The two examples of illegal ethical crimes committed by minorities that I chose to write about shown in the news are the MS-13 and the Crips. Each of these group activities results in blocked opportunities. According to the Strain Theory of Deviance, Merton states that: “society puts pressure on individuals to achieve socially accepted goals (such as the American dream), even if they lack the means (ReviseSociology)”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On strain theory, Merton focuses on how some groups of individuals cannot achieve legitimate goals set by our society and must use means of Innovation in order for them to get their feet inside the door of the American dream. For example, MS-13 uses innovation such as drug dealing to achieve financial security so that it can adapt to the pressure exerted by our societal belief system. According to the article written by Dana Liebelson and Ariel Edwards-Levy, he stated that: “ MS-13 members are primarily immigrants and descendants of El Salvador; the gang is not so much a sophisticated international organization as a collection of cliques dedicated to violence, small-scale drug dealing and other crimes (Liebelson and Edwards-Levy).” Although MS-13 is one of the most dangerous gangs in the country, the group tends not to target the entire United States as a whole but a particular community. On the other hand, gangs like the Crips also use innovation to achieve financial security. According to the article written by Al Valdez, he states that: “Crip members are African American males in their thirties; the most common drugs marketed were phencyclidine (PCP), marijuana, barbiturates, amphetamines, and later cocaine, which was a huge profit (Valdez). The Crisps also invest in real estate and various cash businesses with the drug money they receive. The Crips' illegal activities not only include drug dealing but also burglary and identification fraud where these factors help them make a profit. According to Merton's theory, "The 'American Dream' encouraged individuals to pursue a goal of success that was largely measured in terms of the acquisition of wealth and material possessions (ReviseSociology)." It is somewhat understandable if you think about why whereby these two different gangs choose to keep up with selling drugs to achieve socially accepted goals, even if they do it illegally. I'm not saying that selling drugs is the right thing to do, however, for many of the gang members,. to achieve material success the only way to achieve that goal faster is to commit illegal criminal activity which I believe is the result of blocked opportunities for MS-13 and the Crips is the idea of ​​the American dream and how much the. their background is different from most societies. The American dream is basically the belief that everyone in America has the same opportunity to succeed through hard work without many barriers in the way of achieving that goal. Which unfortunately is a lie, because that belief system seems to work more against minorities who commit illegal crimes than against whites who also commit illegal crimes. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Customize Essay People who join gangs like MS-13 and Crips don't come from a fairly wealthy background, and many of them grow up on the side of..