The idolization of criminal love: Misplaced romance, a lifelong tragedy.

In recent days, the story of NTHVân, a Vietnamese woman accused of assisting six prisoners in escaping from a court in Svay Rieng province (Cambodia), has spread rapidly on social media. A video showing the woman hiding a gun, approaching her husband – one of the six prisoners – and then handing him the gun so the group could threaten police and flee has shocked many.

But the reaction was more attention-grabbing in the comments. Praises like "risking her life for love," "feminine courage," "my idol," "Southeast Asia's most devoted lover"... appeared frequently, as if such illegal behavior were something to be celebrated in love. Even on e-commerce platforms, there were shops producing heart-shaped keychains/necklaces printed with the "heroine's" image, which sold very well.

This story brings back another image that once sparked much debate: Ngoc Miu's kiss to drug kingpin Van Kinh Duong in court before the verdict. At the time, many people on social media commented, expressing admiration for the "hot girl's" love for "the man of her life"; with phrases like "he's wrong to the whole world, but not to me," "faithful until the very end," "love has no place for reason"...

In this life, no one dares to boast about love, because it is a category that is both simple and complex, both superficial and profound, and fraught with too many differences, variables, and exceptions. But there is one common point we see in these two stories and similar stories in real life around us: the female instinct seems to be often drawn to the unusual and the unconventional. The feeling of being pulled out of their comfort zone, of being drawn into a story different from the mundane daily life, leads many young girls to mistakenly believe that this is powerful love.

A peaceful romance is sometimes less exciting than a turbulent one. A carefree, rebellious man, or one with a touch of uncertainty, can create an illusion of attraction. In the past, it wasn't uncommon for good girls to chase after bad boys. Today, social media, movies, and literature amplify this feeling into a trend of "bad boy," "toxic man," and "loving the carefree." In these trends, the image of the rebellious man is imbued with a romantic aura.

But in real life, such feigned romance always comes at the cost of tears from those left behind. Behind those seemingly unforgettable love stories are fathers and mothers who weep until their tears run dry, children terrified by witnessing their parents standing before the judge, lasting shame for loved ones, and countless families shattered by the sins of wicked men and the wrong choices of young women…

These exorbitant costs may not be depicted in movies or videos deliberately edited and overlaid with romantic music, leading some young people, especially women, to have illusions, misconceptions, and distorted views about love and marriage.

Therefore, families with children in their transitional years must remember that teaching them about love cannot be left to the school of life. They need to make every effort to explain to their children what true love is, that love is not about accepting everything, that it doesn't mean being blind, and that love doesn't mean ignoring reason.

We need to teach our children how to love while maintaining their dignity and responsibility to themselves, their families, and society. Love, if it causes children to hang their heads before their families, tremble before the law, or lose their moral compass, is not a love worth holding onto.

It's also time for stricter regulations against the creation and dissemination of harmful and toxic stories and images in cultural forms and publications. Content creators shouldn't exaggerate romance or try to whitewash a character's wrongdoing in order to create a touching story that attracts readers. Instead, they must balance emotion with responsibility to the community.

The Svay Rieng incident and Ngoc Miu's kiss in the dock, as well as the "wave" of idolizing love in criminal relationships, serve as a wake-up call to re-examine how some young people today understand love. Love is beautiful when it doesn't demand that others pay the price with their freedom, their lives, or the future of their children. When we talk about love that defies all odds, let's ask ourselves: what is the point of defying all odds, and who will bear the consequences? If the answer is harm to the family, to the children, to society, then that is not love to be praised.