"I think a big part of it is that, starting so "low" on the totem pole, you tend to meet more peers who have as much or more potential than you growing up, who never realized it just due to the wrong thing at the wrong time. People that start of relatively middle, or who completely leave their pasts behind on leaving to not SEE things like that as much, tend to just not make that connection, I guess."
I understand your point exactly. I know so many people who did everything right avoided everything detrimental. They get shot. A parent falls ill. A parent gets arrested. They get raped. Put in jail for crimes they didn't commit. The list could go on and on and on. Like you said, luck is what allowed me to actually get to the age where I could get out of a bad situation. The arrogance of anyone to suggest that everyone in the ghetto is there because of their own desire or bad decisions is ridiculous.