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SNITCHIN' ( As in ''Stop Snitchin' '') — Brooklynian

SNITCHIN' ( As in ''Stop Snitchin' '')

mha
mha
edited November -1 in Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Subject: SNITCHIN' ( As in ''Stop Snitchin' '')

I went to the Brooklyn Academy of Music's event this past weekend. It was a hot day and I went to this brother who was selling Coco Helado, a company that makes their variant of Italian ices, which, if you ask me, are better than the Marinaro variety quite popular in Brooklyn. He was a really friendly guy, and he and I chatted it up as he filled my order.

He had on a T-shirt that said, 'Stop Snitching' on it. About a year ago these shirts caused quite an uproar nationally because of the ethos that it is an act of betrayal to call the police on lawbreakers. I always took issue with that stance, so when the brother said, 'What would you like?', I said I would like a large coconut helado, but I did not like his T-shirt.

He asked why, and I told him that I did not think that reporting crime on those who commit it should be considered something one ought not to do. An elderly brother also eyeing the t-shirt skeptically chimed in, saying 'Right, right, your're right brother.' Well, what happpened next surprised me. The brother said that most people misconstrue who a snitch is, and what a snitch does. I asked that he explain:

"A snitch is someone who does wrong but is gonna report someone else who does wrong too. It's like if you came to work late everyday but when your boss asks you who comes late, your'e gonna tell him that the other guy comes late all the time."

So I look at the guy and say, "Oh, so a snitch is a hypocrite?"

"Exactly!"

Did anyone know this?

Comments

  • whatchuwant
    whatchuwant
    First I've heard.
  • cool the kid
    cool the kid
    Not the first time I've heard this, but trust me, the dudes doing the crime make no distinction.
  • outside child
    outside child
    OK check this out; calling the cops on a murderer of thief in the hood is not "snitching"! However, if you are involved in some type of business with people and then you rat them to the cops, that is SNITCHING! Especially if you get caught and then sell out your people!
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Outside Child wrote: OK check this out; calling the cops on a murderer of thief in the hood is not "snitching"! However, if you are involved in some type of business with people and then you rat them to the cops, that is SNITCHING! Especially if you get caught and then sell out your people!
    In high school this was known as a Narc.

    ....when someone was caught smoking weed, the principal would let them off if they Narc'd on who sold it to them.
  • outside child
    outside child
    whynot_31 wrote: [quote=Outside Child]OK check this out; calling the cops on a murderer of thief in the hood is not "snitching"! However, if you are involved in some type of business with people and then you rat them to the cops, that is SNITCHING! Especially if you get caught and then sell out your people!
    In high school this was known as a Narc.

    ....when someone was caught smoking weed, the principal would let them off if they Narc'd on who sold it to them.

    EXACTLY!!! Narc = snitch!!!
  • mha
    mha
    So both narcs, and are snitches are hypocrites, but to a drug dealer or criminal, the distinction is irrelevant because whether you are a hypocrite or not, your actions threaten their interests, so they consider you a snitch anyway. Okay.

    Well, I snitched on the dude who goes around breaking tree branches(and trees) -- the non-hypocritcal type of snitching -- in plain view of a couple of drug dealing neighbors. My concern is that they don't extrapolate on my actions and think, 'Well if he's snitchin on that crazy dude over there, maybe he's gonna snitch on me too...'
  • outside child
    outside child
    Well, I would "snitch" on the tree branch breaker too but not on the fellows sellin some trees ;-)
  • mha
    mha
    Well, I haven't, and won't. The reasons why have more to do with my well-being than anything else. Also, the cops know who sells, and where they sell. The CHOOSE NOT to do anything about it.
  • outside child
    outside child
    Well I feel the tree sellers are harmless so why trouble them but if I see a person breaking into a house or stabbing someone I CALLING!!!
  • mha
    mha
    Well, maybe the tree sellers in your neighborhood are more civic minded than the ones over here. Keep in mind that a tree seller just had his brains pushed out at the corner of Franklin and Lincoln. Tree selling is truly a last option for most of these brothers -- especially in this economy. A number of these young men are underemployed, and there is likely no hope for them.

