Ted said:
I just don't believe that so many choose a life of crime because it is more convinient. Granted, some do (I don't know any percentage on this one) but for most it has become a way of life. Most are smart enough to calculate the risk of a stick-up or robbery. Why do so many run the risk, because they have no alternative. If it was easier, why is our crime rate so much lower? Is it because a thug overhere has higher moral or a better work-ethos then the ones over in America? I doubt it.... bit I haven't got the answer though, just a hunch.
I am sure that if you do a little research that you can find government programs in place to help those in need. There are many city and state programs to help those in need as well. I feel that a person is responsible for their actions.
I am adamant, my mind can not be changed: There is no situation so bad that a person can not better themselves through legal and acceptable means. That goes from the highest to the lowest.
I used to live in the woods in a little shack made of plywood, slept on the ground in sleeping bags. Myself, 4 brothers and a sister along with my stepdad and mother. I won't bore you with all the details of day to day life. Suffice it to say my stepdad did all in his power to get us out of the "homeless" state. I am not sure of all he did, but he did make use of the various programs to be sure that we all were provided for and eventually we were able to move into a house and resume a "normal" life. I was raised financially poor, in an abusive home, that is putting it mildly. It would have been easy for some or all family members to turn into degenerates and a life of crime. But stepdad did the right thing and raised us as best he could. Unfortunately him and my mother were not married for long. But he is the person that I model my life after. He has very strong morals and values and kept trying to get back on top even after he had been kicked down.
I have risen above that and
DARE others to say that they can not do the same. It is not society that is at fault, it is the individual person's choice to be the way they are. So anyone that says they are this way because of mom and dad or because society etc, I call bullsh**. I say they are that way because they decided it was easier than making an actual bonafide effort to better themselves.
When I say easier, I mean it is easier to go rob a liquor store, or a bank, or any numberr of things, than to spend the time to educate themselves at school, or get a legitimate job, etc. You are talking in most cases 3+ years before they can get out there and make a good go of it. Many people decide it isn't worth the time or effort.
They decide it is easier to go spend 10 minutes robbing or raping or whatever it is than to spend a much longer amount of time doing it the legal way.
I apologize for the rant. Statements like that, made by Ted, above get my blood boiling a bit and really irritate me. People nowadays seem to refuse to take any responsibility for their actions and there are others that let them get away with it.