Submitted by Prentice Vann:
Poverty equaling crime is a debate to many, not a fact. Some think that crime is committed by choice and not circumstance. Their argument is that poverty doesn't make one commit racist murders and rapes. Rapes would make a good argument against poverty breeding criminal activity. Does poverty create rape? Does poverty create showing off at events or for the opposite sex at events? At the same time, does poverty breed drug dealing or robberies? It probably depends on the individual. We3 can debate all day but both points of views can make a point in our society.
In these first two videos, the view of crime being of one's intentions is expressed. The two individuals, a white person from America and a black person from Africa, agree that crimes committed by people are of the nature of the individual. People commit crimes because they want to, so they say. The African says that it's due to respect. We know of a certain level of crimes in the US due to respect. An example would be the murder of someone approaching your lover, knowing that you two are together. Also, physical harm done to someone disrespecting your mother, spouse, or child in any matter.
Others say that (some) crime is brought about by circumstance. The rent needs to be paid and the children, and self, need to be fed. Would someone that would not commit murder commit murder in self-defense? How about if her/his children are there? The government even judges crimes by their purpose. A premeditated murder would result in giving out more prison time than manslaughter. The individual in the video on the right mentions the need of money as a reasonable reason to sell drugs. He also expresses he feelings toward over doing it. He basically say that if one does what he/she does to get what they need, or achieve a level of advancement, they should stop their crimes. One thing that we all should agree on is that our children need to be fed. That would be most of our breaking points. 