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Is Squealing Okay?

EDITORIAL: IT TAKES VILLAGE TO STOP DRUGS

Ruthless political regimes have always relied on tattletales. In Cuba, every citizen is a vigilante. When some hapless soul crosses the line of free speech or the free market, someone peeping through a window shade files a report. For such reasons, perhaps, Americans have always been antsy about turning in their neighbors. Squealing feels patently un-American.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C...52516%2C00.html

Okay Squealing Is

A quote from the article.

The problem with this statement is that you can switch out the word drugs with any other offense you particularly don't like.

Another quote from the article:

I disagree with this statement as well. I think use of recreational drugs should be legal as I have indicated in this thread. Alcohol is also a drug. It's use is legal. It, too, could be termed a public health hazard.

I have a problem saying it is o.k. to turn your neighbor in for this, but not this. I think the decision needs to be based upon the crime, this is true, but I think it is for the individual to decide what is a crime you should report and what is not.

For me, if my neighbor was selling drugs to school kids, I would turn them in. If they were selling to adults, I would not. If my neighbor killed his wife, I would turn him in. If he were beating her, I probably would not. This is not to say I think it is o.k. to beat your wife. I am simply saying I am not "my brother's keeper" for the government's policing.

Is Squealing Okay? History & Civil Business Politics

Yes, "squealing" is ok. Not squealing is for cowards who won't stand up for what is right.

I'm not talking about minor offenses like jaywalking or smoking pot--who really cares about those things?--but about more serious things, like assault, theft, or toxic waste dumping. Do I favor a police state, with neighbors spying on each other? Of course not. But I sure would appreciate it if my neighbors called the police when my house was being broken into, or if someone called the police when I was being attacked.

--"Vigilante Man" Dror