I cannot believe what I just heard from mandjshow.com this morning. Apparently, there is a street code of ethics in which people do not snitch on other people committing a crime. So if a person witnesses a rape taking place, should he or she just continue to walk on by? The reality of people living next door or in the same neighborhoods as criminals is nothing but an excuse for inaction and irresponsibility. The street code of ethics is a tactic allowing crime to proliferate, and I'm not buying into it.
The ladies interviewed on the show said that the street code of ethics goes far beyond the camera. Whether rappers, senators, or budding movie producers, a life is a life. It was basically indicated that if a person snitched, his life might be put in jeopardy. Well, what about the person the crime is being done to? When life is on the line, status doesn't matter, and one person's life is never more important than another. And seeing that society is not a jail, a person should not have to worry about violence from using his or her voice to stop it. In other words, it sounded as if the interviewees were indicating that there is a cultural mob behind the scenes controlling other people's freedom to ensure their own neighborhood is safe. Voicing injustice helps to keep crime down, because more attention will be called to the crime in the hopes it will be stopped and prevented in the future.
On the one hand, the street code of ethics sounds like an attempt to compete with the police. I understand there has been some recent discord within the Chicago police via the recent beating of the barmaid. Yet one bad apple doesn't determine the outcome of the others. In short, distrust of the law is not an excuse to promote demoting one's own voice, because it silences those in need of protection in the first place. In addition, refusal to voice a crime turns one into an accomplice to the crime.
The street code of ethics gives permission for crime to continue via pretending it didn't happen and then doing nothing about it when the witness could have acted. Perhaps a life will be saved. Perhaps your life will be saved. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather deal with taking the responsibility of acting now, instead of living with the guilt of knowing I could have done something to help. In short, don't underestimate the power of one voice.