    And, sad to say, but it is my experience between their selling and a certain level of uncouth that they project.
  • miss_demeanor
    miss_demeanor
    I'm a criminal defense lawyer. When my clients, prosecutors and other defense lawyers throw around the term "snitch", it usually references someone who, as the Coco Helado seller stated to MHA, has "done wrong," as in, the person ratting out another is often times another criminal defendant facing legal troubles of their own, or someone who is engaged in nefarious activity.
  • putnam-denizen
    putnam-denizen
    I would agree (also as a criminal defense lawyer), but that narrow "term of art" definition underestimates the damage that shirt does to the social fabric. I see it as a glorification of criminal solidarity over better values.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Outside Child wrote: Well I feel the tree sellers are harmless so why trouble them but if I see a person breaking into a house or stabbing someone I CALLING!!!
    I am with you on this.
  • bobbybrummel
    bobbybrummel
    one of my favorite statements on snitching:





    (the good part is around 1:30)

    if cam'ron lived next to a serial killer and he knew... he'd move!

    this from the same guy who wanted to produce his own "to catch a predator" dvd (http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.3890)
  • ishtar
    ishtar
    Cam'ron is a clown of the highest order.
  • whatchuwant
    whatchuwant
    Bobby- is it your favorite because you agree with him or because he sounds like an idiot?
  • bobbybrummel
    bobbybrummel
    i applaud the balls it takes to stay consistent in your beliefs, even when living next to a monster. (though he probably wouldn't need to move. the neighbor is always safe! to paraphrase the old seinfeld bit, someone's gotta be there to say "he was such a normal guy!")

    but it's also a little of what ishtar said...
  • mha
    mha
    Sweet Jesus.

    I live in VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY to weed sellers. I WOULD NEVER 'snitch' and tell the police, not because of Camron's code of ethics, but because I sincerely fear the consequences to my bodily self if I do. On the other hand, 'I am about to put a sign on the sidewalk advertising where the Tree Branch Breaker lives (693 STERLING PLACE) because there is less consequence to doing so.

    Camron does make a point abot the community needing to come together and police itself, however. Unfortunately that rarely happens.

    What irks me about the criminal element more than anything is how parasitic it is. It's so disorganized and well -- unhygienic. The criminal elements are essentially the kids in the back of the class spitting mucus on the radiator, amused by the sizzle and empowered by their bullying. There is no organization, and no desire for organization. It's 'Lord of the Flies' in Rocawear knockoffs, essentially.
  • outside child
    outside child
    MHA wrote: 'Lord of the Flies' in Rocawear knockoffs .
    HILARIOUS! image
  • boygabriel
    boygabriel
    Yeah, 'Stop Snitchin' started as a campaign and a viral video in the Baltimore drug trade.

    But it was quickly and widely misinterpreted as "nobody should ever call the cops". Hasn't stopped people from ignorantly and mistakenly assaulting/harassing people over their own misunderstanding of the concept.

    Not that I support either interpretation....
  • catwalkertexasranger
    catwalkertexasranger
    Spike Lee should remake Deliverance in an urban setting. Cam'ron can be one of the inbreeds searching for a pig squealing non-snitch with a pretty mouth. Anderson Cooper's delivery is great he kind of borders amazed at what he is hearing
  • mha
    mha
    That's not a bad idea. What would the Burt Reynolds and buddies reprise be doing in the inner city though? Skateboarding? Prison is rife with forced sodomy, so that part makes sense. The villians could be escaped convicts, or former convicts drawn to the lure and softness of the boojie Black protagonists. Oh yeah, here's the thing: The protagonists in the movie would have to be Black, though.This would play upon socioeconomic differences. In fact, the whole cast would need to be Black... Oy, it won't work. No one goes to see all Black casts in movies. Oh well, how about we get Adam Sandler and Chris Rock?! We make it a comedy about high school buddies returning to their neighborh.................
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