth gangs in the United States, not the least of which is the numbing of emotional responsiveness which can be seen in many recent immigrant youth.  This dulling of personal affect may result in part from childhoods spent in border camps in Thailand or from horrific experiences in escaping Laos, Cambodia, China or Viet Nam.  Such trauma can have significant and long-lasting effects for the youth and their families.  Even children born of immigrants in America who have not personally experienced the effects of war or life in relocation and refugee camps nonetheless may suffer indirectly from the effects of such events upon their parents, older siblings, and other relatives.  The experiential and cultural complexities underlying the observable behaviour of ethnic youth within a given school district must be discovered and understood in order to respond effectively to the needs of such youth.

As with virtually every racial/ethnic/cultural community, there are elements of that community that make its members very proud. Conversely, there can also be many elements that represent shame, embarrassment, and fear. Crime, specifically in the form of Asian gangs and organized crime, is one such cultural element that continues to plague many Asian communities. Actually, their origins are not unique. Like many immigrant or "minority" groups before them, many Asians struggle to adapt to a new country, a new social environment, new norms, and new challenges of making a living. Like their Italian, Irish, and Jewish counterparts who came to the U.S. earlier this century, it's very common for many Asian immigrants to feel overwhelmed, lost, frustrated, depressed, and even angry as they try to adjust to living in the U.S. Many times they don't have enough job skills or English fluency to find steady and meaningful work. This is especially common among many Vietnamese, Amerasian Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian immigrants.

Many younger Asian immigrants may also feel alienated from their parents, family, schools, and ethnic community. They may feel misunderstood, under appreciated, or they may be asserting their new sense of American-style individualism and personal independence. They may also feel that they are victims of racial/ethnic prejudice and discrimination on the part of the larger American society, similar to what many in the Black and Latino communities feel. That is, they fatalistically accept that despite their best efforts, there are just too many institutional barriers that prevent them from achieving the "American dream" at least through conventional methods. In this situation, it's almost inevitable that someone will try to find some kind of social group that includes many who are in the same position and that will give him/her mutual support and understanding. In other words, s/he finds a new "family" where s/he feels accepted and comfortable. Unfortunately, many of these groups are based on the belief that the only way for them to achieve "respect" or "success" in American society is to accomplish those goals through unconventional methods i.e. crime. Asian street gangs may start out as just a social group of friends and acquaintances. But more commonly, larger and more established gangs actively recruit new members into their ranks. Once the new member finds a sense of belonging and acceptance, not to mention sex, drugs, and other "perks" of gang life, it's often very hard for him/her to give it up. It's also common for many Asian gangs to have connections to, or even be controlled by larger and more formal Asian organized crime groups who themselves manage elaborate prostitution, gambling, extortion, and other gang activities around the world (i.e., Chinese "triads").

Most Asian gangs also engage in drug trafficking, prostitution, and extortion. It's also common for Asian gangs to compete with Black and Latino gangs for turf. But their speciality, for which they've received a lot of media and law enforcement attention, is a type of robbery called a "home invasion." Home invasions occur when the gang breaks into the home of a family when they are at home or family-owned business, tie up all the family members, and terrorize them until the family produces valuables or money. Common tactics include beatings, torture, and the raping of female family members. Asian gangs almost always target Asian families because they are much less likely to report such crimes to the police. This is because many recent immigrant families come from Asian countries where the police were seen either as completely corrupt and ineffective or even working in conjunction with gangs. Such publicity would also bring "shame" to their community, which goes against the families' social conditioning. The family may also fear retaliation and even worse repercussions from the gang if they report it to the authorities. Second, recent Asian immigrants are more likely to keep their valuables and money hidden somewhere in their house or business instead of keeping them in a bank. Again, they may not be knowledgeable about the concept of banking and trusting your money to strangers or because of past experiences with corrupt financial institutions in their home country. Either way, Asian gangs exploit these cultural elements to victimize their own community

In response to these crimes, law enforcement authorities have implemented some very effective and ineffective strategies. Many police departments in cities that have large Asian communities have actively recruited more bilingual police officers from the community and have stepped up their efforts to educate the community about American law enforcement and the legal system. This greater understanding can lead to less fear of enlisting the help of the police and also makes it easier for the police to get leads and tips from the Asian community about future gang activities. Nonetheless, many elements within the law enforcement community are still virtually clueless about Asian gangs and the Asian American community. For example, many police stereotypically believe that "all Asians are the same" and that Asian gangs are especially viscous and have absolutely no respect for life. While Asian gangs can indeed be very violent and certainly need to be stopped, it's very easy for these extreme beliefs about Asian gangs to be transferred onto the entire Asian community. Specifically, several years ago, many police departments in southern California began harassing any group of young Asian Americans who they thought might be affiliated with gangs. These police departments would also take "mugshot" photographs of these Asian Americans, without their consent, as if they were in a police lineup and keep these photos on file as "possible" gang members. The police justified these actions by claiming that it was very hard to differentiate and distinguish between Asians itself a very ignorant and blatantly racist statement.

Activities