There are several types of misunderstanding about youth gangs. One overlooks the subcultures of gangs; another distorts the characteristics of youth who join gangs; and a third concerns the differing dynamics of neighborhoods when they are more or less vulnerable to gang intrusion. Understanding the subculture of gangs, what young gang-member recruits are like, and certain aspects of neighborhoods where gangs thrive is critical for any successful suppression, intervention, or prevention program. One aspect of gang subculture is graffiti. Graffiti is used to announce what has or will happen in the gang world. It is also used as a means by which many gang members handle or evoke grief; other functions of graffiti are to mark and define gang territory as well as to communicate publicly in a way that most passersby cannot understand. Some common methods of gang recruitment are to beat and intimidate a youth until he joins the gang, force a youth to commit misdemeanors and felonies to create a dependence on the gang for protection from the police, and to be brought into the gang under the sponsorship of a member who has "juice." Juveniles who are particularly vulnerable to being recruited for gang membership are those who are emotionally or socially impaired. Gang prevention approaches must focus on the various reasons why youth join gangs. In addressing the problem of gangs, there has been a tendency to overlook the more macro economic and other cultural forces that are playing significant roles in alienating many youth from a stake in the legitimate economy and normative socioeconomic behaviors.