Yeah there's obvious reasons why organized crime is dangerous, but it's designed to lure people in with quick money/protection/sense of identity and then trap them.

The same goes for any behavior where one knows adverse consequences beforehand. I remember I bummed my first cigarette from a stranger one day when I was stressed out as a teenager. When I got hooked on the addictive properties and irreversibility damaged my lungs should there have been no room for empathy?

I'm not saying choosing to view this kid as a victim solves anything or that people should share my view. I want more voices spreading it so people can see there's another way to see the world.

And fwiw like most people my attitude flips 180 when I'm the victim of a crime. I am after all, only human.