You Better Not Tell!
As we discussed snitching more and more it struck me that as a people, descendent of slavery African-Americans are taught early in life…NOT TO SNITCH. Now don’t get me wrong, we are not the only ethnic group that believes in NOT SNITCHING. I’ve seen first-hand where Mexican-Americans and Korean-American use their own brand of justice rather than tell an authority who did what to whom.
But Black folks have an affinity with this concept.
My dear friend was getting heated as me because I suggested that we need to start turning folks in to the police. If you see the crime happen in your hood…SNITCH! IMHO, if the criminals know that there behaviors will not be tolerated by the residents…they we find somewhere else to go/hang-out/deal. It may talk time for them to get the message…but I think they will eventually leave your hood.
His issue was that some police are as corrupt as the criminals. In some cases, he suggested that if enough money changes hands, your safety could be in jeopardy…because the police snitch on YOU. He suggested that because I am away from the hood…. living the good life… that I should NOT propose that my brothers and sisters dial 911 rather than dial Thug Daddy to handle crimes. Or worse, he gave examples of how it may be better to just live in fear rather than reap the repercussions of getting involved….eg…whole families have been killed because one person Snitched.
Although I try to spend enough time in the hood to keep my street credits…he was right. I don’t live there anymore. It’s easy for me to sit in my comfortable home in a gated community and suggest that folks in the hood should just call the law. I don’t think I’m going to back off my position, but I wanted to get your thoughts? If I use empathy, I can see how he has valid concerns. It’s not like we don’t see daily stories of corrupt Cops….and these are just the ones they catch.
But hey…it will never get better if folks don’t try to make it better….right? We want people to take personal accountability….right? But we don’t want the criminals to turn innocent folks into targets because they tried to do their civic duty…right?
So what are your thoughts?
1. When is it NOT OK TO SNITCH?
2. Do we have a learned behavior that teaches us that Snitching is a taboo?
3. Would things get better is people start telling on each other?
4. What is the limit…do you snitch on your own kids, parents, siblings, spouse?