It is important not to neglect circumstances either. Also, be cautious in broadly generalizing between individuals who appear to share circumstances but diverge in their choices - their social opportunities and connections likely differ more than you realize.
Furthermore, you should more critically question whether you can really group robbery and prostitution into the same category of law-breaking. There are many alliances of sex workers who would strongly dispute this point. In many cases, it's a victimless crime. And yes it may be illegal, but so is jaywalking.

That said, yes, choices matter.

This article is a worthless scrap of canine excrement. Where is the absurd link between robbery and prostitution even established? One crime is not another, and it is only human nature to regard a means as acceptable if it creates a desired end. If you're only now realizing at your age that we are affected by more than just our circumstances (ex. being wealthy vs. poverse) and we have individual agency in creating/modifying our situations then I am truly curious as to what they teach in academic institutions these days. Obviously life experience is woefully lacking, but I'm sure exporting values and 'charity' with an NGO produces a nice high that helps you sleep at night. Ah! The burden of knowledge and wisdom!

Are you nuts? Victims and potential victims owe less consideration to (would be) thieves than the thieves give their victims. A thieve's decision to rob is just the latest in a lifelong string of bad, LAZY, selfish choices. These people have damaged personalities thanks to genes, wrong or missing parenting and peer pressure. Let them do as the winners you celebrate in your essay.

I agree with the author. She's NOT trying, as she stated, to say that crime is an excuse for a bad lifestyle, but we need to look at these things to understand WHY these people feel they have no choice. In Canada, most of us are raised that we have options, that there are people/organizations out there that can help us. The author is a long way from Canada, in a country that, based on her information, shoots muggers on the spot. If that happened here everyone would be in an uproar. I agree that crimes should not go unpunished, but I also believe that poeple do things out of desperation, or out of their environment. These kids are not raised to believe in the value of education and hard work, and therefore they don't see those as veritable options. Education lowers crime rates, and that is what these people need - not to be shot on sight. I bet most of them just need a push in the right direction, and that direction is not the grave. Open your minds, losers.

I think the root cause of crime is poverty. Many commit crimes helplessly. I've had a terrible experience of seeing a man getting thrashed in the public who said he stole money to feed his kids because they haven't eaten in 3 days. It makes you wonder what your purpose in life is. It made my question the purpose of my existence. Anybody can get a degree, get married and raise kids but I feel everybody should feel that they have some responsibility towards the society/country/planet. Reach out and help out those who need it. Please, please and please do it.

The root cause of crime is not poverty.. That is way to simple a view. Executives from Nortel, Worldcom, etc were not driven to the crimes they are accused of by poverty. Additionally, not all poor are criminals, actually, Most are not.

to "you guys suck":
In the Canadian system, people who pursue education and hard work have a reasonable chance of improving their lives. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of other stuff going on here as well - nepotism, social connections, discrimination abound - but there is a reasonable chance. But you can't assume that is the situation elsewhere - corrupt governments, sexism enshrined in law, rigid class hierarchies, and starvation wages are some of the major issues faced in many other countries. If you take all this into consideration, the idea that you'll get ahead just by going to school and working hard seems rather naive.

Though the author is claiming she doesn't want to let criminals off the hook, she does exactly that in claiming that some thieves (for example) are actually nice people--desperate, but nice. That assumption is flawed, since they are living off the hard work of others. Crime is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. My grandparents, who had no money, didn't rob people; they worked within the system, and worked hard.

Incidentally, prostitution is NOT a crime in Canada. Soliciting prostitution and living off the avails of prostitution (i.e. pimping) are illegal, and rightfully so. We criminalize the abuser, not the abused.

And finally, crime has quite clearly been shown in countless studies to be opportunistic, NOT a function of economics. That's why the availability of organized sports, which occupy people, cut down on crime.

Baldy:
The legislation on prostitution is very interesting. I know it sounds good initially, but there's a lot more to it. For example, the pimping law is actually about "living fully or partially off the avails of prostitution", which means that anyone who accepts money or goods from a sex worker can be charged with being his/her pimp. If a sex worker is supporting an aging parent, the parent can be charged. I heard a sex workers' rights activist say that the pimp law should be dropped entirely - if a pimp (as in the sort we usually think of) is abusing a sex worker, the pimp can be charged under other existing legislation, such as assault or theft.

Helen,
until you've lived the lives that these people have, get the heck down off your ivory tower high horse.

There are few things more offensive to people who've actually experienced real suffering and privation than the santimonious preaching of some spoiled child who thinks she shas some idea of what real life is about.

Some robbers will give you bus fare..true. Some robbers, when finding a credit card, will kill you because it will take a lot longer for the card to be cancelled.

If you really need money, why not sell your gun?

Bob Hare who is the Canadian justice system expert on psychopaths has made an estimate that 1 in 25 people are psychopaths. I personally think he is high, but that is his estimate. For the psychopath, the other does not exist. I suggest a read of his book "Without Conscience."

I apologize but I have to be honest, this is the most useless article I have ever read.

I just lunch video on you tube you better watch this, you lucky born as women, all respect money job and every things go to women, why I should give you respect as man when my government insulting me to take my right for you?
http://www.youtube.com/user/BCgovernment

Robbery is a crime in Canada. It is not a crime to be a prostitute or to partake of a prostitute's services. That is, consenting adults are legally permitted to exchange sex for money in this country, within certain parameters. It's legal to advertise prostitution services, but it's not legal to communicate for the purposes of prostitution in a public place such as on a street, in a hotel lobby or in a bar. It's also not legal to keep a brothel or to "live off the avails" of prostitution.

Most prostitutes in Canada work indoors, in private, without the services of pimps, agencies or other intermediaries. Those who work outside, on the street, are in a very different situation and face greater threats and dangers.

Virtually every woman who becomes a prostitute does so out of a dire need for money. Once that desperate situation has passed, some women choose to continue to engage in prostitution for many different reasons. However, the incidence of drug and alcohol abuse is no higher among prostitutes who work independently, "inside," than it is for the general population. Outside workers' stories are often very different.

I must say I am very surprised by the amount of emotional responses this post has elicited.

I am not equating armed robbery with prostitution. The link was drawn because here, the easiest way for males to access cash is through armed robbery, and females through prostitution.

I must also stress that I am not a journalist, and my blogs are not meant to enlighten, nor to inform. They are merely my opinions on my experiences. I am only a student trying to understand more about the world.

If you find that offensive or naive, there is an exit button on your browser.

Oh Helen,

Please don't let the personal attacks get you down or discourage you too much. Those of us who do enjoy your blog- and look forward to every new post- need to remember that you need to hear from us as well. I'm sorry I've waited so long now to post that I love reading about your experiences and admire your courage a great deal. Please know that for every attacking post you get on here, you have tons of other readers who do support and appreciate what you share with us on here.

This is so interesting to learn about a completely foreign part of the world, from someone who would have my perspective going in.

Thanks for sharing your fascinating experiences with us.

Yes. Thieves are bad people. Do not justify them. This blog is unnapealing because it's wishy washy global village, development stuff. You can help people from your own home!

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread."

Anatole France