Everyday Canvas

"Snitches get stitches!" Really?

Prompt: Last night at my writing group a poem was shared discussing snitches get stitches. The phrase is a threat indicating that those who snitch (tell on or inform on others) Will be physically assaulted (require stitches to close the cuts or wounds they are going to get for being informers). What are your feelings about this topic? Is silence really the right thing to do or is putting yourself out there in harm's way the only way for this change?

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I would say that depends on the time, place, and situation. Now, reporting suspicions of terrorist activities is a good thing when based on a true concern and not on feelings of revenge or animosity. The police business also uses informants to some success. I am not, however, in favor of informants making deals to avoid prosecution. Yet the police have to do what they have to do to solve cases.

Although keeping silent in face of injustice is tempting, going along to get along feels not the right thing to do, at least not always. What do you do if your family, your neighbors, or the peace of the general public is threatened with harm? This is something everyone should decide for themselves according to what went wrong.

Then, sometimes, it takes one individual to make a change, personal ethics or concerns aside. Snitching could have been useful during the Nazi atrocities, for example, or it may work if you are sure that your neighbor is abusing his/her child. On the other hand, if my best friend has dropped and broken her mother’s antique dish by accident and is keeping quiet about it, it is not my business to tell her mother what happened. In a reverse situation, it is also not my business to tell everyone someone else's accomplishments if that accomplished person does not like being the center of attention.