Somewhere to Turn

"Do you understand, sir, do you understand what it means when you have absolutely nowhere to turn?... For every man must have somewhere to turn."-Crime and Punishment

When men are backed into walls, into corners, into small closets that become their home they shed their layers of humanity and civilization and fall to their animalistic tendencies... to overlook what they know is right, to kill, to drink, to steal. Can we blame these individuals for pushing back against a society that constantly leaves them no other option but to retaliate? Although these people endanger our society, can we really condemn their actions, believe that we are above them? In their struggles they made a choice... can those who live in apathy look down upon them? Instead of labeling these individuals as criminals, dangerous beings unfit to live amongst others, I think it is necessary to observe their situation, feel the pressure of a wall against your back and the weight of society and poverty against your chest before we set them on a scale against ourselves.