I’m sure this sounds completely silly and juvenile, but at risk of coming off like a snot-nosed malcontent, I’m going to say it anyway. Any kid who tells on another kid is a dead kid.
That was the code amongst the teenage delinquents in Over the Edge, one of my all time favorite movies.
Don’t get me wrong; by no means do I advocate the “quit snitchin’” mindset of those who are criminally inclined and those who would protect them. But in the case of the Gip — who was a world class snitch that not only “named names” during the Red Scare, but as noted here, also served as a secret FBI informant, regularly finking out his showbiz peers and colleagues for supposedly being communist sympathizers — snitchin’ for the sake of snitchin’ is most certainly deserving of severe punishment. Just nothing violent or life threatening.
To religious folks, this is known as bearing false witness, and is most uncool. In badass 1970’s New Grenada, its a teenage death sentence. But through the crystal clear lens of hindsight, it simply serves as a reminder of the crumbling myth and eroding legacy of Ronald Reagan.