Gang Violence: An Argument Of Nature Or Nurture?

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In a life like ours where decisions and actions define who we are as a person; can those actions affect other people that are in our life. From gang violence, death of family member, drugs and alcohol, and abuse; these are all examples of conflicts that happen in daily life that affect the person next to you. Gang violence is responsible for approximately sixteen percent of all homicides in the US and twenty-five percent in cities with a population over 100,000.Gun violence has contributed to over 11,000 deaths in just a year. Events like this contribute to kids losing family members and relatives affecting their mental state at a young age and their maturity level. Some of these kids end up in prison where currently over 2 million occupants …show more content…

Nurture,” the mentality that is built in them. The argument of “Nature vs. Nurture” is whether you were born with a that certain mentality or you were taught to have that certain mentality. This influences the way your life turns out whether you were born with something inside or taught to act a certain a way. “I was taught to remember, but never question, Wes was to taught to forget, and never ask why.”(Moore, 4) This quote shows the different ideas they were taught at a young age and the drastic difference between the two. Scholar Wes Moore was taught more to trust the decisions made, and the imprisoned Wes Moore was taught to just forget about it. “Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won't have the chance to do it again. It was Murphy homes law and Wes took it to heart.”(Moore, 33) This ideology was ingrained into Wes`s mind which will lead into the violent actions he performs throughout his life including almost stabbing a kid and shooting a person. The Scholar Wes never had this kind of influence because he didn't have brother or a family member in such a situation that would give him such ideas. This is where Nurture argument starts to become stronger because what they are taught will differ in the way they make out messages and

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