TTT - "Andy, so they have a different meaning for "respect" then? Ie they want to have it but don't want to earn it. So it's like pretening to be rich but with no money hoping you can get some money by being nasty to anyone who does not acknowledge how "rich" you are! Fascinating."
That's exactly it.
The 'respect' they need is not the concept of respect as understood by wider society, it is a level of fear and intimidation which uses the same word, without, as you say, any concept of being deserving of any kind of repsect.
Because gang culture is, by definition, rooted in deep insecurity and an inability to relate to others in any meaningful way, gang members must constantly assess and re-assess their status in the opinions of their peers, and any attempt to push an individual down the pecking order - real or simply perceived or misunderstood from the constantly clacking nonsense of social media, must be addressed with a response that is brutal as it is immediate.
It is an entirely alien existence, difficult for adults to comprehend, and the way to unlock its inisidious hold on young people is to educate them before they get to their teens, and move into this seriously horrible frightening isolating experience.