-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.18/pageone.html <A HREF="http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.18/pageone.html">Laissez Faire City Times - Volume 3 Issue 18 </A> ----- Laissez Faire City Times May 3, 1999 - Volume 3, Issue 18 Editor & Chief: Emile Zola ------------------------------------------------------------------------ School Tattletale, Government Snitch by Sunni Maravillosa The most hated kids at any school are the bullies and the tattletales. While some misguided parents actually encourage bully-type behavior, virtually no one wants their child to be the one who snitches on others—even at home, telling on one’s siblings is likely to earn a rebuke. Reasons for not tattling range from it being "un-American" to the fact that someone else’s behavior is none of the snitch’s business. Yet children continue to tattle, and have even begun turning their parents in for alleged wrongdoing. There are several explanations for this rise in childhood snitching. In many families, the parent or parents are so busy trying to pay all the bills that they do not have much time left to devote to the children. In others, children are little more than status symbols whom the parents do not care to get to know as individuals, and whom are sent away out of the parent’s sight for as much time as possible. The result of both of these situations is a child who gets most of his or her values from people other than the parents. The place most of them learn whatever values they may acquire is from school. And for the majority of children, that school is a government-funded, public school. Ah yes, the public schools: propaganda mills for the statists. Public schools are indoctrination centers for those in power to promulgate their views of past, present, and the future. There is much to comment on here, but rather than wander too far afield, let’s focus on some of the "education" public schools foist upon their subjects. Either directly or indirectly (and ofttimes both), students learn that so-called self-esteem is more important than actual learning, and that as long as they make a show of trying, they’ll be passed to the next level. As a result, a student often learns that results do not matter—just the effort is sufficient. This is worse than learning that "the ends justify the means"; it teaches that "an end is an end is an end". And we see the success of that learning, in the functional illiteracy rates among high school graduates, and the increasing need for remedial college courses. Schools also use subtle means to get information they want from students. Under the guise of concern, school nurses and guidance counselors ask all sorts of questions of the students, including prying questions about a child’s home life. Thus, even a student who is rightfully suspicious of outsiders’ meddlings may be lulled into answering questions that are the business of no one outside the family. Even a school administrator may take this approach in trying to identify the perpetrator of some prank, as happened to me in my high school days. Without even knowing it, then, a young person may inadvertently reveal innocuous information that could be misinterpreted and bring about severe consequences for the parents, and the entire family. Government Snitch Programs And then there’s the explicit snitch indoctrination program of DARE. In this program, community police enter the schools, supposedly to teach children "drug abuse resistance and education". Included in that program, however, is a strong component of snitching—telling one’s principal about other children’s suspicious behavior, and calling the police for any suspected illegal-drug-related activity outside the school. Well-intentioned children repeat the slogans of DARE, which include informing "the authorities", in the programs, which are presented as fun activities, and even games. Then, when children see evidence of marijuana use in the home, for example, they think that it’s a good thing to call the police. It isn’t until the sibling or parent is hustled off in handcuffs that the child begins to have any inkling of how destructive to the family that one phone call is going to be. And of course, it’s too late then. The public schools do not deserve all the responsibility for these youthful tattletales. Many go to private schools, and many are fortunate enough to go to public schools that don’t have the funding to support the DARE propaganda pitch. Where else do kids learn their talkative habits? >From their parents, of course. The very same parents whom I just said encourage their children not to tattle. How can that be? Ironically, it has happened in the name of "patriotism", as some will probably describe the phenomenon. The federal government has made a big business of "informing" on fellow citizens. The most obvious example involves paying people who implicate others in some crime, or who sell information used in obtaining a search warrant. While those who commit a true crime deserve to suffer some unpleasant consequences as a result of that choice, it’s important to remember that many of these crimes are so classified only because of the Wars on (some) Drugs, Sex, and Capitalism. As Jim Bovard documented in his April 19 article in USA Today, enticing citizens to snitch on one another has become big business. From selling homes to paying taxes, you can get paid to tattle on a neighbor. Here’s a summary of Bovard’s findings: •The IRS paid $6.66 million to 708 informants last year; •Medicare recipients who attended "pep rallies" in certain cities were encouraged to spy on their doctors, receiving "Medicare fraud fighters kits" that included magnifying glasses, bumper stickers, and the offer of $1000 for turning in a physician; •Some local governments encourage homeowners to tattle on neighbors who violate zoning laws; •Federal search warrants relying solely on unidentified sources have escalated—71 percent of all federal warrants as of 1993. Individuals have died during raids at incorrect addresses, launched on the word of an informant; •Funding for private organizations that entrap realty agents, landlords, and banks into violating fair housing laws has nearly tripled under the current administration; and •A variety of informant programs reward those who turn in people for not wearing seatbelts, not recycling, and other such heinous activities. The idea behind most of these programs, at least in the minds of the citizens who participate in them, is not to create an authoritarian atmosphere of mistrust amongst "we the people". Most individuals would probably view many of these programs as an opportunity to help the government catch wrong-doers. No doubt some see it as an opportunity for easy money. However, when the government’s programs entrap rather than gather evidence, when they encourage individuals to pry into the private affairs of others whose lifestyle choices are not hurting anyone, they are far more harmful than helpful. Not only do they hurt peaceable individuals, but they provide support for the government’s intrusion into the lives and livelihoods of all citizens. Participating in such snitch programs provides a veneer of legitimacy for laws against victimless activities. Having such programs in place foments mistrust among the people. After all, accusations are all that matter nowadays—the press reports charges of tax evasion and drug use, but rarely follows up if the charges are shown to be frivolous. Most important is the lesson our children learn from the proliferation of tattling. Chanting the DARE slogans, seeing McGruff the Crime Dog "public service" announcements and "Crimestopper" ads on TV, the youth of this country are getting the idea that it’s not just acceptable, but profitable to poke one’s nose into someone else’s business—even parents, because they may successfully hide their ‘wrongdoing’ from everyone outside the family. "Doing your duty" is placed above any other allegiance, and is well rewarded. According to Bovard, some schools are actually paying students cash for reporting others who violate school rules. Children are being indoctrinated with ideas that make it very difficult to develop a proper understanding of right and wrong, and which undermine the most important social unit, that of the family. Duty to school and country are given more importance than other social ties. Does anyone else see a frightening resemblance to the Soviet Union here? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunni Maravillosa is a psychologist and web mistress for the Liberty Round Table (URL http://home.lrt.org/ ). These days you can also find her in Freedom City part of another pro-freedom activity she co-founded with Don L. Tiggre, The Freedom Channel (URL http://www.evanstonwy.com/freedom ). -30- from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol 3, No 18, May 3, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by Laissez Faire City Netcasting Group, Inc. 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