Milken Institute Review 2Q10 Page 86

The Milken Institute Review

k
obi

wolf

/
apoll

a
ges/polaris

barring them from outside options imagine
the look on a prospective employer's face if a
former Yakuza member were to appear for a
job interview with a tattoo visible on his arm

not to mention the look on prospective in-

laws' faces if a former Yakuza wanted to
marry their child. The Russian Mafia and

American street gangs use tattoos in similar

ways to signal commitment.

The Hell's Angels provide a different ex-

ample of up-front sacrifice. As a rite of entry,

veteran members pour buckets of urine and

excrement on a new member, who then rides
for weeks wearing the soiled clothes. The
stench must effectively exclude social and
economic opportunities outside the gang.

Note, too, that criminal organizations

often find it to be in their interest to provide
social services to communities. The Mafia has
provided scholarships and made loans to the

needy. Street gangs in the United States often
constrain petty crime, sponsor street festivals
and occasionally rough up landlords at the re-
quest of tenants. The Yakuza of Kobe provided
disaster relief after the earthquake of 1995.

gratuitous cruelty
One might think that a religious group aspir-
ing to govern would try to make itself popular

with local residents. Yet radical religious orga-
nizations often go out of their way to make life
worse for the populations they aim to govern.

Hamas imposes general strikes on Palestin-

ians, shutting down businesses that are barely
surviving as is and restricting access to shop-
ping for hungry households. Muqtada al-
Sadr's Mahdi Army in Basra is infamous for
harassing women who don't wear veils. The

Taliban massacred civilians and executed ho-

mosexuals by dropping a wall on them. Women