I have a long history of not snitching. I’m glad I’m not alone.
ScottFebruary 6, 2014 9:14 am
Confirms my belief that most people are decent.
ChrisFebruary 6, 2014 10:17 am
When would you snitch?
When your neighbor is:
– making kiddie porn?
– beating his wife & kids?
– abusing animals?
What would it take for you to snitch to authorities?
Jim B.February 6, 2014 10:24 am
When such evil happens, why let the government get involved?
ClaireFebruary 6, 2014 12:16 pm
Chris,
We had a recent case in which I guy I know slightly was beating the crap out of his girlfriend. A neighbor busted down the door and stopped him. Somebody did call the cops, but only after neighbors had done what neighbors sometimes need to do.
Abusing animals? I’d get in touch with private rescue groups. They can usually handle such situations.* Where they can’t, some group members might call the cops. But many others will just get the abused critters into the underground railroad.
Kiddie porn, I don’t know. The perp would have to be doing something pretty overt for it to come to anyone’s attention. If it involved harm to actual kids, I’d take action, but I’m not sure what it would be. Depends on circumstances.
As to snitching in general, my own personal position (YMMV) has always been that there’s a difference between being a good citizen (doing what’s necessary to halt violence, theft, or fraud) and a snitch (dragging peaceable people into trouble or one criminal using cops to gain advantage over another). Because we don’t live in a society that has developed other lawful options, and because not calling the cops in certain circumstances (e.g. after shooting a burglar) would result in criminal charges against the innocent, I believe there are times when calling the cops is what you have to do.
My $.02.
* Various ways: educating the abuser, supplying food to feed starved animals, persuading the abuser to surrender the animals, sometimes buying the animal from the abuser.
Paul BonneauFebruary 7, 2014 8:29 am
Claire, great answer. Any time you actually take the time to look at these situations, it turns out there are alternatives, usually better ones, to state institutions. I would also add that there is a fair amount of personal risk involved in bringing cops into any situation, now that they have joined the ranks of the lawless, and never suffer for their crimes. As Brendan Behan put it, “There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.”
I have a long history of not snitching. I’m glad I’m not alone.
Confirms my belief that most people are decent.
When would you snitch?
When your neighbor is:
– making kiddie porn?
– beating his wife & kids?
– abusing animals?
What would it take for you to snitch to authorities?
When such evil happens, why let the government get involved?
Chris,
We had a recent case in which I guy I know slightly was beating the crap out of his girlfriend. A neighbor busted down the door and stopped him. Somebody did call the cops, but only after neighbors had done what neighbors sometimes need to do.
Abusing animals? I’d get in touch with private rescue groups. They can usually handle such situations.* Where they can’t, some group members might call the cops. But many others will just get the abused critters into the underground railroad.
Kiddie porn, I don’t know. The perp would have to be doing something pretty overt for it to come to anyone’s attention. If it involved harm to actual kids, I’d take action, but I’m not sure what it would be. Depends on circumstances.
As to snitching in general, my own personal position (YMMV) has always been that there’s a difference between being a good citizen (doing what’s necessary to halt violence, theft, or fraud) and a snitch (dragging peaceable people into trouble or one criminal using cops to gain advantage over another). Because we don’t live in a society that has developed other lawful options, and because not calling the cops in certain circumstances (e.g. after shooting a burglar) would result in criminal charges against the innocent, I believe there are times when calling the cops is what you have to do.
My $.02.
* Various ways: educating the abuser, supplying food to feed starved animals, persuading the abuser to surrender the animals, sometimes buying the animal from the abuser.
Claire, great answer. Any time you actually take the time to look at these situations, it turns out there are alternatives, usually better ones, to state institutions. I would also add that there is a fair amount of personal risk involved in bringing cops into any situation, now that they have joined the ranks of the lawless, and never suffer for their crimes. As Brendan Behan put it, “There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.”