Full Stomachs, Quiet Streets
I live in one of the safest places you could imagine. A sleepy bedroom community at the far edge of anything you’d call a city. Five minutes out my front door and I’m standing in farmers’ fields. Peaceful. Quiet. Boring in the best way.
So when some of my neighbors start talking about “escalating crime,” I get it… but I don’t feel it the same way.
I grew up in Toronto — real Toronto. The government housing just outside my childhood neighborhood, the place where all my friends lived, still sees a few murders a year. That’s the backdrop I grew up with. That’s what danger actually looked like.
So when there’s a home invasion a few streets over or a targeted shooting nearby, of course I’m concerned. Of course I feel for the families involved. But statistically? I’m safer now than I ever was roaming Toronto as a twelve-year-old. And for the most part, I feel my family is safe too.
But look — mama didn’t raise a fool.
I lock my doors.
I pay attention.
If my family’s home alone, I’m not leaving the house wide open like we live in a Disney movie.
Call it old-fashioned, call it protective, call it whatever you like — tough cookies. We’re friendly people, but we’re not stupid. When someone knocks unexpectedly, we answer with caution.
And yeah, I keep a baseball bat handy. People love to joke, “Why does the karate guy have a baseball bat? Doesn’t he have swords and nunchucks and all that?”
Of course I do. But after forty-plus years in karate, I’ve learned something important: the simplest tool is often the best. Put me up against some guy waving a katana around like he’s in Highlander? I’ll just say,
“Mind if I grab my Louisville Slugger first?”
But here’s the part nobody wants to talk about:
the number one cause of crime isn’t greed.
It’s poverty.
When people are struggling — really struggling — when they’re boxed out of opportunity, when they feel like the world owes them something they’ll never get honestly, they start looking for shortcuts. Not because they’re bad people, but because they’re cornered.
Crime, drugs, gangs — those are symptoms. The smoke.
The fire is poverty, neglect, and the total lack of real chances.
Put food in someone’s belly, give them stable housing, give a kid a proper education, and what happens?
They don’t get lazy.
They don’t sit around milking the system.
They do the opposite.
They show up.
They work harder.
They take pride in what they have because someone finally handed them a fighting chance.
Kids with opportunity grow into adults who want to give back.
Parents with stability become better parents.
Neighbours with security become better neighbours.
Poverty creates crime.
Hope kills it.
So if you don’t want crime in your neighborhood, stop yelling for more cops.
Start advocating for more welfare.
More support.
More stability.
More opportunity.
You don’t stop crime by cracking down —
you stop it by lifting people up.
But hey, what do I know?
Fact check me.