Why many Black people are afraid to "snitch"

I won't hold back. There are immense issues in the African-American community regarding violent crime. Yes, this is a pertinent issue. This has been a problem for a long time. Black men have been murdering one another for a long time. It is no wonder that among young males, African-American males have the highest death rate. The #1 cause is not AIDS, heart disease, or drugs. The #1 cause is MURDER. This is all according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, who got the statistics from the Center of Disease Control, Bureau of Justice, and the US Census.

Link to statistics: http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/upload/7541.pdf

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-06-25/news/bs-md-stop-snitching-sentence-20100625_1_snitching-skinny-suge-videos

Young African-American men are getting killed more than anyone else at the hands of other African-American men. I am speaking in terms of blue collar crime. I'll get to white collar crime in another entry. With so much Black on Black violence, one should expect more to be done to ameliorate this problem. This doesn't always work like that. There aren't enough people telling what they know. One would thinkg that the communities with the worst crime would want to "snitch" the most. In fact, violent crime goes on partially BECAUSE no one would be the informant. People are afraid to tell what they know. People are afraid to "snitch".

The rerm "Stop Snitchin" was coined by a rapper named Tangg da Juice in 1999. In 2004, a "Stop Snitchin" campaign was launched in Baltimore with a DVD by Rodney Bethea titled "Stop Snitching! was circulated. In some of the footage there are drug dealers threatening "snitches" with violence. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Baltimore had a murder rate very close to 44 murders per 100,000 residents( 276 murders total in 2004). It probably isn't surprising that Baltimore has had such a problem with violence.





Knowing all of this, why don't more Black people snitch? I could think of a few reasons:

1) Confusion of Loyalty. There are many Black people in the USA who don't to send another Black man to prison, even if that Black person did something to him or her. The mentality could possibly come from the feelingt hat sending another Black man to prison would ruin a fellow Black man's life. well, isn't this the same fellow Black man who is terrorizing you? This "fellow Black man" could not care less about you or your life. The reason is because of the mentality of "I'm getting mine and screw you". It is a nihilist mentality. Why shouldn't you snitch? You would be doing other African-Americans a favor by getting that miscreant off of the streets and behind bars. Black people are the ones who need to snitch the most. It is Black people who are more likely to be murdered than anyone else. Let the criminal rot in prison. Yes, a slim majority of the prison population in African-American. Snitching still needs to be done. If you really want to look at it from a perspective of "race", think of it this way: That Black man who has just killed another Black man has done this to his "fellow Black man". That Black man who just killed another Black man doesn't care about his "fellow Black man". He doesn't care about his fellow man of any race or ethnicity. He doesn't care about anyone. If that person did care, he wouldn't have committed murder.
2)Fear of Retribution. Direct quote from Retired FBI James Bernazzani: "The community won't cooperate because I'm not gonna finger you as that violent felon because if I know you're on the streets in 5 days, guess who the next victim is....ME, and I don't want that".

Watch this clip from The History Channel's Gangland, specifically the 7:01-7:14 segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edpjcz8Jz-I

The fear of retribution is understandable. Criminals will often kill people who "snitch".  Criminals will often do what they want when everyone is scared. One person being an informant is one step in the right direction, but if that person stands alone, yes, death might be very imminent. However, if the whole community stands together and let criminals know "we won't take anymore of your mess", then it will be more effective. People are often afraid to snitch because they stand alone. Dr. king wasn't afraid to stand alone as a man. He also attracted followers. He attracted people to be a part of his movement. However, a "snitch" acts alone because few will stand by him or her. He/she gets called an "Uncle Tom' for it at best and gets killed at the worst. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died a gallant death, as a hero, with so many people who loved him. A "snitch" usually dies alone and forgotten. No streets named for a snitch, no holiday named for a "snitch", just forgotten, but not before getting called "House Negro". He doesn't get a grand funeral like Dr King did. He dies in an alley. No Nobel Peace Prize, barely a thank you. A "snitch" gets chased away, becoming more afraid of his or her community. The "snitch" needs to be a leader, leader people out of the morass of horrors, such as a high murder rate.

