this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2025
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A pretty clear parallel is joining a gang because you don't have a lot of other economic opportunity. While it's a decent argument for lighter treatment, it's not a defense to actually committing crimes.
And like your example perfectly shows, that line of argument is only ever meaningfully deployed to specifically benefit the state and oligarchs. It's never used to encourage awareness of economic inequalities that push people toward cycles of incarceration.