If someone isn't a part of the solution, they aren't automatically entitled "the problem". There could be any random outsider watching from a distance, and even though they aren't doing anything to help, they are in no way adding to the problem. The question of, "If you aren't part of the solution, are you part of the problem?", however, does bring up a lot of dispute. There is a huge grey area with this, and it all depends on the situation. If someone has wide open chance to solve something and chooses not to, then yes, they are a part of the problem. But if it's a situation where the person simply can't solve the problem or it wouldn't help to be a part of the solution, then there's no reason to blame them for the problem.
In Sold, Lakshmi initially isn't part of the solution, but she surely is not a part of the problem. After being trafficked for sex for over a year, Lakshmi was given an opportunity to rat out Happiness House, aka "solve the problem". Lakshmi is on one end of the grey area in this situation because she actually has a reason to not solve the problem. She had already been given the chance to go to the American police, but when they raided Happiness House, all they did was take away a few girls from the house. "I ran upstairs, saw our room in chaos, our beds overturned, Anita's movie star posters ripped from the wall. The worst is what I did not see: Shahanna" (215). Lakshmi was scared to try again, which is completely understandable; she didn't want to be one of the girls caught again. Sex trafficking is a huge problem, and Lakshmi making the decision not to go to the police absolutely did not make her a part of the problem.
It is interesting to hear from a different point of view because I think that the fact that the police did not do more about it and that Lakshmi continues to stay in the Happiness House is makine her individual problem worse. I feel like her pain is buildinhg up inside her the longer she stays in the house and sees more and more girls enter into such a horrible way of life. You have a good point to say that it is not her fault, however wouldn't the problem still be worsening as she continues to be too afraid to do anything about it and therefore still be adding to the problem? It's like what many of the other posts said, when thousands of people make the choice not to contribute to an organization, the problem worsens on their side of the spectrum. “I attempt a first step into the hallway, then another, and watch as the new girl enters my old room with tentative steps, as if she is clenching her feet inside her new shoes like a poor frightened bat clinging to a branch [134].” I think we both are aware that Lakshmi knows what she needs to do to make herself happy and do something despite how she is currently handling the situation.
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