I came across these quotes written by Supreme Court Justice Simpson in Australia in my readings for class and he eloquently explains what I believe about people’s bad choices:

“Drug addicts do not come to their addiction from a social or environmental vacuum. This Court should not close its eyes to the multifarious circumstances of disadvantage and deprivation that frequently precede and precipitate a descent into illegal drug use.”

“Nor can I accept that the exercise of free choice in the use of drugs is always of equal dimensions. It is not every decision to use drugs that can properly or fairly be characterized as a decision made in the exercise of free choice. The will of an individual can be overborne, or undermined, not only by acts of another person, but also the pressure of circumstances. I do not accept that most drug offenders are truly exercising free will when they choose the degradation, despair, criminality and cycle of imprisonment that can follow the initial use of illegal drugs. The circumstances that propel the offender to use drugs are often, if not usually, beyond his or her control. They may or may not be combined with a vulnerable personality or even a weakness of character. Many drug offenders have not had the life experiences or the normal developmental path that permit a conclusion that the decision to take drugs was a decision made in the exercise of a free choice in the sense in which that phrase is ordinarily understood.”

Not that bad choices are excusable, or that all bad choices are a result of bad environments and circumstances.  But I just think that free choice isn’t always as readily available as we, who live a privileged life, imagine.

I definitely think there is a balance.  I think people should be more empathetic about circumstances, but at the same time, drug offenders need to take responsibility to repair the damage that has been done in their lives.  It’s a delicate balance in social work– advocating for those who need it, while empowering people to advocate for themselves and take responsibility for their actions.  For some strange reason, I think we crave a black and white conclusion on people’s poor life outcomes, we want to be able to say, “it’s their fault” or “it’s not their fault”. I think we need to move away from that in order to improve society.