If trapped in absolute poverty, would you turn to crime?

[BoogieManFL]

Well I have family that would take me in for a good while before it came to that. But if I somehow didn't? I don't know. Typically such things disgust me greatly and I would be very hard pressed to ignore my conscience and personal morals..

If I had children or something more pressing like that.. Well there are places that will take children and give them better homes. If I was that bad off they'd be better off without me, at least until I got things straitened out.

On the other hand, I can't imagine it being impossible to find employment in general with places like McDonald's and Wal Mart that aren't terribly picky about their employees. Of course, if you have some kind of disability then it's a whole different story.


And if at my absolutely lowest I did somehow resort to crime, I would try very hard to avoid harming anyone specifically and would try to focus on more ambiguous victims and places with insurance and such.

That being said, I imagine that most people who have had to resort to cannibalism to survive would have considered it unthinkable before then.

 

[freaper]

Thank God I'm living a comfortable life, with the ability to discuss hypothetical scenarios on the internet with hundreds of my peers all over the world.

I'd like to say I wouldn't turn to crime to support myself and/or my family, but seeing as I've never been in such a situation I couldn't tell you what I would do if I were to end up in one. Hopefully that will never happen and I don't have to think about it.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Can't say for sure until you're actually in that position, but I would like to think I wouldn't turn to theft, especially not mugging people.

I would definitely turn to selling drug if there was no other option.

 

[das_n00b]

Living in poverty IS a crime in the US.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

To preface, I live very comfortably so I don't know how accurate this answer's gonna be but I think yes.
I'd have a hard time doing it, I think, but here's the thing, at some point, prison might be a better life. I'd get three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, a roof over my head...
I'd ride my crime spree as long as I could before I got caught then just throw my hands up and say "Hey, you got me."

 

[Recusant]

it's not really a legitimate question. you're alive; to a certain extent you don't have a choice in the matter.

you will do what your brain tells you feel is necessary to survive.

It is a completely legitimate question; human beings aren't machines. Yes, your brain will tell you what to do; you are in no way bound to listen. We have suicides, we have martyrs. You can choose to decide that some things are more important than continuing to live, and you can act according to those decisions.

I live in a country with social programs; they're inadequate and underfunded, but they'll keep you alive. I live in a subculture that understands the importance of family, especially in these matters, and I'm lucky enough to have a huge chunk of it still alive. It's quite unlikely I'd wind up in a situation where all of that changed and I was still alive; much less one where "crime" still held any meaning. But assuming it did... Very little. In a society that poor, crime isn't going to be reliable way to put food on the table. Above and beyond the inherent risks, there're going to be times when there's nothing to steal. I've seen what starvation looks like, and can only conclude that a life where you get just enough food to die slower is, if anything worse. I may be willing to run with it myself for a while, chancing that things will get better, but in the long term? There comes a point where you have to simply say that enough's enough; if the only way to stay alive is to lose your humanity, it's probably time to call it a life.

 

[Darkmantle]

Absolutely, and I have no reservations about saying that either.

As a matter of fact, most people would, whether they admit it or not I'd say.

 

[Timeless Lavender]

Even though I would love to think of myself a moral person, when push comes to shove, I may do anything to survive. I hate the idea of doing illegal, criminal acts but when a human is put in a certain situation (and even having to take of children) they will do anything or everything for survival .

 

[chuckman1]

Americans can look to México (a middle income country) and see how the right mix of poverty, immobility, and corruption can create a criminal problem bordering on civil war. Ive heard it said that the sinaloa cartel employs more than any business in their home state.

 

[dragonswarrior]

The way I've always seen it if you're in a living situation like that because of whatever system you're in, then the crime has already been committed against you. Societies laws exist for a reason, and if they exist to commit violence against you or your loved ones than fuck 'em and take what you need.

Or fight for change. But that's usually a lot harder when your belly is empty and you don't know where you're sleeping tonight.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

You know, the sad thing is that if you're homeless and starving you're already committing a crime. It's illegal to be homeless.

So yes, if I was completely destitute I would commit crimes, because my very existence would already be a crime that I could be arrested for.

Crazy to think about right?

 

[FalloutJack]

Only if I could be a dashing highwayman like Dennis Moore.

 

[Queen Michael]

Nah. I'm clever me. I'd make a living doing stuff that's not technically illegal instead.

 

[Parasondox]

You know, the sad thing is that if you're homeless and starving you're already committing a crime. It's illegal to be homeless.

So yes, if I was completely destitute I would commit crimes, because my very existence would already be a crime that I could be arrested for.

Crazy to think about right?

Where in this world is it "illegal" to be homeless?

 

[chuckman1]

You know, the sad thing is that if you're homeless and starving you're already committing a crime. It's illegal to be homeless.

So yes, if I was completely destitute I would commit crimes, because my very existence would already be a crime that I could be arrested for.

Crazy to think about right?

Where in this world is it "illegal" to be homeless?

Florida I believe. In places like Colombia the Government hires death squads to massacre homeless. The criminilization of homelessness in the US has grown, or so it seems to me.

 

[Barbas]

You know, the sad thing is that if you're homeless and starving you're already committing a crime. It's illegal to be homeless.

So yes, if I was completely destitute I would commit crimes, because my very existence would already be a crime that I could be arrested for.

Crazy to think about right?

Where in this world is it "illegal" to be homeless?

I guess he's referring to places in which little provision is made available for the homeless and it is against the law to sleep in the rough or occupy habitable buildings, so the homeless end up falling through the cracks. This also applies to places in which it's made more of a priority to criminalize behaviour like that rather than provide the necessary amenities. Then there are places with death squads, as the other fellow mentioned.

 

[Parasondox]

You know, the sad thing is that if you're homeless and starving you're already committing a crime. It's illegal to be homeless.

So yes, if I was completely destitute I would commit crimes, because my very existence would already be a crime that I could be arrested for.

Crazy to think about right?

Where in this world is it "illegal" to be homeless?

Florida I believe. In places like Colombia the Government hires death squads to massacre homeless. The criminilization of homelessness in the US has grown, or so it seems to me.

Death Squads?!? Well Colombia better have a quick fix solution so people don't become homeless in the first place because that's fucking sickening.

 

[Galletea]

It is impossible to say, if you are desperate, starving, and with no hope of ever getting out, then I can't say what I would be prepared to do. If I were living in the parts of th world you refer to then the police aren't exactly going to be on my side so it wouldn't be a priority to stick to the law. Otherwise being on the streets and whatever carries with it a load of minor laws I'd be breaking anyway.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

Homelessness is already a crime in several parts of Florida (where I live), so whether I help or hurt I'm on the wrong side of the law. Put starvation and thirst in the equation, I'm sure I would be in the darkest side of the criminal underworld in record time.