Anger Dies Hard: I won't mince words. Many African-Americans do not trust the police, at least not to the same degree that White Americans do. With stuff such as racial profiling, historical abuse from the police, the distrust isn't surprising. Distrust and anger, even with more Black police officers than in the past, are still there. There are many who will not cooperate with the police because of this. However, the only way to combat crime in your community is to cooperate with the police. If the police will not do their jobs correctly, then form neighborhood groups to flush out any criminal that is harming your community. It's a do or die situation. Not all police officers are corrupt and not all of them are out to hurt you. If the police cooperate on their end and help to keep your community safe, that will help you. If the police do nothing, and/or are doing corrupt things, get involved politically. Take to the streets with protests, form neighborhood forces to keep the community safe. Do something. Flush the criminals out.

African-American neighborhoods have a bad reputation in these times as being violent. That must end by flushing out any criminals who live in the community. The fear of retribution from "snitching" needs to end. The fear of being called "Uncle Tom" for "snitching" needs to end. That "Stop Snitching" stuff is a load of crap and it is a detriment for African-Americans, or anyone. It is going to have to start with 'snitching". It is a question of "die a snitch" or "live in fear".

WTF is "acting White"???

"Oreo", "overcooked White boy", "Carlton", "sellout", and oh yes, "acting White" are the kinds of wisecracks some Black youth get insulted with if:

1) He or she doesn't speak Ebonics or said person "talks White" and speaks proper English
2) He or she likes to read books
3) He or she listens to classical music
4) He or she does not live up to what is considered "typical Black behavior" or behaves in a manner that is considered "not Black enough".

Many Black youths get derided for "acting White" if they don't "talk Black". Insults like "oreo", get launched their way. By the way "oreo" is a cookie that is "Black on the outside, White on the inside". I can relate being insulted like that. I am the Black person who has been made fun of for "acting White". I've been called "Carlton"(refers to Carlton Banks from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), "overcooked White boy", and other insults. One girl used to scream "White boy" at me. The irony, however, is that she was a White female. This shows that this isn't just Black people doing this to other Black people. Some White people(from my personal experiences) have done this too. In fact, I have been insulted in college too. This is the irony. I'm in college and I get insulted. A White male college student had this joke to describe me:

The Student: Do you know your father?
Me: Yes
The Student: Does he live with you?
Me: Yes
The Student: Then you're White!!(usually with some laughter from him, not from me).

So apparently, because I have a father, he is still married to my mother, and he is part of my life(as well as the lives of my siblings), somehow, that is "acting White"? WTF!! Some more tidbits: I don't wear FUBU, And1, Ecko, saggy pants, my baseball cap to one side, or large gold chains. I dress preppy, sometimes I wear a suit, I like listening to classical music, NPR, I like to read alot about geography, history, and science. I do many things that are not considered "stereotypically Black". Does that mean I "act White"? Does this make me a "sellout"? Anyone who describes any Black person who loves to read books, dresses presentably, and seeks an education, as a "sellout", let me tell you this" You just called Malcolm X a sellout. You just called Dr. King a sellout. You just called Andrew Young, Tavis Smiley, Cornell West, President Obama, and alot of other extraordinary Black men "sellouts".

Here is the question: WTF is "acting White"? Is it "acting White" when a Black child is highly interested in science, history, and mathematics? Is it "acting White" when a Black child would rather play soccer or tennis instead of basketball or football? Is it "acting White" when a Black person listens to classical music even learned to play the violin? Is it "acting White" when a Black person uses words like "repugnant", "insipid" and pronounces the word "ask" properly instead of saying "axe"?

Are you going to call a Black person a "sellout" because he or she doesn't speak Ebonics? If "acting Black" means acting ignorant, wearing saggy pants, getting subpar grades in school, being a deadbeat father, not having a father, speaking in a manner that is not eloquent, and deriding other Black people for "not acting Black enough", then I don't want it. Since when has reading, listening to classical music, speaking proper English, wearing ones trousers the correct way, "acting White"? Why should it only be considered for White people to act in this manner?

Something to understand: When you cut down Black people in such a manner, especially the youth, it makes things harder for Black people who want success. To get a better idea of the high cost, think of this. The Black kid who gets beaten up for reading books and for basically "acting White", it is cutting down that person's self-esteem, making that person not want to strive harder. A Black kid is going to have it harder to begin with, but getting torn down by other Black children, and basically anyone else for "not acting Black enough" is going to make things worse. Some of these kids who could be the next "Guion Bluford", the next great Black inventor, doctor, astronaut, engineer,etc., could end up giving up and becoming just another statistic among many. It could happen, and that is disturbing. That child needs to be built up and encouraged.