Postcode Patriotism- Youth gangs

Would you get your phone number tattooed on you? How about your tax file number? Or maybe your postcode? Sounds ridiculous, yes, but sadly, young males are branding themselves with four digit codes relevant to their place of residence. "What is the point?" you may ask, and indeed it does seem pointless act, but in the minds of these youth, all they really want is to belong.

Youth gangs, gang culture and gang activity in the Illawarra area is steadily on the rise. In recent years, the postcode patriotism has drawn large scale media attention, which unfortunately has done little more than make the gangs feel glorified and cast connotations of power toward their reputations. These gangs draw their inspiration from notorious postcode gangs, the most well known of these being the Maroubra "Bra boys" and their three infamous leaders, the Abberton Brothers. Like the "Bra boys", many of the illawarra's youth gangs, particularly from the northern suburbs, base their ideals and activities around beach and surf culture.

Youth gangs generally consist of young males who range in age from about 16 up to 24, but can also have a crowd following of females who take novelty from the fact they are in with the crowd. These girls could be described as being extremely "sexually interested" or more commonly reffered to as being "sluts". The members of these crowds usually come from a low socio economic background, or simply just aspire to be part of the crowd.

The gangs rival each other on the basis of their different postcodes, and are often involved in violent confrontations with members of the seperate groups. A good example of this is the rivalry between the "17 Soulja's" commonly known as the "Woonona Boys" and the "2516 Bulli BEAF" also known as the "Bulli Boys". The groups and its members glorify themselves mainly by use of public internet sites such as Facebook and Myspace, and attempt to intimidate rival groups by posting pictures depicting members holding different weapons and their various "tough" looking tattoos. Another way in which different groups like to compete and draw attention to themselves is by methods of vandalism. They "tag" places with their various slogans and postcodes to show dominance.

I personally believe that these youth express an underlying desire to belong and be part of "that crowd", and they are willing to go to lengths to feel included. If tattooing your body with your postcodes and symbols of "pride", and resorting to violence and crime is the way to do this, then this is what they will do. I believe this behaviour is quite excessive, and really just shows how weak these males are in succumbing to peer pressure. It is a ridiculous imitation of of the "Bra boys" and American gang culture, and is an unneccessary source of crime and worry for the police. Unfortunately, as gang culture is glorified more and more through the media, with books and films made by the "Bra Boys", Television series such as "underbelly" and constant films depicting American gang culture, the number and threat of these gangs will continue to rise. There really needs to be a tougher crackdown on youth gangs to avoid escalated levels of crime and violence within our communities.

I feel that these youth gangs such as the "2516 Bulli BEAF", "17 souljas", "dapto wolfpack", "Figi boys" and all the rest need not be encouraged. The gangs are groups of unimaginative youths with a lack of self confidence who develop a patriotic attitude toward the supposed supremacy of their suburbs in an attempt for power, pride and belonging.

Bree Wilkinson