The Society’s Parasite

Does desperation breed crime? In our community, criminal activities have surged, slowly encroaching upon even the once-safest corners of our neighborhood. From store robberies, assassinations, holdups, and the illegal distribution of prohibited drugs within the city. There was a time when people paid no regard to their safety. People would carry on with their lives without being haunted by the thought of being mugged or of being a victim of crime. This poses a significant risk to our community and this would prompt us to ask whether the local authorities are effectively carrying out their responsibilities or not. On that note, an often overlooked question is, “Who are these people and why do they resort to criminal acts?”.

In line with that, a neglected portion of this narrative is addressing the origins of criminality. Empirically, people performing these wrongdoings usually belong to the poorest sectors of our society. This is not to suggest that being underprivileged equates to being criminal, rather, this implies that there is a noteworthy link between poverty and criminal behavior that needs to be unraveled.

While financial struggles are constant in a person’s life, their causes should not be disregarded. People in power, to keep the disparity between them and their laborers, pay less than the work their laborers exert. In essence, laborers are paying wages that just about scrape by for survival each day. This perpetual cycle hinders these struggling individuals from improving their lifestyles as well as alleviating their living conditions. Over time, it fuels an even stronger determination in them to pursue gains, driven by the urge to escape the harsh realities they are in. When pushed to the brink, desperation can transform into a catalyst that propels people towards criminal acts.

Given this fact, people who suffer hardships usually abandon their morality and venture new ways to provide for themselves and their families, whilst blindly ignoring its repercussions. Studies have shown that people living in strict conditions are more likely to get involved in activities such as drug trafficking and mugging. Although not conclusive, the financial struggle of a person is a driving factor for the commission of such activities.

For a long time, the idea of financial hardships has been romanticized and rendered people to be complacent to such circumstances. The idea of “antos antos lang sa” should never be a standard, it is a plague that will continuously contaminate the minds of generations to come and perpetuate these social inequalities. Therefore, to uproot this belief, a strategic and focused effort is required at its very origins. There needs to be projects or programs directed at this portion of society to provide them with the necessities such as education and subsidies to improve their quality of life.

Commonly, a prevailing misconception persists, leading people to erroneously associate criminality with the marginalized sectors of society. Yet, this notion fails to recognize a fundamental reality. It's not poverty itself that propels individuals toward criminal behavior, rather, it's the persistent and unaddressed social inequalities that act as the driving force behind their involvement in unlawful acts.