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Mar. 4, 2005 NBA star Carmelo Anthony recently made an appearance in an underground video called “Stop snitching.” The video insinuates that drug dealers who snitch on other pushers will be retaliated against. Several individuals flash guns and gang signs and rap about their hatred of those who talk to the police. A Maryland Senator has threatened to subpoena Anthony before Congress and have him testify on witness intimidation. Later, Baltimore area police asked Anthony to participate in a video shoot titled “Keep Talking,” encouraging citizen’s to continue to cooperate with the police. Anthony declined, saying that such a move would make it impossible for him to ever return to the city where he grew up. Li’l Kim 9real name Kimberly Jones) is currently serving time for lying to a federal grand jury about a shooting that took place outside of a radio station. Ms. Jones denied knowing the parties involved and is lucky to be serving a mere one-year sentence. Recently Busta Rhymes refused to cooperate with authorities after two men were shot during the filming of one of his videos. Furthermore, the killers of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls are assumed to be walking around free men, as the two witnesses in those cases were killed. Last year Baltimore Sun reporter Greg Kane wrote several articles that examined this code of silence. The “I’m not a rat” syndrome has been part of the criminal modus-operandi for years. Those who tattle risk being murdered for violating this “code.” Even if it means a killer walks free under the not so misguided belief that he can get away with murder again. Put yourself in the following situation: Your family lives in a neighborhood rife with drugs. Loud music, open drug dealing, fistfights and gunshots are the music of the night. The police come out, but it seems as if nothing is ever done; and when they do effect an arrest, there are more dealers waiting to take the arrested one'’ place. Then one day a child is killed in during an errant drive-by shooting. You are a witness to the event and over a period of several weeks no one has stepped forward. All witnesses have suddenly developed survival mode amnesia.. Do you identify the killer? Do you put your family at risk? At the same time, if one child has already been killed, who’s to say that your child isn’t next? The youth of today believe that such an unfortunate event has to be “chalked up to the game.” No one is going to say anything for fear of reprisal, perhaps against his or her entire family. Testifying under such circumstances takes either remarkable courage or ignorance. I see it as the former. Sometimes it is better to do what’s right and take your chances. But convincing a young person of this is nearly impossible. God forbid that you tell and someday find yourself behind bars. “Wearing a jacket” (being known as a snitch) you’ll be forced to serve your sentence in protective custody, where you’re not eligible for early release. But don’t fool yourself that whoever wants you dead can’t get to you. Back in the day witnesses let criminals handle their own affairs as long as no one innocent was hurt. A person who wounded or killed an innocent bystander was himself, dealt with harshly by his peers. Moreover, the widow was taken care of. This didn’t make things better, but it didn’t put additional pressure on eyewitnesses; things were “handled” discreetly by all parties involved. Nowadays, slaying an innocent bystander means nothing. It’s all about the kill, the sheer numbers, proving your machismo. In short, they’re just “collateral damage” in a war that grows more deadly and senseless by the day. ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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