--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No kid is seeking anything when he joins…" description: "\"No kid is seeking anything when he joins a gang; he's always fleeing something. He's not being pulled; he's being pushed by the circumstances in which ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/greg-boyle-3692_always_no-kid-is-seeking-anything-when-he-joins_1304578.png" --- # No kid is seeking anything when he joins a gang; he's… ![“No kid is seeking anything when he joins a gang; he's always fleeing something. He's not being pulled; he's being pushed by the circumstances in which he finds himself.” quote by Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/greg-boyle-3692_always_no-kid-is-seeking-anything-when-he-joins_1304578.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/greg-boyle-3692_always_no-kid-is-seeking-anything-when-he-joins_1304578.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/327/greg-boyle-3692_always_no-kid-is-seeking-anything-when-he-joins_1304578.png) > “No kid is seeking anything when he joins a gang; he's always fleeing something. He's not being pulled; he's being pushed by the circumstances in which he finds himself.” [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joining a gang is often an escape from personal pain, not a pursuit of belonging. **In simple terms:** People join gangs to flee something. Key Takeaway Address underlying trauma, not just gang presence. Themes trauma escape gangs community Mood empathetic hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - school counseling - community outreach - rehabilitation programs Key Concepts psychology social dynamics intervention Questions to Reflect On - What pain drives people toward gangs? - How can communities offer healthier escapes? A Different Perspective Complex social factors may resist simple solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Fleeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing/) [Fleeing Pulled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing-pulled-4295711/) [Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang/) [Gang Fleeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang-fleeing-4295709/) [Joins Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joins-gang-4295708/) [Kid Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kid-seeking-4295710/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) ## Related quotes > [Me wanting a gang member to have a different life would never be the same as that gang member wanting to have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/me-wanting-a-gang-member-to-have-a-different-life-would-never-be-the/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [In Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world, we have 1,100 gangs and 120,000 gang members so it is a daunting, complex social dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/in-los-angeles-the-gang-capital-of-the-world-we-have-1-100-gangs-and/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [We don't need a specialized gang unit. We need patrol officers who specialize in knowing their community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/we-don-t-need-a-specialized-gang-unit-we-need-patrol-officers-who/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Businesses have come and gone at Homeboy Industries. We have had starts and stops, but anything worth doing is worth failing at. We started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/businesses-have-come-and-gone-at-homeboy-industries-we-have-had/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I know now that gang warfare is not the Middle East or Northern Ireland. There is violence in gang violence, but there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-know-now-that-gang-warfare-is-not-the-middle-east-or-northern/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I work with gang members, and I feel a kind of affinity and gift, even. But who would've thunk it, you know? I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-work-with-gang-members-and-i-feel-a-kind-of-affinity-and-gift-even/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I do believe in lessons learned. I have learned that you work with gang members and not with gangs; otherwise, you enforce the cohesion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-do-believe-in-lessons-learned-i-have-learned-that-you-work-with/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I have never seen a hopeful person join a gang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-have-never-seen-a-hopeful-person-join-a-gang/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [You can't reason with gang violence: you can't talk to it, sit it at the table, and negotiate with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/you-can-t-reason-with-gang-violence-you-can-t-talk-to-it-sit-it-at/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [The idea that any law enforcement agency or person would ever know these gang members better than Homeboy Industries is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-idea-that-any-law-enforcement-agency-or-person-would-ever-know/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Gang members aren't frightened into acceptable behavior by increased penalties, enhanced punishments, and the promise of new detention facilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/gang-members-aren-t-frightened-into-acceptable-behavior-by-increased/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [“Darkness is the absence of light. Therefore, darkness is always fleeing from where light is and scurrying off to where it is not. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/darkness-is-the-absence-of-light-therefore-darkness-is-always-fleeing/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense. It's an execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-shoot-someone-who-is-fleeing-it-s-not-self-defense-it-s-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Greg Boyle > [The truth is this: Brutalized, victimized children invariably will brutalize and victimize when they grow up. Is our only response to this the certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-truth-is-this-brutalized-victimized-children-invariably-will/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I don't save people. God saves people. I can point them in the right direction. I can say, 'There's that door. I think if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-don-t-save-people-god-saves-people-i-can-point-them-in-the-right/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Gang members aren't frightened into acceptable behavior by increased penalties, enhanced punishments, and the promise of new detention facilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/gang-members-aren-t-frightened-into-acceptable-behavior-by-increased/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [The idea that any law enforcement agency or person would ever know these gang members better than Homeboy Industries is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-idea-that-any-law-enforcement-agency-or-person-would-ever-know/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [You can't reason with gang violence: you can't talk to it, sit it at the table, and negotiate with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/you-can-t-reason-with-gang-violence-you-can-t-talk-to-it-sit-it-at/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I have never seen a hopeful person join a gang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-have-never-seen-a-hopeful-person-join-a-gang/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Most citizens viewing the tape of Rodney G. King being beaten by police officers were stunned and uncomprehending. Most citizens, that is, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/most-citizens-viewing-the-tape-of-rodney-g-king-being-beaten-by/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [“On most days, if I'm true to myself, I just want to share my life with the poor, regardless of result. I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/on-most-days-if-i-m-true-to-myself-i-just-want-to-share-my-life-with/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [The poor evangelize you about what's important and what is the Gospel, and that that's where the joy is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-poor-evangelize-you-about-what-s-important-and-what-is-the-gospel/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [“Leon Dufour, a world-renowned Jesuit theologian and Scripture scholar, a year before he died at ninety-nine, confided in a Jesuit who was caring for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/leon-dufour-a-world-renowned-jesuit-theologian-and-scripture-scholar/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [When the vastness of God meets the restriction of our own humanity, words can't hold it. The best we can do is find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/when-the-vastness-of-god-meets-the-restriction-of-our-own-humanity/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I spent the summers of 1984 and 1985 as an associate pastor at Dolores Mission Church, the poorest parish in the Los Angeles archdiocese.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-spent-the-summers-of-1984-and-1985-as-an-associate-pastor-at/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [The margins don't get erased by simply insisting that the powers-that-be erase them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-margins-don-t-get-erased-by-simply-insisting-that-the-powers-that/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [It has become an accepted tenet that kids will rarely listen to their parents but seldom fail to imitate them. Communicating the message has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/it-has-become-an-accepted-tenet-that-kids-will-rarely-listen-to-their/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [There is no such thing as a bad cop, only disturbing and dominant cop thinking that will invariably lead to excessive force and tragic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-cop-only-disturbing-and-dominant-cop/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) [Explore all 124 Greg Boyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. 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