Dictionary.com defines a gang as, "A group of youngsters or adolescents whoassociate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, esp. such agroup engaging in delinquent behavior". or "a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose".
Conversations with gang members will draw out definitions that contrast in many ways to those found in print and online dictionaries. In conversations with a couple of gang members I was told that "A gang is a group of people who 'bang' different colors. They most likely have each others' back, hustle, and keep each others' pockets fat. They just protect each other regardless of what the case may be by fighting or even killing others".
According to one member "The main reason why most people join them is because usually that's all they got and they end up calling them family". This comment reminded me of a scene in the film Redemption which documents the life of "Tookie" Williams who founded the infamous CRIP gang. In the scene Tookie was left with his father. The father gave Tookie a couple of dollars and told him he'd be back soon. The father walked out and never returned. After a night's rest Tookie left the motel where he'd been dropped off to his father and met with some other young people and started his gang.
It appears that the young people that live in environments where gangs exist in the Twin Cities and live among those gangs don't see them as the threat that those who have more of an object view see them. Even when asking a non-member if they thought gangs were bad for a community the response I got was "It depends on what kind of gang". So are gangs an issue in Twin Cities communities or are they just a reality. To my knowledge different gangs serve different purposes. Different groups of people focus on different things. They for the most part seem to focus on making money for the gang. Whether it be through selling drugs or robbing, stealing, etc. I find that the problem with gangs is that they feed off the community for the growth and development of the gang. These gangs suffer from what theorists in Communication Studies call Group Think. There is a lack of innovation in the context of ways to make money that don't hinder the community and an abundance/surplus of ideas on ways to take advantage of the community.
To resolve the issue of Group Think in these gangs would be to resolve the issue of gangs draining the life and resources out of the community.