Tell It Like You See It

Tattling. I tell younger folks not to do it. No one likes a tattle tail. It was how I was raised. Don’t tattle on your brother is what I was told. Work it out amongst yourselves. However, if someone else wrongs him or you, then you most certainly make it known.

This is the mini code I live by. If it’s in the family, you keep it quiet and work it out as needed. Outsiders.. another story. This goes for minor property damages and fighting. Once it goes beyond that, then in my book, the authorities need be involved. For example…

My brother was unfortunate to get in a confrontation with gang members after they attended a “take back the neighborhood” meeting. Seems their leaders informed them they were being a bit slack in enforcing their turf. Thus a carload of young men had just finished wrecking havoc at a service station and were following a car in which the mother had two small children in the back when they saw my brother’s car ahead and sped up. A few words were exchanged between vehicles and shots fired into his car. The last bit is the witnesses accounts. People saw what happened and reported what followed. No witness report, no justice.

I just saw Cam’ron’s interview with Anderson Cooper. I watched it and shook my head. It can’t be that simple. You can’t tell people straight up not to talk to the police about crimes. My brother’s murderers were pointed out to police canvassing the area by witnesses as they drove back by the same area to seemingly admire their handiwork. Their speaking up made it much easier for the police to bring them to justice. But assume for a moment they lived under the code of ‘Not Snitching’. What would have happened then?

I did a quick search and found a horribly slanted, but somewhat informative article about snitching. While informative, it appears to take one down the path of Black ignorance. That this slogan is only about not telling on others. It isn’t until one reaches the very very bottom of the article the truth comes out. There is a code to not Snitching. Allow me to point a few of my favs as stated by Rayco Saunders, one of the interviewees in the article.

Don't snitch on others just to save yourself. "Stop snitching is for those guys out there ... selling more drugs than Noriega, and their only out is to tell on somebody. ... If a (criminal) wants to be a Good Samaritan, OK. But send (him) to jail. Don't give him immunity to do what he wants on the street."

Now understand. From where I sit, this means other criminals, not innocent citizens. And your drug dealer is typically not going to be called on for something minor. I might be wrong, but immunity is generally offered up for something serious. So this would sort of fall back on those who offer the immunity in the first place, now wouldn’t it? Just a thought to keep in mind, at the trials of my brother’s murderers, it is alleged the triggerman (with a wrap sheet a mile long) was an immunity-clad informant for the police.

Stop Snitching doesn't mean stop talking to police. "It's always misconstrued by the public, or the powers that be, that we're trying to intimidate the regular people or the law-abiding citizens. That's not what it's about. ... If that is your only outlet, to call the police, that's what you do."

There is an episode of the television cartoon The Boondocks in which one of the main characters wants to hold to the non-snitching code after his grandfather’s highly customized car is stolen front from right in of him. When questioned about the crime, he sticks to the code of not snitching believing he is doing right by the community. In what way is this helping? The show ends with grandfather’s car being recovered and Riley’s convictions being put to the test when his prized bike is taken from him by the same criminals. Tell or not?

But witnesses have no obligation to help police. "Do your job — you're the police. ... I've been wronged by the system. Do you think I would help the system? ... Do cops snitch on other cops?"

The authorities can't protect witnesses. "What's happening to the innocent witness? They get dead or ... terrorized for life."

There are two different points and yet, this is why I can understand not snitching. First, when a person helps the police, they become ostracized in the community. I mean honestly with Rodney King and other famous cases of police abuse, why should I trust them? Seriously, I fear driving in some parts of my community because of the police, not the actual people. My supposed protector doesn’t actually protect. They seem to spend more time trying to figure out how are able to afford 22” chrome rims than try to see to it children walking home have some sort of police presence to possibly ward off those who would do them harm. It’s not highly publicized, but I get the impression from movies and various television shows, witnesses are not too well protected by the authorities. Soo the people who do come forward to assist are not safe and yet the term civic duty is tossed at them and laid around their neck like an albatross if they don’t assist. My civic duty entails reporting something I happened to see or have innate knowledge of and it could cost, not only mine, but the lives of friends/family/others close to me? Damn, at least my folks would offer up not spanking my brother and the promise of no retribution from me to get him to tell the truth if it boiled down to it.

Sure, it sounds hood and cool to say, Stop Snitching. It looks great when you don’t come forward about things you know. Seriously.. who are you helping? Biggie Smalls and Tupac lay dead with unsolved murders because no one is coming forward. Even better yet, what if it were your family? What then?