Warriors 120 strong? Would they be that big in real life?

[Scurvy Dog]

Hey all.

I was just pondering the fact that the warriors were 120 strong, and Cyrus' speech that suggested gang members and affiliates outnumbering the police 3 to 1.

I realize The Warriors is a futuristic, dystopian setting, but was that number even remotely realistic? 120 members in one specific gang in one neighborhood?

I mean, I know 8,000,000 people live in NYC, and there were a lot more gangs in 1979, but were those numbers exaggerated for the film? It seems like a disproportionately high number of youths would have to be involved in gangs for those numbers to be accurate.

Yes, I know the Warriors is only a movie, and there is some suspension of disbelief required, but I was curious how close this aspect of the film was to the truth. It seems if it were close, there would be more kids in gangs that kids who are not in gangs.

[eliminator1]

I think it is an exaggeration for the sake of the movie, but bear in mind that they also count affiliates, people with ties to certain gangs but without being actual members themselves. The part about the combined gangs outnumbering the police seems pretty realistic, even without the dystopian future setting. Far easier to recruit local street kids and small time crooks for the gangs, and these types are far more easily replaced if they get arrested/killed/retired whatever than a cop would be.

Maybe in Warriors world New York is overpopulated, so gang kids are still greatly outnumbered by civillian kids.

[Ed_The_Warrior]

As you say Scurvy Dog 120 is a huge amount of gang members to have & is proberly highly unlikely.
But saying that back in the late 70's,early 80's gangs were big business and the numbers in gangs were massive i should imagine,consisting of young and old.Anyhow i bet they had a job wittling it down to the last and best best nine 

[The Warriors 9]

We need Mike to chime in on this. Some of the major gangs in Chi town Blackstone Rangers, Vicelords, Latin Kings etc (can't remember yours Mike sorry) had members in the 1000's. 120 I'm sure for many gangs is not unrealalistic.

[SoldierHeavyMuscle]

hey, Ron!!
whats up, buddy?
hows them tomatoes, man!?

yeah, actually thats not an unrealistic # at all.
back in the 80's, chicago was pretty well divided georaphicly,
not so much by neighborhood, but by gang turf.
and there were a few gangs with well over 1000 active members.
but the difference is, they werent nessessarily in one place.
they could be spread out, across the city.
it wasnt like in the movie, there were different "sets" or "hoods".

the Blackstone Rangers, turned into the El Rukns,
the El Rukns had a meeting, in 82' or 83',  (no, BS!) and i was there.
and i wanna say they estimated the turnout,
at a little over 5000 gang members, from different gangs across the city.
they were trying to keep crack out of Chicago, and a kind of informal truce.
they were police, and city people there, it was organized.

obviously, your not gonna pull something like that off,
without the authorities involved.
the truce lasted about 3 days.
and they obviously didnt keep crack out of chicago, either.

[SoldierHeavyMuscle]

and yeah, i know!!
this is border-line "illegal activity" talk.
but its relevant, to the question.

[adam88]

Just great, I missed the topic, and now I guess my saying is not important  .  Well I'll just add my 2 cents anyway.  Actually, considering that the gang was 120, I thought that was actually a small amount.  Especially with rival gangs all around the, I am surprised thay even have control over the whole territory of Coney Island in the first place. Take the Vice Lords for example (sorry about using real gangs), they promoted unity, and peace amongst the neighborhood, thus growing a vast influence over the community.  Therefore, with their influence, and promotion of a peaceful neighborhood, their gang grew to thousands.  So I am surprised the warriors lasted that long with only 120.  Well I suppose thats why they are the warriors.  Maybe their like the 300, and their will power kept them alive, as the underdogs.  Interesting topic, excellant point guys.

[TheGingerWarrior]

SHM, Is there any way you could tell us your whole gang life story, it seems really interesting.
Or would you be breaking the omerta 

[Baby Bear]

I think Ed the warrior is right. The reason why is because you can look at all the ganster movies from the 70s for example The Wanderers did you see how deep those Duckee boys were when they fought at the end? There were like 100 or more armed.

Well weren't The Black Panthers a big gang?
um are The Ganster Desiples a big gang?
Vice lords were big just like Adam08 said.

I actually know about all those gangs but we shouldn't talk about them.

[SoldierHeavyMuscle]

ok, here.....

you guys REALLY wanna find out all the information your lookin for??
go search my old posts!!!
i gaurantee youll find everything you wanna know!

we used to be a little more relaxed on things we talked about,
when there were less members.
yes, i grew up in the worst gang neighborhood, in Chicago.
in 1984, the neighboorhood i lived in...
was rated the 3rd most dangerous neighborhood, in the country!
as a matter of fact, it was a big deal, i remember! lol
(cool, huh!?) LOL :p

so go back, and i mean WAY BACK!!!
and youll find out what you wanna know!

[TheGingerWarrior]

Sounds like some sort of mystical quest . . . .

Go back!!!
And you will find what you are looking for . . . 

[cowboy rules]

ok, here.....

you guys REALLY wanna find out all the information your lookin for??
go search my old posts!!!
i gaurantee youll find everything you wanna know!

we used to be a little more relaxed on things we talked about,
when there were less members.
yes, i grew up in the worst gang neighborhood, in Chicago.
in 1984, the neighboorhood i lived in...
was rated the 3rd most dangerous neighborhood, in the country!
as a matter of fact, it was a big deal, i remember! lol
(cool, huh!?) LOL :p

so go back, and i mean WAY BACK!!!
and youll find out what you wanna know!

Go back? I'd have to spend about 3 months trying to sift through all they posts. You've been here so long, theres just two damn many! lol

[sharker_93]

I think it is an exaggeration for the sake of the movie, but bear in mind that they also count affiliates, people with ties to certain gangs but without being actual members themselves. The part about the combined gangs outnumbering the police seems pretty realistic, even without the dystopian future setting. Far easier to recruit local street kids and small time crooks for the gangs, and these types are far more easily replaced if they get arrested/killed/retired whatever than a cop would be.

Maybe in Warriors world New York is overpopulated, so gang kids are still greatly outnumbered by civillian kids.

yup...i agree with what he says in the affiliates part...it may even be more than 120 because cleon said 120 plus...

[Swan 1979]

SHM what page man you've been on here so long.

[The Warriors 9]

Sorry Don't have a page to go to but going to the big names and starting at there first posts and going backwards has always been a fun thing for me.

The stuff you find really is a kick and you can pick up a ungodly amount of info.