Poverty

Captain Morgan, just like you, I am a young, pissed off South African. The sound of gun shots, everyday; the muggings, the usage of brutal violence; have been my everyday experiences. I too have been a victim of crime in South Africa.
Life in this country could be so much better without high walls, electric fences and constant alertness that "maybe it is going to be me today".
I have seen the worst side of South Africa, but I choose to remain optimistic and actually do something about the situation.
Personally, I do not believe that the people who mug us and rape women are "useless mongrels" that need to be shipped to an island of highest calibre sinners. They are human, most of them have deeper lying social problems. I don't think that there is anyone in their right mind who goes out to specifically hurt or kill another living human being, but I know many people who will do anything to provide something to eat for their family, to send their younger sibling to university, like you and I.
Don't get me wrong. I do not condone any act of violence aimed at another human being, but what I'm trying to point out is that I understand why sometimes I will be held at gunpoint in broad day light. It is because I have something that they don't have. I have a guaranteed opportunity to succeed in life, and unless I am willing to share my resources with those less fortunate then myself, I will(indirectly)threaten their "down-troden lives", as an everyday reminder that their chances of amounting to anything are slim.
What is stopping us from taking an initiative to combat poverty? When should we realise that poverty plays a huge role in crime? Such realisations star with us, the victims.