Why should I tell my child to snitch? The Simple Answer...
By Antoine G Larosiliere
As an educator and a parent, I found myself on both sides of the spectrum when the question, “why should I tell my child to snitch” comes up.
Imagine someone is bullying your child, but because the bystanders never spoke up; the bullying continues or worse, your child takes their own life. It’s a lot easier to answer the question, why should I tell my child to snitch when your child is the victim. The problem is, how do you answer that question when your child is the bystander. The simple answer to that question if your child is the bystander is, yes! “Snitching;” but more accurately put, “seeking help” saves lives. It breaks the code of silence, empowers the bystanders and creates a safer environment for everyone.
“a snitch will provide information to the police or feds in order to obtain lenient treatment for themselves and provide information over an extended period of time in return for money or for police to overlook their own criminal activities.”
What is snitching?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, snitching “is to secretly tell someone in authority that someone else has done something bad, often in order to cause trouble” According to Merriam Webster, snitching is telling someone of authority (such as the police or a teacher) about something wrong that someone has done. According to the Urban Dictionary “a snitch will provide information to the police or feds in order to obtain lenient treatment for themselves and provide information over an extended period of time in return for money or for police to overlook their own criminal activities.” There are many other synonyms for the words “snitch” such as, tattletale, blabbermouth, canary, fink, narc, stool-pigeon, squealer, rat to name a few.
What is dry-snitching?
Dry-snitching should not be confused with snitching. They are fundamentally different. Some of you reading this article probably have never heard of the term “dry-snitching,” unless you work in a middle or highschool in the inner city, but it’s a term that needs to be understood. According to the Urban Dictionary, dry snitching is “intentionally getting someone in trouble by out-ting something they’ve done wrong while trying to keep it sly.” But I prefer, the definition, to provide information on someone, without technically telling. For example, instead of saying, “Sarah got a new tattoo;” dry-snitching would be, “Sarah’s new tattoo looks great with her hot new halter-top.”
Where did the word “snitch” come from?
According to researchers, the word “snitch” was used and became popular with the Mafia. Mafia members were used as informants to reduce their sentence. With so many movies glorifying mobsters, it became “cool” to be a mobster. Later on, black and brown gangs and drug dealers who imitated the popular Mob movies also took on the use of the word “snitch.” Then a Boston rapper released a disc with the word “snitch” on it in 1999, and made T-shirts to promote the single. The t-shirts sold well but the message didn’t until 2004. That’s when a Baltimore rapper named Rodney Thomas released a DVD called “Stop F****-in’ Snitching’.” Then it spread from there.
Why is there a huge stigma with the word snitch?
Once the word snitch became popular in HipHop music, it revitalized and brought light to feelings of historic contentment towards informants in black and brown communities.
The U.S. government through the use of informants have infiltrated and reported on Black and brown activities since the Fugitive Slave act to the Civil Rights Movement. This is how our distrust for authority in America grew, and the routing out of those informants began. The word “snitch” reminds us of these circumstances and using it in HipHop music broadcasts these sentiments to the world.
Snitching is not….
Unfortunately making the word “snitch” synonymous with “informant” is damaging to our communities. Informants are imposters put in place by the authorities. Whereas, a “snitch” is someone who was caught committing a crime and reports on others to reduce their punishment. It is reasonable to think that criminals purposely place this stigma on the word “snitch” to dissuade citizens from reporting their criminal activity. To reverse this effect we need to be clear on what “snitching is not. Snitches are not….
- Innocent people who report on the criminal activities of others.
- Regular citizens who report the wrongdoing of others.
- Bystanders and witnesses who decide to speak up on the behalf of victims.
- People seeking help from the authorities because their lives or communities are in danger.
It promotes a code of silence.
Students or any child for that matter who bullies forces the victim as well as the bystanders into secrecy. They use threats of retaliation as well as the stigma of being labeled a “Snitch” as their weapons of imposing silence. This code of silence allows bullying to last and overwhelm our communities and is the very reason our victims and witnesses don’t come forward. It is important to understand and validate the fear children have and the risk they would be taking if they seek authority’s help. Student confidentiality and anonymity are essential in creating an environment where children are comfortable in seeking help and breaking the code of silence. A 2005 report by Debra Pepler, from York University’s LaMarsh Centre, indicates that 85% of bullying episodes are witnessed by other students.
Instead of reporting, let’s call it seeking help.
Seeking help refers to telling someone of authority to prevent future damage. The perception of seeking help is that someone will get in trouble. Although in the short-term, that might be the case; seeking help prevents future and greater damage. In many instances the victim or bystander is potentially preventing future attacks on themselves, and the victims. As well as jump starting a process to get the bully the help they need. It is important to ensure that children have the information and as much control in dealing with the situation as possible. For example, whenever possible, we can…
- Inform the student prior to an incident, when to tell someone else about the situation.
- Involve the student in choosing whom we will consult or tell.
- Involve the student in the timing of telling others.
- Offer to be there with the student when transferring them to help of some kind.
How can bystanders seek help?
Bystanders alone can change the bullying epidemic forever. We all would want the same help if we were being victimized by bullying. Though it takes some courage, it also requires some empathy and even more humanity. Bystanders can seek help by…
- Tell the bully that they don’t like it and to stop doing it.
- Tell the victim that they don’t like the bullying and ask them if they can do anything to help.
- Take away the audience by not watching and walking away.
- Help the person being bullied to tell or seek adult assistance.
- By schools working diligently to gain students’ trust and ensure safety for those who disclose.
- Be kind to the person being bullied.
- Students who have witnessed or experienced bullying must have access to trustworthy and reliable adult assistance.
- Remind students that the majority of children see bullying in a negative light.
- Encouraging students to take action with others who feel the same together.
- Encourage teachers to spearhead and cultivate peer support within our schools.
- Encourage students to contribute to the anti-bullying culture at their school through creating posters, stories or films.
So, don’t tell your child to snitch, tell your child to seek help. Not only will they feel good about themselves, but they can help change the landscape of bullying once and for all. I hope this has been helpful! Many strategies including the one I just mentioned can also be found in the novel The Bully Experience: Daniel’s Story. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel for more insight to these topics.
The Bully Experience "Daniel's Story"
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