Here takes the time to explain the dynamic social forces of street survival related to location, clothing, and gang association. He makes it clear early on that avoiding gang members is never an easy thing, and is not seen as dangerous. It is “non-negotiable” emphasizes Garot (p.90). These young people are constantly shown to be "impressed" by older students or even adults. In these situations young people must validate ingenuity and know-how (Garot 2010, p.91). The second concept of Differential Association Theory states that “criminal behavior is learned through interactions with other people in a communication process. . . verbal or nonverbal” (Conklin 2013, p.188). Older gang members pass these criminal skills and techniques on to school children, introducing them in such a way that they would need to know these things to survive. In many of these cases the children believe them and see these criminals as protection they can rely on. It's at this point that Garot doesn't convince me at all. The author uses the second section to tie in the narrative of some minority boys as evidence of this persuasive initiation and gang rituals. Nowhere does Garot explore other possible avenues of other positive leadership, nor does he attempt to do so