Importance Of Snitching

I can remember coming home one night to gun shots, just like every other night but this night was different; it struck a nerve with me, I began to look around and noticed the state of my neighborhood. I was thinking to myself, there has to be something that can be done, there has to be some way to take care of our neighborhood. Thinking of different ideas and doing research of different communities, I came with some ideas of how this can be done. Most neighborhoods stick together during terrible situations, have community meetings, and volunteer to clean up the neighborhood. The term “don’t snitch” is the reason violence in my neighborhood is the way it is; letting go of not being a “snitch” and standing up to the people who are committing

horrific acts will help the people stand together and not be afraid to leave their homes. That feeling of peace and not having anything we are afraid of will motivate people to not be afraid to attend meetings and give their ideas of how the neighborhood will improve, information I found on communitytoolbox.com shows most people in neighborhoods have very affective ideas on improving their neighborhoods. Volunteer work will be needed to get everything working effectively, the ideas of the community can’t all be done by the government or can be waited for the city to take action, that action has to come from the community itself. Volunteer work is what will make everything come together, the people of the community have to be the ones to go out and make the changes happen. Once all of this can be put together we will have a cleaner neighborhood and an effective system to take care of it.

Sticking together during though situations is what really makes a neighborhood strong and keeps the people together.

In the neighborhood I grew up in everyone is afraid of coming out and telling authorities what they saw was happening in the community, this is known as "snitching". People are usually afraid of being labeled a "snitch" because once word gets around of whom was the person to go forth to the authority’s that person now has to be afraid of retaliation on his/her life and the safety of his/her family. That would not be a problem once everyone in the neighborhood gets the courage to stick together and work with authorities; getting rid of the idea that speaking up is not the way to be safe in your own neighborhood. The fear of talking to authorities also has to do with what’s been going on all over the news and social media; all the images and videos of police brutality and police abusing power to get away with anything including murder; getting to know that not all police officers are the same and will not try to hurt them will be a critical step in getting people from our neighborhoods not only to speak up when seeing something wrong but also not being afraid of the authority figure they are speaking to. Tackling this small step, I believe will be a great start in cleaning up our community and taking care of

it.

Having community meetings would be the second effective step to make when trying to take care of our neighborhood.

My neighborhood and many other neighborhoods do not offer a neighborhood meeting. Having an effective meeting can help neighbors know what to look out for, what is a bad trend that is affecting the integrity of the neighborhood, and what area need the most eyes and hands to keep that area and the neighborhood clean. For my neighborhood, going back to my earlier thought in stocking together; it would work hand in hand with neighborhood meetings, once again the mind-set of protecting yourself by not saying a word is an obstacle that is stopping my neighborhood from having these meeting. I believe once it is taken care of the people from the neighborhood will not be afraid to attend these meetings and not only listen to what needs to be improved but also offer insights on what needs to be done and what area they feel need the most help. Neighborhood meeting are vital in taking care of the neighborhood but also creating bonds between neighbors that will make for a far more comfortable and safe

neighborhood.