Not just because of poverty

(Baonghean) - Serious crimes have occurred in ordinary villages and the perpetrators of the massacres are all very ordinary people. Their backgrounds are clean, without any criminal record, even minor ones. Like the case that caused the death of 6 people in Binh Phuoc, 4 people in Nghe An and most recently 2 people in Quang Tri.

The biggest concern of anyone who knows the story is why are these normally gentle and obedient young men so cruel and inhumane when they act out of impulse? Some people think that if you observe carefully, you will see a very close connection between the circumstances of the suspects and the survey results that CIEM (Central Institute for Economic Management) has just announced. Accordingly, Vietnamese farmers are getting poorer, the GDP per capita in rural areas is only higher than Cambodia, the labor productivity of Vietnamese people is among the lowest in the world... That connection is poverty. Of course, being poor does not necessarily mean stealing, but when all means of livelihood are at a standstill, people are very likely to make mistakes, like "hunger eats secretly, poverty makes people do whatever they want". Explaining the cause in that way is not wrong but perhaps not entirely accurate.

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More than 20 years ago, hunger and poverty were more severe and severe than now. Hunger and ragged clothes were common. There was nothing to make a living except for a piece of land with nothing but bare hands. Therefore, some people did not see money for a whole year. Gold probably only existed in fairy tales. Robbery of other people's property also happened, but not as much as now. Murder and robbery were very rare. Especially in the countryside, it probably never happened. Therefore, we cannot blame all of it on poverty. Moreover, in the three massacres that shocked public opinion as mentioned above, only the one in Quang Tri took the life of another person because of poverty. The other two cases were both related to love. One case was a young love affair. The other was a neighborhood love affair. That said, poverty is only part of the root cause of the incident. The main part lies elsewhere.

The main part is probably due to the change of times. In the past, when everything was subsidized by the state, the thoughts, actions, and daily activities of the whole society followed the mechanism. From then on, people's desires and passions were also constrained by the system, so they had no chance to explode. Although it was hard and tiring, life was even and without distance. People always lived close, harmoniously, and openly with each other. Since the transition to a market economy, people have been free and comfortable to express their personal abilities, competing fiercely in all fields. Especially in doing business. Some talented and lucky people have broken through to become rich and become upper class. Some are just middle class. As for the majority, life is better than before, but compared to the surroundings, it is like heaven and earth. As the gap between rich and poor widens, so do people's feelings. Sympathy, sharing, caring, supporting and protecting each other are replaced by anger, bitterness and fierce competition following the trend of the times.

The business world is like a battlefield, there is no room for sentimental feelings. Everyone can be a partner or an opponent. So it is difficult to share pure and sincere feelings like before. Everything is converted into money. In the past, in the countryside, when we slaughtered chickens and pigs, if we lacked lemon leaves and basil, we would run around the neighborhood to ask for a whole basket. Now, going to the squatter market at the beginning of the village, spending a few thousand, we still have everything we need, but we feel like something is missing. Like a look, a bright and warm smile. The person paying and the person receiving the money are both cold. As cold as a multi-colored polymer bill. People have become colder and more indifferent to each other than ever.

People judge people by the value of their cars, houses, clothes, accounts, positions, and status, not by their character or morality. People are lonely even in their own villages and communities. There are things that are difficult to talk about, frustrations and sorrows that cannot be expressed to anyone. Thoughts are blocked with no way out, no place to release, and accumulate more and more, thickening. When an incident occurs, no matter how small, it will flare up, all the pent-up frustrations, resentments, and inferiority that have been pent up for so long are ready to be released. The consequence is that when they wake up, perhaps even the perpetrators do not expect it to be so tragic. That is just how animalistic nature has replaced human nature. That is probably the root cause of the unimaginable tragedies caused by "non-professional criminals".

The root of that situation is that the old order and values ​​have been broken. New orders and new values ​​have not yet formed. Everything is upside down and moving chaotically without any specific direction. So, do not blame all of it on poverty and deprivation. That is just one of the countless causes that are difficult to name.

Buddha Mountain