[andy305mia]

Well I have this friend I been having for 2 years and he comes 2 my house once in a while but he is in gangs, addicted to smoking, but I recently joined the gang for no reasoni just felt like fighting. Because to join in the gang you have to fight 3 people and I beat up the3 kids pretty bad. And he was one of the 3 kids. Now he likes 2 start fights with some other gangs there and he wants me to fight them and idont like fighting for no reason. And because of him I been having a lot of problems in school. And I got in a fight with a kid from another gang and I beat him up bad, then like 5 other people tried to jump me so I ran. Then my friend cared for me so he wanted to jump them but they caught my friend walking home so they jumped my friend , so my friend jumped him back cause he brought like 30 people to fight like 6 people. And I don't like being in any gang violence so I got out of the gang. Now all he talks about is how good I fight, and the fact that I don't like to fight. But he still comes to my house sometimes, but are friendship wasn't like it used to be. It got worse. We used to chill everyday but now he lost with all this gang violence and its getting him arrested and it got him kicked out of school. Now I'm hanging out with the friends that never start any trouble and I feel better hanging out with them. But I just want to no if I should hang out with him any more and if he is really my friend?

[avenger9000]

My advice would be to stop hanging out with him! It sounds to me like this so called friendship is turning you into a violent person and you mentioned that you don't like fighting... and believe me violence does not solve problems, it merely creates new ones...

And secondly no, he is not really your friend!!

So my advice summed up in three sentences

Stay away from him
Stay away from him
Stay away from him

[JBeaucaire]

Friends make each others lives better. He was a bad influence on you, taking your life into criminal directions, and you were smart and got out.

Don't fall back. Friends make each other's lives better. They don't endanger one another, they don't let each other do dangerous things without trying to stop them.

Think of it this way - right now YOU can be his friend if you constantly influence him out of the gangs and away from trouble. Since he isn't interested in giving these things up right now, HE isn't YOUR friend. He's a dangerous negative influence.

So, never listen to anything he says or suggests, even his compliments are to be suspected. But you can keep trying to steer him right if you want, just be careful, he's not your friend until he's given it all up and is influencing YOU for good again.