Also, I'm shocked by the responses you are getting telling you that you are wrong. Do people really want to confront a criminal. I grew up in a ghetto in Brooklyn, NY, I'm Hispanic, and my family always calls the police.
Getting into an argument directly with someone has too many times ended with somebody in the hospital or the cementery.
a) Don't think that he's saying "here's advice for life" (and if they do, don't realize that this is advice for how to respond to crimes against you)
b) Are scoping his advice to "while in prison, and because you're stuck there with violent morons anyway, don't make yourself a target"
c) Are out of their depth and/or don't realize that criminals are willing to resort to violence over even being told to not yell on a crowded subway. Further, don't realize that even short fistfights can result in serious consequences to both parties.
d) Just have no idea how the world really works and see things from this weird rose-tint of (based on responses to me) "minorities will get often get arrested for reporting crimes, so they shouldn't report them" and don't really understand that "don't snitch" just results in higher crime rates in affected areas due to inadequate police spending.
I'm in Brooklyn too and I've witnessed some pretty aggressive fights over petty (non-criminal) bullshit. Why give a shit if a criminal respects you? I get that within jail, it's more important, but how is the system supposed to improve?
I missed that in the answer by Anonymous on Quora. Can you point it out? Anyways, seems like you've attached a meaning to this that most people haven't and now you're making all sorts of assumptions about those that didn't attach that same meaning.
Because you're reading it different than most people, just like the parent comment.
"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities."
Person you're upset with doesn't = potentially violent criminal. It could be a co-worker and the choice is to express yourself to them like an adult or immediately go to HR.