It's Good Friday - A time to reflect on snitching

Today is Good Friday, the day after Judas betrayed Jesus to the Roman authorities, launching the chain of events that led to Christ's crucifixion and ultimately His Easter resurrection. Judas was a paid Roman informant according to canonical biblical texts. Like the principal snitch portrayed in the book and movie Rush, set in my hometown of Tyler, tradition says Judas committed suicide following his betrayal.

Other non-canonical "gospels," however, portray Judas as Christ's double agent, a provocateur luring the Romans to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene as part of the Lord's grander plan. Whichever depiction is more accurate (and we cannot know), that's why for me on Good Friday my thoughts always turn to the subject of informants, their motives, and how longstanding and profoundly human are the conflicts that arise from the practice - this morning is no exception.

Of the nearly 2,000 posts on Grits, one I'm proudest of was an item on the role of snitching in the Passion story published on Good Friday of last year. Another of my all-time favorites examined the values behind snitching and society's love-hate relationship with informants, also in terms of religious and traditionally conservative values. With little hope today of coming up with something as inspired, I thought I'd just link to these items for those who didn't read them a year ago. Check them both out, if you're interested, and see other prior Grits posts on informant use and abuse.