What if we had a crime witness strike of sorts. We refuse to cooperate

[brewens]

with law enforcement until we see some action on white collar crime. Maybe make an exception where children or family members are involved but other than that, don't talk to the cops about anything. Send a message that if you want to fight crime, start at the top! Just trying to think of any way to make the feds go after the banksters.

If I witness a bank robbery, I'm not telling them anything! If you want the bank robber, give me a robber banker first! Then I'll tell you what I saw.

[villager]

1. There's certainly no question we have to withhold cooperation from our masters

General strike, rent strike, shopping strike, witness strike, you name it...

[socialist_n_TN]

9. What you said, villager

It's too bad that more people don't see this. But they will as it starts affecting more and more of the working class. When it pricks their individual bubble, resistence becomes necessary.

[brewens]

13. Well some idea that freaks them out that they won't be able to

put up with for long. Threatening to shut down their criminal justice system for us little people somehow might do it. Anything that would be better than rioting to get their attention.

It's going to take something drastic.

[socialist_n_TN]

18. "It's going to take something drastic." Yes it is.

But it's as Villager says, the MOST drastic thing you can do to a capitalist is fuck with his money. Otherwise known as strikes. General strike, payment strike and, as you said, threatening THEIR criminal "justice" system with noncooperation. Although I personally think that withholding the labor that they make money off of and withholding our money for their debts would make more of a splash in scaring them.

But the whole point is that we MUST STOP COOPERATING WITH THEM IN ALL AREAS. Whenever possible and by whatever means. Start small and work up.

[cali]

2. So if you witness the abduction of a child, the mugging of a senior citizen, the beating of a gay

person, a murder, you're not telling the police anything?

Brilliant. Not.

[MADem]

3. That makes absolutely NO SENSE whatsoever.

The Police are not the LAWMAKERS. They enforce the law. They can only respond to a report of a crime. White collar crime is generally not done with a gun or a mask and a note or a dramatic announcement. Attorneys General need to do investigations and issue indictments. About the only time a cop would be involved in that kind of scenario is when the lawyer and client went down to the station for booking/bail out, and, if convicted, transport to prison.

If you have problems with the LAWS that are in effect, the people you need to target are the law MAKERS, our ELECTED representatives.

Yelling at the police for something they didn't do and can't be expected to prevent is just ludicrous.

Refusing to cooperate with the police in criminal investigations only guarantees you that you will live in a shitty, crime-laden neighborhood and the guilty will walk free.

[laconicsax]

4. And after you've been convicted of obstruction of justice, what then?

Unrec. Stupid idea, illegal idea, stupid idea.

[TorchTheWitch]

5. utter lunacy

And it shouldn't even need to be explained why.

[saras]

6. Welcome to the world of the poor. Standard practice for millenia.

It's how poor right-wingers come about - different than the upper classes. "If the crime hurts me personally, I can't afford to tolerate it, whether the law will help me or not. If the crime doesn't hurt me personally, I can't afford to get involved."

It's really hard to stay a liberal if the police don't come when you call.

[brewens]

7. Ok. Bad idea, but I still like the part about the robber banker. n/t

[socialist_n_TN]

8. As I see in this thread, people are still buying into

the idea that you must cooperate with the system that's screwing the life out of you. A part of resistence is NOT cooperating with the representatives of the power structure. That's what civil disobedience IS.

Just remember ALL of the laws are set up to benefit the elites NOT THE WORKING CLASS. I repeat, EVERYTHING IS SET UP TO BENEFIT THE EXPLOITERS. Not you. So if you can game the system to benefit the poor and working class, you do so. To do otherwise is to SUPPORT the system.

Now as to the specific parameters of the OP, it would probably be a judgement call by the individual. If it were egregious poor on poor crime, especially a violent crime, yeah I'd probably cooperate. If it involved some kid shoplifting at a giant big box store? Probably not.

[villager]

17. There's a general terror, here at the "underground," of resisting the elites who run the show

Which means all that conditioning is working in spades...

[hack89]

10. So you would let a rapist stay free to rape more women?

Do you think his next victim may not appreciate the morality of your position?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

11. I regret that I have but one unrec for this OP

I see where you're coming from but the police aren't the ones making the law, refusing to prosecute white collar crime, etc.

[bemildred]

12. I've been there for decades, I have lots of company.

But it's more that I KNOW the cops are not my friends, they are always looking for some law I am in violation of, that's their job.

[Rex]

14. They would just beat us silly and fuck us stupid.

Normal people get beatdown by cops.

[WillowTree]

15. Yep, that'll make everyone a lot safer. Look how well that's worked in gang invested neighborhoods!

[brewens]

16. It's not about making it work or for very long. Any way to show

we aren't gonna take it, short of turning over cars and burning shit. I'd be open to any ideas we could come up with. It would have to be enough to scare the f*^k out of the people at the top though. That's what it's gonna take.