I remember when my "L" was about that age and he started to get somewhat interested in that stuff. It didn't take him too long to decide it was really dumb and that it wasn't for him. I think there were more than two really good reasons, but the two that always seemed to stand out for me were that, A. He really DID live in an inner city nieghborhood and saw first hand all the garbage that that kind of lifestyle lead to. He saw a lot from a very early age, unfortunately...or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it. And, B., I like to think I had a positive influence on him, especially when I got him involved with our band as a bass player. It gave him something really cool and constructive to do. But it was definately "L" who made the decision to stay away from all the gang garbage, which he could have been very easily involved in.