When it comes to injustice, it’s so easy to see things in black and white. There is always a victim and an oppressor, a David and a Goliath. For the longest time, this is how I saw the world without realizing it.

In Mexico, Pampanga, where I spent my immersion, life is simple. Most of the older men are farmers, and they get up early to till the land surrounding the barangay. The younger boys sell mattresses in Manila. The mothers spend their days running sari-sari stores or doing an unending amount of laundry, while keeping an eye on the kids climbing the low-hanging branches of the mango trees.

Their life is simple, but that isn’t to say they don’t have their fair share of problems. One that they all shared was that the details regarding the ownership of their land are vague. It was one of the first things my Ate Nica shared as she walked me through a path lined with papaya trees to the fields behind their house. Although farming is one of the main sources of livelihood in the area, none of them actually own any land. Instead, most of them are tenants of a Chinese businessman. From what I understood, the landowner doesn’t collect rent or tax, but the residents are worried about the uncertainty—this nameless, faceless man could take away their source of livelihood at any moment.

It’s so easy to see this situation in black and white. After all, the practice of proper business ethics—and ethics in general—would entail not doing things for one’s own benefit that could negatively affect hundreds of households. Moreover, the farmers, who have a right to the land they till, are receiving no help from the government regarding their situation. But assuming that the businessman had bought the land fairly and legally, then why shouldn’t he do what he wants with it?

There are so many elements at play here and so many parties who could possibly be at fault. But at the end of the day, the farmers, the government, the businessman, are just people trying to make a living.

It is here that we see the difficulty with black and white: There must always someone at fault; there must always be a specific party that is responsible for misfortune. But this is almost never the case. The situation of land ownership in Mexico, Pampanga, for example, cannot be blamed purely on poor governance, business ethics or decision-making.

Perhaps then, the problem is a lack of accountability. It’s the lack of accountability that pushes us to point fingers at one another whenever there is any sort of difficulty, be it traffic or poor implementation. It is what leads us to give the government flak for corruption, while we guiltily avoid eyes when we pay our way out of breaking traffic rules. It’s this lack of accountability that has, time and again, led to a failure of the government to own up to their mistakes.

I think it’s time we moved past black and white, and even the muddy gray of details. Yes, there are oppressors and there are those they oppress, but nothing will come of pointing fingers at the oppressors while they, in turn, pass on the blame. Nothing is coming out of asking, “Who started it?” Instead, it’s time we started asking, “How have I contributed to the problem, and how can I be a part of the solution?”