Many teens in gangs live in rough streets and may not have a positive example to follow. The teens think that if you want respect you have to be bad. That can lead to trouble later on. Sometimes even losing their lives. As stated in the text “There were no doctors or lawyers walking the streets of our communities. Where we lived, hustlers reigned, and it was easy to follow their example.” This proves that teens will join gangs because that is the only group of friends that hang around their communities. The writer also points to “Among boys, particularly, there seems to be some kind of macho code that says to gain respect you have to prove that you're bad.” This also proves that the teens want to be respected. The would do anything to show they are bad, they want people to be afraid of