By Cheryl Mattox Berry
Let’s examine the so called “no-snitch rule.” It basically says if you see something, say a murder, beating, rape, robbery or bullying, you better keep your mouth shut. What exactly does that accomplish?
Nothing.
By remaining silent, you grant perpetrators license to keep doing what they’re doing. And what they’re doing is destroying individuals, families and communities. Exhibit A: Crime-ridden and gang-infested neighborhoods. Exhibit B: Schools with bad reputations. Exhibit C: Broken families.
How many times have you seen mothers and fathers on TV pleading for eyewitnesses to come forward and identify the killers of their children? Boys and girls. Innocent victims. They probably thought crime wouldn’t touch them, but everyone is a potential victim if criminals go unpunished.
Fear of retaliation is the reason many people say they won’t tell authorities when they witness suspicious activity or crime. That is reasonable and understandable in this gun-toting society where drive-by shootings occur in broad daylight.
However, there are ways to report what you see anonymously. Most police departments have a tip line, which is a phone number to report crime without giving your name.
If you see bullying or something illegal going on at school, tell a trusted teacher, who can report it to the principal without revealing the source. Have the conversation with her in private. Avoid texting and email, which create an electronic trail leading right back to you.
Talk to the school resource officer about what can be done to get drug dealers off the corner. Give specific details about how many are selling drugs, location and time of day they work the streets. Resource officers have the ear of cops who patrol your neighborhood.
It takes courage to speak up, but you don’t have to fight any problem by yourself. Leave that to grownups. They can’t help you, though, if they don’t know the problem exists.