Wise words from someone who was lucky enough to (quite literally!) dodge the bullet and not die at a young age due to gang-related activities.

We grow wiser as we grow older, because of the experiences life hands us. Unfortunately, young people have the ability to really screw up their own lives, and the lives of everyone else around them, long before they gain the wisdom NOT to do it.

Great words, but they will have little impact on those that need to hear them. Just look to any big city in the coountry, L.A., Baltimore, D.C., etc. and it's the same thing. Turf, drugs, prostitution and other crime keep these kids going. We are now seeing it be generational here just like in the other cities. Nobody's found an answer in over two centuries that gangs have plagued this country. Bangers kill more people in this country every year than terrorists. Maybe it's time to look at it as local terrorism and have the Federal, State, and Local government address it as a homeland security issue.

The problem is that the gang leaders preach their odd beliefs to youngsters at a very early age and as such when they in turn grow up to be adults, they are totally unthinking people and are totally convinced that their off the wall way of life is the right one .. it's hard to break that cycle .. it's like brain washing .. gangs are growing all the time .. gang leaders send young gang members out with the sole intent of recruiting more members .. safety in numbers .. once in a gang it takes a real earthly eye opened to jolt the preset belief system and have a member become a normal citizen .. I was lucky enough to be able to break free, from action at least, but life out of the fold has been very stressful and confusing for me because of my childhood indoctrination .. it's hard to leave it all behind if that makes sense ... a day at a time is my motto

All it takes is his words affecting the life of one person and having them change to make a difference. He would be wise to go and talk to groups and let them know his view. Sometimes kids seem to listen more to another person than to their own parents when they are teens. To David - I say go for it. Talk to anyone you can. Hopefully the first person to listen to you will be your son. Best of luck to you!

True courage!

David Lee Gonzales and Arturo Vasquez, you have more courage than most. Not only for changing your lives, but for using your real names in the article and in this post.

Thank you for the example!