Tattle Tales

An effective tool employed by communist China and Russia to create the climate of fear necessary to control their vast populations was divide and conquer. Divide people from their families and friends, colleagues and neighbors by encouraging them to report those who do not agree with the government or who may be committing illegal acts. Those governments encouraged children to tell on their parents and family members to turn on each other - all in the name of patriotism and loyalty to the state.

After September 11, the federal government proposed the TIPS program, which was designed to encourage UPS and FedEx delivery people and others to report "suspicious" activity. After massive outrage, it was quietly dropped, but it looks like the states have created their own version where the Chinese had the most luck -- with the kids.

A report in USA Today explained that, last week, the Houston County school board in Georgia became the state's first school district to enroll in the national Student CrimeStoppers program, started in 1983. Students can earn up to $500 for alerting school officials about firearms. They can get up to $100 for fingering classmates involved in vandalism, theft or drugs.
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-04-17-students-snitch_x.htm) With all the deadly school shootings, you would think that self-preservation would be enough to motivate children to turn in the crazies in their schoools.

I think the goal of the program is worthwhile, but the slippery slope it creates is troubling. A generation of children who are trained to snitch on those around them is scary. At some point, some will start abusing the system, getting paid for telling half-truths about people they don't like. That was the McCarthy era, the Salem witch hunts and other embarrassing events that we should hope not to relive.