Carolyn N. Kinder
In group- to- group violence, chimpanzees are patriarchal. Their rules are community based with a long line of father-son relationships. Males are the inheritors of territory. Males conduct the raids and the killing. Males are dominant and gain the spoils.
For chimpanzees, loss territory means death for adult males. Territorial gains mean a larger foraging area. Supporting of females remains in the same area of forest as before the boundaries changed, only now have a different set of defenders. So males of an expanded community could gain females.9
A chimpanzee community is an “in-group”. All other communities are out-groups and are reacted to violently. Humans also seem to have an “instinct” to identify in-groups and out-groups. We use race, religion, nationality, language, etc. to sort people into “US and Them.” Even affinity for different sports teams can be used to establish Us vs. Them. Once the in-groups and out-groups are established, competition, hostility and violence often follow.
This loyalty has evolved as a part of the winners’ strategy. Darwin stated “ A tribe including many members who, from processing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage, and sympathy, were always ready to aid another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes and this would be natural selection.” 10 This quote demonstrates that the concept of moral behavior, the “in-group” half of in-group-out-group bias, has roots in evolutionary history. However, there is another side of the story. Morality based on intra-group loyalty worked, in evolutionary history, because it made groups more effectively aggressive. This type of violence contributes to later community crime.
Chimpanzees travel in party gangs. The more food available, the bigger the party gang can be. Males coalesce in parties to defend their territory. 11 If high-quality foods are scarce, their friends or allies cannot forage together regularly without some or all of them starving.
In chimps, dominant males restrain the violence of subordinates. In poor human communities, male authority figures are often absent. As a result, the adolescent violence can get out of control. Human adolescent gangs seem similar to chimpanzee gangs.Male preadolescent friendship groups tend to display emphasis on competition, loyalty, and rigid status hierarchy. They de-emphasize emotional intimacy and emphasize shared activities instead. Rules are clearly laid out and rigidly enforced. However, gangs are not always social networks. For example, some gangs of teenagers, especially boys are formed to commit crimes (i.e. cocaine distribution network).
In humans, gang activity is a threat to schools and the community. The increasingly violent behavior of gangs of children is of great concern. Gangs are usually male, but some are females. They may belong to one race or be interracial, and come together for the purpose of behaving violently. Gang members advertise themselves through distinctive dress, behaviors, or the guarding of territory.
Some teenage gangs might get together to share activities, socialize, or live close together. Others may get together for a sense of family. Their sense of family helps them to boost their status and raise their self-esteem. This is important because they believe that as individuals they are worthless and powerless. In addition some gang members make money for financial gains, but most do not get rich.12
Although the mass media popularly depicts gang violence as occurring primarily in the streets, school often becomes the focus of gangs. Gangs increase violence in schools, even among students who do not belong to their groups. Non gang members often carry weapons to school because they fear being targeted by groups or becoming involved in a fight with a gang member.13
The problem of gang violence in schools is complicated by the fact that other students may not want to tell on their peers and school personnel see gang activity as a stage all children go through. Many middle schools have admitted that they are struggling with gang violence and have begun programs to help with the problem.
In summary, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans are closely related species. With both humans and chimps, male members engage in acts of raiding and murder. They are territorial and dominant over females. But with bonobos, the females are more cohesive and develop strong bonds to protect themselves against male aggression. They have more control over their own sexuality. Furthermore, they use sex as a means of controlling males.14 Bonobos females are co-dominant with males. They form coalitions to do away with any attempts males make to dominate them.