I’m talking about like tax fraud and stuff.
Do you be the snitch, or do you be like Skyler White and join them?
First, Skyler was practically a hostage, and an unwilling participant at best. I would describe her more as an abuse victim who still stays with her partner than a collaborator.
But to answer your question it’s always going to be a case-by-case basis because it really depends on the impact of what they’re doing and the harm it causes.
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Defrauding the government? Meh, the government has been fucking us for generations, turnabout is fair play.
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Stealing from some oligarch? Shit, need a partner? Eat the rich.
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Embezzling from your small-business employer? That’s more likely to have a direct impact on your coworkers so I’d be concerned but still probably not.
But more serious stuff like dealing hard drugs to kids, selling guns and bombs to crazy people, killing people, blowing shit up, etc? Yeah, now we have a problem. Now, what gets done about that problem also depends on the person, the activity, and the circumstances.
- My husband came after me with a knife so I shot him? Cool, gimme a call if you need help hiding the body.
- Help I accidentally murdered someone (and it really was an accident)? Gray area, the law probably needs to get involved but I would encourage them to come forward themselves rather than turn them in. If they had a compelling reason not to I might help them or might stay out of it depending on circumstance.
- My wife wouldn’t let me turn our home into the set of a realtiy TV show so I could be a star so I beat her to death (an actual thing that happened)? Hello officer, it was this guy right here.
Agreed. Are they punching up or down? What’s the potential harm and who will it harm?
If they’re just setting themselves up for disaster it’s probably best to remain hands-off and distance yourself. If they have a family I’d at least tell them what an idiot they are and then distance myself. Probably might be worth checking with the partner and tell them to protect themselves if they aren’t part of it.
And yeah, like you said, anything causing harm to innocent parties like selling hard drugs or guns is a non-starter.
Yeah, their reasons for doing it matter too obviously. If they’re just fucking over other people to enrich themselves then I am much more likely to report them (and also stop being friendly, cause that’s not the kind of person I want to spend my time with.)
Also re:selling guns I should clarify - I don’t have an issue with selling guns, even illegally, unless they’re selling to people who shouldn’t have them.
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No and no.
Ponzi scheme or something like that? Yes, I would snitch. Bank robbery, please do not tell me. Cheating on taxes? I will judge you but no, not turn you in, if you get caught you get caught.
No. Fuck the government and giant corporations. I mean I wouldn’t commit such crimes, but that’s just because I don’t want to deal with the consequences if I get caught. If you’re willing to pay your nickel and take your chances, go for it, as long as no innocent people are hurt in the process.
Depends, if the crime severely harms other people
Snitches get stitches. Unless someone is hurting people, I ain’t seen nothing.
Styler was complicit in a murderous/ deadly underground drug ring, where families are shredded apart and people died.
Someone fibbing on their 1099 isn’t anywhere near the same
Ethics comes above personal relationships always. That being said, small-scale tax fraud doesn’t really seem pressing; there’s plenty of flexibility about what to do about that, ethically speaking.
I’d have to duckduckgo where you even report that, because I don’t think it’s the normal police.
I agree with other commenters that it depends on the crime against my own morals.
Neither? I’d wash my hands off the whole thing “on your head be it if this goes to shit”.0
Not calling the authorities, also not going to need torture to tell them what I know if you get caught.
Serious, yes. Tax fraud, no.
Tax fraud may be serious to the govt, and the punishment may be serious, but you’re not hurting an individual, you’re not putting anyone out if business or out of a job, you’re not committing treason, you’re not even displaying sociopathic tendencies. Maybe if it were on the scale of Trump’s tax fraud …
10% cut.
Every family and relationship is different, I guess. I feel like active extortion would make the dinners a bit weird for me.
Generally if a person or small business was harmed then I’ll report them but if it’s the government and they did tax fraud or evasion I couldn’t be bothered.
Not unless it was weird or something.
Violent offense?
Probably not, unless I thought he might hurt another person who was innocent. Then I’d have to think about it.
Maybe an exception for like a mass shooting, I think I might turn them in for everyone’s safety, because if the cops found them on their own things might get bad. Hard part is working out how to do it safely.
If it was a one -off and the victim deserved it? I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Thanks for the spoiler.
If it harmed an innocent, probably. If it harmed a government, corporation, or detestable person, no.
Rarely is it only one or the other and not both or even several together, though…
It’s a case by case judgment call.
