We often think of the "Old English" time as an era filled with mighty pagan warriors gathered in a dark wooden room, drinking ale to celebrate their victory in a brutish bloody battle. Or maybe we picture brawny Vikings with dirty faces wearing animal skins while sailing in large wooden ships. You may even imagine the crude but lovable Hagar the Horrible from the popular comic strip. Regardless to which of these views you take, we always think of the "Old English" as a time far in the past. Even though we may not notice, the strong brutal men of this past era infiltrate our everyday lives.
These barbaric warriors are found in our society as street gangs. Although they have different appearances, weapons, and transportation, these two civilizations conduct their lives in the same way. Street gangs are so prevalent that they are all over the media, appearing in films, music, and television. Although street gangsters and pagan warriors lived at very different times, both groups embody the same ideals: strength, violence,and loyalty to their group.
In the "Old English" epic, Beowulf, the pagan warriors were proud of theirphysical strength and abilities. Beowulf himself was well-known for his great strengthand prowess. These warriors were large men with great muscular power who won manybattles with brute force. Many battles were fought with manual weapons, such as clubsor swords, that required great power from the arms. The strongest men, such as Beowulf,were the ones that were the subject of stories told in many lands. Similar to this, streetgangsters are also quite proud of their strength and abilities. But their strength does notprimarily come from physical attributes. Their strength is measured by the amount ofweapons, money, and power they hold. The strongest man is not the one with the biggestmuscles. He is the one with the most guns and the most influence over other gangmembers. Whereas Beowulf has remained a legend for years now, gang leaders comeand go in a matter of months. Just as Beowulf longed to be a legend, street gangs alsostrive for that same notoriety, wanting to be well-known in many places. In Beowulf's time, most warriors were quite violent. They often engaged inbattles with enemies until death, or with opponents until the end of the match. The paganwarriors are remembered as brutal, killing those necessary to protect their village or stealanother's. They were also known to use violence to obtain riches or ships from otherwarriors. Similar to pirates, they used brute force to take what they wanted. Street gangsalso use such violence. Whether it be to protect their property or members, or to stealfrom others, gangsters use various weapons to obtain what they want. Just as paganwarriors fought battles with rival villages, street gangs also engage in battles with rivalgangs or sometimes with police. Gang violence can vary from street fights to drive-byshootings, often involving innocent victims. This horrible violence is evident in themedia. It varies from gansta rap such as 2Pac or Dr. Dre, to movies such as New JackCity or Juice, and can even be seen in such TV shows as "New York Undercover" and"NYPD Blue". A less obvious example of gangs is in the new version of Romeo andJuliet. In this rendition of the old Shakespeare classic, the Capulets and Montagues areno longer just rival families, but now rival gangs who engage in tremendous violenceagainst each other to keep the two lovers apart. But gang violence is also felt quite closeto home. The guard for NC State's basketball team, Anthony Grundy, experienced gang-related violence, causing him to carry a gun to his high school in Louisville. Both gangsand pagan warriors found violence necessary to maintain individual and group status. A third similarity between these two societies is their loyalty to their groups. Beowulf fought for his kingdom and his fellow warriors. They were a group, a family ofsorts, that stuck together for support, enjoyment, and love. Gangs also stick together forthese reasons. Beowulf's loyalty ran so deep that he put his life on the line for his kingmany times, and eventually died for his kingdom. Similarly, gangsters are extremelyloyal to their gangs and leaders. They remain members for life and are willing tosacrifice their lives for their fellow members. An example of this bond is a recordcompany which is infamous for violence and gang-relations, "Death Row Records". Although it is a recording company and not a gang, its members including 2Pac, SnoopDoggy Dog, and its CEO, Marion "Suge" Knight, are a tight-knit group whose loyaltyruns high. Gangs and pagan warriors share many similarities. Both thrive on strength,violence, and loyalty to their groups. Today's street gangs seem to take the "OldEnglish" warriors' ideals to a farther, even more violent extent. But all the same, streetgangs exemplify the ideals of the past "Old English" times.
