Around the world, people filled with fear and anxiety from the barrage of doom and gloom media coverage and worst-case scenarios pumped out by the media, politicians, and their appointed medical spokespersons… are turning on their neighbors.
In Germany, people are ratting out fellow citizens whom they see breaking social distance rules. One police official stated, “We are getting tip-offs from the public about open restaurants or large gatherings of people in parks.”
Last week in Munich, police received over 150 calls from people eager to report any social gatherings.
In the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, locals were reporting the license plates of Berliners driving to their weekend homes. Appalled at this behavior, professor of criminology and sociology at the Hamburg Police Academy, Rafael Behr, stated, “This willingness to report others is poisoning civilized behavior.”
In Rome, the city’s website now has a section where residents can report anyone they see disobeying the national order to stay at home. On social media, however, citizens displayed anger over what they saw as a reminder of their country’s fascist past when they were pressured to turn in political dissidents and Jews.
In Spain, police used videos and photos posted online by neighbors, referring to it as “balcony police,” to help them arrest almost 2,000 people for breaking stay-at-home orders.
In one video gone viral, a neighbor verbally shouts accusations at a jogger as he is videotaping her. Another video shows a family headed toward a supermarket with a child as a number of neighbors scream at them from a window. In Madrid, supermarket workers and even medical staff have been mistaken as rule breakers by neighbors who hurled trash at them.
In New Zealand, police established a website for citizens to report on anyone they witness breaking quarantine restrictions. Some of the initial snitch reports complained of people playing frisbee. The site crashed due to too many people trying to gain access.
In America, the itch to snitch is on the rise.
Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, announced, “You know the old expression about snitches…Well, in this case, snitches get rewards.”
His Honor’s office issued a statement that city officials accompanied by police officers had paid visits to over 500 businesses reported to be breaking the city’s stay at home orders. Four businesses have been cited for misdemeanors so far. The mayor heaped praise on his snitching residents, “We want to thank you for turning folks in and making sure we are all safe.”
In Naugatuck, CT, a neighbor said she was “mortified” when she drove by a golf course and saw a group seated at a table eating together. She took a video and posted it on Facebook, which lead to the mayor ordering the golf course to shut down.
In Newark, NJ, with help from residents providing information, police shut down 15 businesses and issued violations to over 150 people for not adhering to the governor’s directives.
In Maine, a resident said that a group of his neighbors, believing he had contracted the virus, came onto his property and chopped down one of his trees, blocking his driveway to prevent him from driving anywhere.
In Chicago, a yoga studio was closed after residents tipped off police. The yoga teacher said he thought the studio was in compliance, since it offered health, which is an “essential” service. He faces a fine up to $10,000.
