i understand your point of view but i just disagree. those individual decisions are all made in the context of capitalism and the conditions it creates. thats what fuels those decisions. just because two people come from the same socioeconomic background make different life choices it doesnt mean capitalism isnt to be blamed at the end of the day for the one who becomes involved in gang activity. it also overlooks that while their socioeconomic background may be similar nobody comes from the same exact circumstances

when i was a teenager my family was homeless for a few years. in and out of hotels, even living in a mosque at a time. nobody would give me a job. when i tell them i have no permanent phone number, no address, nobody would hire me. to make money i stole shit from walmart and sold it on craigslist. this eventually lead to my arrest. people can look at that in a vacuum and say i made my choices, and im not saying i didnt, but its not the choice i wanted to be making. it was the last choice i could make and i dont know how much of a choice i really had otherwise. you need money. no one will hire you. what do you do? i deeply sympathize with the people who end up living the gang life. while they may put out an image that says they’re tough and this and that, those are people who live with a lot of pain and suffering and they were pushed to that point by their conditions

im also not sure how saying capitalism causes suffering must necessarily mean socialism can cause suffering. that makes no sense to me. the basic premise of capitalism is exploitation. this is not the case for socialism.

suffering for capitalists? they deserve to suffer and their suffering under socialism is only a product of their entitlement so fuck em lol