Falling Down
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On the topic of organized crime, it might sound rather radical but I'm going to share as best that I can a firsthand account that I read somewhere. It keeps coming back to me. I've forgotten some of the details but reading it entirely changed my perception of gangs.
It was written by someone presently in jail. His story began when he became involved in drugs, without really realizing the direction his life was to take. Because he couldn't always pay for his addiction he began to commit petty crimes in exchange for drugs. As time when by the "tasks" he was expected to complete became deeper and darker, about the same time he decided he wanted out. He had a wife and children and he claimed then he was threatened with their lives if he didn't continue to cooperate. There was no walking away. At that point he seriously considered suicide to free himself but then there'd be no one to provide for his family. As time went on he got deeper and deeper into drugs in order to numb his conscience and he continued to do whatever the gang leaders instructed him to do without question until eventually he justified it as a means to keep his family safe and alive. At some point in time he was finally arrested and to him it was a relief because he was able to begin to break free.
I'm not recounting his story nearly as well as he did because his emotional struggle and turmoil was so very clearly articulated. But it left me with a different viewpoint of organized crime, learning that the control they keep over their members is not always voluntary.
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This is a rural area, too, so many in local LE, jail guards, courts, government, etc., are related. Lots of corruption in rural Indiana counties, from what I gather (I moved here in '15), and thus an incentive to keep the lucrative drug trade going.
JMO