Oh, I see. You were just making a completely unrelated comment about what you personally would do if you were in Andre's situation. You never meant that to be read as a justification for Andre's actions - of course.

If you didn't mean to defend or justify Andre's behavior, or minimize his guilt and responsibility for his crimes, then you and I are on the same page. He is a criminal who should be held responsible for his crimes. If you disagree with that then I suggest that's a more meaningful disagreement between us than whether or not you meant to say that Andre had to steal to survive.

I suppose you also need water, shelter, healthcare, and clothes - but these things are all provided free to people who can't afford them.

I think people who blame "the system" are basically ignorant and harmful. They are ignorant because they ignore all the services, benefits, and charities that currently exist and remove the "I had to steal to survive" defense. They are harmful because they distract well intentioned people who believe their nonsense into not solving the problem and they leave the drug addicted and mentally ill to decay in the streets causing problems for the rest of us.

If you get status from being a drug addicted vagrant reselling stolen merchandise and living off of charity then I suspect you could get "status" from a wide variety of things - many of which are legal and preferable.

I don't believe there is a "criminal hierarchy" here. It's not like this guy is a level 2 fence working a theft team. I assume it's a loose association of drug addicts, drug dealers, petty thieves, dumpster divers, and resellers with lots of overlap on every category.

He may want status, but nobody is entitled to it. Some people are born into circumstances that gives them undeserved status, which is unfortunate. But for those born without status, earn it if you want it. You aren't owed status by society.