In response to the City of Baltimore's need for more of this type of publicity (after all, we remained at 12th on 2007's most dangerous cities list after posting the same ranking in 2006), the sequel to the highly controversial original was released just in time for you to add to your holiday gift lists. According to the Baltimore Sun, some of the video's highlights include a young child smoking what appears to be marijuana and waving a gun, a man yelling threats to well-known city politicians, and a man firing a gun into the sky.
Having never seen either of the DVDs, I can only speak so much on this. As to where I fall on the controversial issue of the nationwide street politcal movement that is "Stop Snitchin'", I'm not quite as clear as I once was. While most critics label it as a "witness intimidation" crusade, sympathizers will say that it's about silencing criminal informants rather than terrorizing innocent people.
I have a couple thoughts on the subject of snitching in general.
1) Does "snitching" encompass talking to the police in general, or does it mean giving yourself up to the police as an informant? The key difference is that one involves bystanders and innocent people, the other is more or less a criminal code of ethics. Even though police rely heavily on informants, clearly the first of the two definitions has a more profound negative impact. In this interesting video, the opinions of rapper Cam'ron and an anonymous man (presumably some type of OG) are put side to side. It seems that there is no clear answer to my question.
2) Many urban police, by all accounts, are corrupt, racist assholes. A lot of them will do anything to get arrests and make it look like they're making a difference. This includes going after young children, stopping people for no reason, putting dozens of bullet holes in people for bending over to pick up their wallets, etc. At the very least, they deserve some of the blame for the strained relationship between law enforcement and the inner city population.
Are the DVD and all of the "Stop Snitchin'" memorabilia making things worse on the streets of Baltimore and cities like it? Or are they just symptoms of deeper problems that already exist in urban communities?
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