THE ORGIN OF SNITCHING
Contrary to popular belief, the Italian’s didn’t start the “loose lips sink ships” theory. I say this with all due respect to every friend of mine of Italian decent, as well as those whom I don’t know that are Italian and believe in the sanctity of manhood in these terms. Some of which have died in here as the result of their refusal to turn rat, Robert (Kebert) Bicachia in particular (R.I.P brother), Spinnelli, my Main man Johnny Moose outta Jersey that copped to 25 at age 58 keeping it trill, Vinnie from N.Y., and a few others that are close to my heart that are stand up men, hell, even my Mell-o Seth Ferranti, who’s Italian makes this list. However, history must be told in its entirety. Back in the day mob bosses had judges and cops on payroll and didn’t give a damned about sending the opposition to jail. Even worse many of these men that young brothers love to name themselves after hated black men so much that it wasn’t even seen as snitching to send a “nigger” to jail or put a “Monkey in a cage where it belongs in the first place.” This line of thinking was popular in its time…And according to the sentences me and my men have and are stepping off; it’s obviously still popular (lol).
I love Camron’s music, he reped Ohio hard for us with the song: I Used to get it in Ohio. But it broke my heart to see him on TV being questioned by the media with respects to the “Stop snitching” campaign that was going on a few years back. He didn’t know enough about the laws we live by to properly defend the concept. Killa Cam’s comments lead to our brother issuing an apology that he would have never had to give had he known the full story.
Before answering such condescending questions it’s important that we know exactly what it is we represent. I love the fact that Cam’ honors a righteous principle without question, he’s real for that, but some things were given to us that we don’t even understand and it’s time to take a look at these beliefs to be sure we are not holding on to concepts that no longer apply to us. A man should be fully informed before he makes any decision. Half the rats I see told simply because they weren’t told better. One example of these inherited ideologies I see all the time in here (the Pen) is the Convict mentality. You even see dudes on the streets acting like convicts. Certain laws were established by our prison forefathers so that those of us that fall can remain alive and well. But some stuff is simply dated. Am I saying being a “Stand up nigga” is outta style, HELL NO! It’s the ONLY way to go if you decide to do the tango with Satan, but we must know what we represent and why we represent it.
Almost every single thing that blacks are afflicted with is deeply rooted in slavery. During that time the slave master kept a close eye on us by using other slaves to monitor us. Using petty things like extra privileges as an incentive for information against the brothers and sisters. Just like now. The plantation, the projects, and prison are the same thing. No different. So it was frowned upon, for lack of better wording, by us when we knew a coward was turning us in to Massa. The stakes were much higher then so the penalty was much more severe. Hence “Snitches end up in ditches.” Why such drastic punishment for that transgression? As I said, the stakes were much higher than a lifetime in prison in the Antebellum. Which is why the saying was downgraded from “ditches” to “stitches” over time. Massa had to control us, particularly the black man. So they would hang us, burn us alive, castrate us, tar and feather us, or tie each limb to a horse and have us ripped to shreds or in half. There were many forms of torture and unspeakable cruelty. So when it was discovered that snitching was taking place, heads rolled. Citing a few examples: The great Nat Turner August 22, 1831. Nat’s rebellion rocked South Hampton, Virginia when he incited slaves to rise up and slay their masters after a chat with God. Nat could read which was illegal and his education lead to him reading the bible and the bible told him to fight. Nat was ratted out and in turn he was hung and slices of his flesh were sold to white people to make wallets and such. Or Denmark Vessey. A snitch told about his coming rebellion and it lead to the massacre of over 300 slaves, because whites had to prove a point. Or the great Harriet Tubman who had to put down any man or woman thought to put in jeopardy the progress of the Underground Railroad.
Moving into more current times when we were “freed” through Honest Abe’s efforts, we had no work. Now during slavery unemployment for us was zero percent. After “emancipation” unemployment was over 65 percent. So we ran liquor, sold the precious flesh of our own women back to the master or anyone who would buy in order to survive. Shake joints, liquor houses, gambling joints all that came from being cast out. And the “Negro” once again, would sell us out and turn us over to the same people that destroyed us. That’s the basis of this anti-snitch lifestyle we live. Not to turn your brother over to your former slave master. In the book Without Sanctuary I cite example #18 the August 13, 1911 burning of Mister John Lee, a black man accused of many crimes. The one that cost him his life was the “wounding of a white woman” named Redden Campbell. She identified Mister Lee after he was shot to death by a lynch mob of over 1500 whites in Durant, Oklahoma. The mob claimed that Mr. Lee exchanged gunfire with them and that the mob “calmly emptied their guns into his body,” Afterward his body was burned at a public gathering of over 500 (white) people and our brother burned from nine a.m. till almost noon. The postcard of this gathering is titled “Coon Cooking”. That’s what happened when we stood up for ourselves. But is it different from now? Let’s examine.
According to the United States Constitution slavery is abolished unless “duly convicted of a crime.” That makes all of us in jail and out of jail that have felonies SLAVES under the law. I implore you to look this fact up. That’s why we can’t vote in many states or carry guns in ANY state, even after we pay our “Debt to society”. How do most of us end up in jail? Rats. The first police force was formed to hunt down run-away slaves, and is it a coincidence that these same officers hunt us down and murder us in the same manner? What was the plantation for? Free labor from us, the slaves. What happens when we come to prison? What’s called “Slave wages” under the Constitution’s 13 Amendment is what many of us are paid for working in the factories in prison. What’s the difference? The difference is that we don’t study our history because we’re ashamed to acknowledge it. That’s why we suffer the same shit we’ve always suffered. We must embrace our history in order to diagnose what the fuck is wrong with us so we can move beyond this foolishness and be truly free. So the history of ratting is simple, no one had more to lose for snitching than us. NOBODY. Nobody had more honor about this principle than us. NOBODY.
People say we live in a world where none of that matters…Better wake up fast.
Read about Fridge in Street Legends Vol. 2’s chapter on The Short North Posse