Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

In its early days, Homeboy Industries received a wide variety of threats, such as bomb threats, and its facilities were vandalized several times. Why did Homeboy Industries’ initiatives receive such negative attention?

Compare and contrast Greg Boyle’s character with that of 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace, who appears in the first chapter of the book. In what ways are they fundamentally different from each other? What circumstances account for their differences?

Kinship is an extremely important theme throughout the entire book. To Boyle, what is kinship and how can it be achieved? Moreover, what societal realities stop human kinship from being realized?

Boyle learned Spanish during his early missionary work in Bolivia. How did this affect his later gang outreach efforts as a Catholic priest in Los Angeles? Do you think Boyle’s knowledge of Spanish made him a more effective priest? Why or why not? Provide examples.

Boyle built up Homeboy Industries entirely around the notion of giving gang members a “second chance.” Do you think that Boyle’s gang-outreach initiatives could be helpful in other parts of America? Is the Homeboy Industries’ model a model that should be enacted around the nation? Explain how it might be implemented elsewhere?

In one of the later chapters of the book, Boyle takes the young homies Richie and Chepe to a diner, only to realize they have never been to a sit-down restaurant before. Why do you think this is the case? Explain what transpires and the symbolism in each person’s response to the situation.

Mike Wallace admits to Boyle that he thought he was going to find “monsters” amongst the young men that Boyle helps on a day-to-day basis. Do you think that gang members are “monsters?” Why or why not? Support your argument with textual evidence. 

Just several decades ago, there were hundreds of gangs in Los Angeles. Why is the lifestyle of a gang member appealing to young men and women?