A group of friends can be considered a gang.
A gang is a group of people who maintain a close and intense bond . It can be a group of friends whose relationship is based on mutual affection, but also a gang with members who come together to carry out criminal activities as a group.
Gangs of friends have no other objective than to share pleasant moments. That's why its members get together to go to bars, organize dinners or party . For example: “Today the gang is coming home and we will be playing PlayStation until dawn” , “My son spends all his afternoons with his gang of friends” , “It is always good to have a gang of friends to support each other in difficult times” .
Another example of this positive use of the term is in the cartoon program known as “Don Gato y su Gang” (or “Top Cat” in its original language). Don Gato is the leader of a gang of stray cats who, despite being chased by Officer Matute , do not cause big problems and have good feelings.
The term gang with a negative connotation
In Latin America , especially in recent years, the notion of gang has acquired a negative connotation . The word is usually used to name urban gangs and tribes that maintain violent behavior and that usually dominate certain territories where they sow terror.
In this sense, we could highlight that these are groups that are formed with the clear objective of carrying out criminal acts. This would be the case, for example, of those known as Latin Kings . Under this name there are gangs of Latin American origin that are made up of young people who are dedicated to carrying out activities such as drug trafficking or robbery .
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of nationalist skinheads , also called skinheads . It is a neo-Nazi gang that is known for carrying out violent actions against Jews, homeless people, prostitutes, immigrants and homosexual people.
Gang members are usually teenagers or young people with behavioral problems, bad family relationships and addictions. They generally join these groups in search of recognition and a sense of belonging. Gangs can engage in drug trafficking or robbery, among other illegal activities.
The idea of gang is usually used to refer to an urban band or tribe with violent and often criminal behavior.
A series from 1922
All this without forgetting that one of the best-known television series in history is the one titled “The Gang.” In 1922, this North American production, produced by Hal Roach and under the umbrella of Metro Goldwyn Mayer , began its journey.
It told the daily adventures of a group of lower-class children and what was unique about it was that, for the first time, it was committed to showing the friendship of a gang made up of equal parts of children of both genders and also of different ages. races.
This television production achieved great popularity in many countries, and among them in Spain where it was titled “The gang of seven” and where it became the fundamental part of one of the most successful programs on the small screen: “La bola de glass" .