Whos Snitchin

By LaKeisha McKinley

All over, people are beginning to wear Stop Snitching Shirts. Most would think of it to be nothing but it is really bothering police officers and other city officials.

In this city verbalizing what you see has become a no no. Meaning that people don't trust the system and they feel like it would be a betrayal to the community. What has happened is that police officers of the inner city area have made themselves untrustworthy by being dirty cops and treating the lower class less than human. In todays society it is looked down upon to even speak to a police officer.

Snitchin is defined many ways by different people. It is a word that can be very argumentative. Lots of people use snitching as a way of pay back to someone they dislike, or they use it as a get out of jail free card. A person who does this is the most identifiable snitch. A person who snitches is despised because the people around them feel betrayed by one of their own people.

Lots of people think it's wrong to withhold information from the police, especially if it could help an investigation. Others may argue that, especially a person who was raised that it is wrong to do such a thing.

Mothers of children may say that they want the person who saw their child get killed to say something. Then on the other hand the mother of the child who is accused of the crime may feel totally different about the situation. So either way you look at it the person with the information is at risk, if they tell, socially, physically, and mentally. Snitchin is assesed by each individual situation.

These shirts have opened a door and a reason for police to say something to inner city kids of the hip hop culture. These shirts just state freedom of expression which the constitution is supposed to protect.

In all actuality, these are just words which state an opinion and they are being given to much credit for the crimes being committed in the area. Some police officers are using this fashion statement as a crutch and a reason to harass youth. This problem is highlighted in the bay area but is happening in the inner city of Washington DC.