Gangster for life

Of course, the first three categories are the “smarter” ones who have been able to conceal their nefarious activities by working together to keep power, money and influence in a tight circle; these are the ones who live a life so luxurious that many people would kill to have the same experience... and that brings us to the last category.

The last category of rubber- slipper-wearing “badmen” are the real goons (low-level thugs-for-hire) and gangsters who either operate by orders from higher up or simply based on opportunity and greed.

I have met goons and gangsters from all over the world; and when I say all over, I mean several individuals from gangs that have featured on the UK documentary series: Ross Kemp on Gangs.

Interestingly, regardless of where the gangsters I’ve met are from, they all have one thing in common: poverty.

This reality makes we wonder: what exactly is gangster life all about if they and their kids are still hungry? Isn’t a gun much more expensive than a plate of food? What are the benefits of this gangster life if one could never even afford anything better than rubber slippers. Why not work hard in a minimum wage job instead? Why go around killing people and selling drugs if there is such high risk when we all know that the life of a gangster is a short one? If we could answer these questions, we will go a long way in understanding the criminal mind towards dealing with crime here at home, but for now, it really seems to me that this “gangster for life” thing is short-sighted stupidity to say the least.

So why do they continue doing it and why does it influence youths to join? Why do they enjoy this lifestyle? Of course, not all goons and gangsters remain poor forever, there are some who rise to the top and set up businesses as covers, and some even get to meet the President, but the majority never get those opportunities.

It is the dedication of the others who remain poor forever that baffles me. I have heard some goons and gangsters boast of their achievements, but seriously, owning a neck-full of gold really does not signify wealth, it merely indicates abject ignorance.

So far, I have determined that goons and gangsters are thrilled by the prospect of taking lives, whether it’s directly with a gun or indirectly with drugs.

So the question is: how do you reform a man who takes pride in his work of killing people for little or no money? How do you change a man who loves the smell of marijuana mixed with the smell of smoke from a semi-automatic gun? We will never be able to influence the minds of gangsters because they are morally depraved people motivated by the ever-elusive allure of wealth of the few who made it to the top.

So this “gangster for life” thing is about fame within the community and fear from the residents on a hungry belly. Hear how dumb that sounds? Being a “gangster for life” means that for now, they can terrorise society until their number calls because every day we wake up to read the news about the murder of another societal pest at some young age.

It is unfortunate that high-risk youths growing up wanting to emulate this crap do not understand just how ridiculous this career path is because death is the only outcome. I used to be one who supported reforming these gangsters, but I am slowly realising that it is much too late now. They will always be criminals and not even their grieving mothers, wives or daughters could convince them to put down the guns.

“Gyangster fuh life” — maybe so, but how long is that life? I’m just really confused as to why anyone would want to live the life of a gangster because it’s a poor one that does not guarantee life beyond the age of forty...

and that’s a stretch. It is time for the media and music artistes to stop romanticising this l i fe s t y l e and get the message out to the youths that it really isn’t worth it.