“Complaining is bad”: where did this idea come from in our society and why it’s time to change it

In Russia, it is considered bad form to complain, something that borders on betrayal. For a person who considers it necessary to complain, in the Russian language there are a lot of unpleasant names: "sneak", "informer", "scammer", "informer", "rat". From childhood, we are taught that sneaking is bad, and the stories of how people from Western countries "lay" friends who got drunk behind the wheel are simply shocking. Let's figure out why this is happening and what consequences the “culture of silence” has.

Why Most of Us Think Complaining Is Bad

In our history and culture, denunciation is entrenched as an unworthy act

Silence is considered an important element of Russian culture. “The word is silver, silence is gold”, “A good silence is better than a bad grunt,” say the proverbs. Historians speak of the "taciturn" that did not leave a great literary heritage, pre-Petrine Russia, and poets, from Pushkin to Yevtushenko, speak of the silence and indifference of the people.

Philologist and philosopher Mikhail Epshtein writes about a special type of silence characteristic of the Russian language, which was born in the 30-50s of the XX century - bold, or double, silence. It, according to Epstein, was inherent in those thinkers (Florensky, Losev, Bakhtin, Golosovker) who could not openly express their ideas, but did not express agreement with the Soviet regime.

In general, the Stalinist period in the history of Russia, some researchers and thinkers consider Berlin I. History of freedom. Russia. - M., 2014 the apotheosis of the powerlessness and helplessness of the people. People, intimidated by repressions, were alienated from the state apparatus, and that, in turn, from the people. Silence, "non-talk" in this case became the norm of everyday life, a way of survival and observance of the tacit and unwritten universal law.

In addition, whistleblowing was a common scoring tool, which cemented it as a low, unworthy act. Thus, the word "informer", which came out of the camp jargon, actually became common.

Scammers in Soviet and Russian cinema are, as a rule, negative characters.

Do not forget about the period of the late 1980s - early 2000s. Then the "thieves' romance" gained great popularity with its characteristic disdain for informers and the idea of promoting the law.

Complaints rarely lead to a positive outcome

There are several illustrative examples. For example, the story The story of Margarita Gracheva, whose husband cut off both hands. RIA Novosti Margarita Gracheva, who was mutilated by her husband - although she turned to the police after he took her to the forest for the first time and threatened her with a knife. There are also not so creepy, but no less indicative examples: survey data indicate that in 37% of cases complaints to the labor inspectorate remain unanswered, and in 29% no action is taken. Well, or here it is completely everyday: faced with a violation of their rights (for example, when buying goods), Russians do not even try to protect them.

The officials themselves admit that there are many problems in the interaction between the authorities and the Russians.

That said, Russians are not only finding it difficult to benefit from their complaints. Often they have to deal with the consequences of defamation suits. Only in 2019, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation banned N. Kozlov. Do not apologize. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has banned officials from suing citizens for their complaints. RG.ru officials to file lawsuits against those citizens who complained about them.

As a result, most of us are convinced that there is no point in trying to achieve justice. That it still will not change anything and will probably lead to problems for the complainant himself, and there will be no one to intercede and protect him.

Why it is worth changing the "culture of silence"

According to a sociological survey, from 87% to 94% of young people in school have a negative attitude towards snitching. Historian Vadim Shiller considers this to be one of the signs of the criminalization of Russian society.

In fact, a complaint filed on time can save someone's life. In this regard, the story of Dowd M. 20 Years After the Murder of Kitty Genovese, the Question Remains: Why? The New York Times Kitty Genovese from New York, who was killed within half an hour, despite the fact that several witnesses saw or heard what was happening. By the way, failure to report a crime is also a crime - both in Russia and in many other countries of the world.

The duty to report wrongdoing has existed in Russia for over 350 years.

It works the other way too. By timely reporting a violation of sanitary measures in any institution, you can save its owner from more severe punishment. For example, the spread of COVID-19 (violation of quarantine leading to death) is subject to criminal prosecution and threatens with a large fine, or even a prison term of up to seven years.

A. Yu. Sypachev has existed for many years in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and China. Foreign experience of attracting citizens to public assistance in the fight against crime; working systems of interaction between citizens and the police. For example, all of these countries have voluntary law enforcement agencies supervised by law enforcement agencies. In Germany, civilian representatives can visit police stations to assess the conditions in which detainees are being held.

It is impossible not to mention that it was thanks to the testimony of one of the citizens that Three million was arrested for the offender: the Ministry of Internal Affairs determined the payment for the informants. MK.ru killer and member of the organized criminal group Alexander Sharapov.

Is the denunciation of a drunk driver who got behind the wheel different from these examples? No, considering that in an accident with drunk motorists in 11 months of 2020, more than three thousand people died, and another 17 thousand were injured.

The reluctance to complain is also harmful in everyday life. So, according to the data, every fifth Russian has faced a violation of the Labor Code. NAFI of the National Agency for Financial Information, every fifth working Russian has faced violations of working conditions. Most often this was expressed in employers using black and gray wage schemes, as well as in its delay. The life hacker has already written about why a salary in an envelope is bad.

What is the difference between civil liability and snitching

Russian proverbs also say the opposite: "Silence will not get the rights" and "Silent like a tree stump."

There are many cases where denunciation is useful. And it doesn't have to be a serious crime. A ham parked on the sidewalk, a neighbor who smokes in the entrance (which, by the way, is prohibited), or a salesman who dispenses alcohol to teenagers. As long as all these people remain unpunished, our life does not change for the better. After all, a C-student who hides cribs well and goes to university, and a man who terrorizes his family, are essentially phenomena of the same order, generated by the silence of witnesses.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs seeks to attract citizens to cooperation. So, in 2018, a document was approved that allows ordinary people to pay money for communicating important information. However, this measure, reminiscent of bounty hunters from the Wild West, could lead to a surge of unmotivated denunciations and defamation.

In recent years, Russians themselves have begun to complain more often, especially A. Golubeva. Scammers versus peddlers. How Russians hand over quarantine violators to the authorities. BBC Russian service in connection with the pandemic and non-compliance with self-isolation. This phenomenon already has excesses: often people, out of personal revenge, claim that someone is violating quarantine.

In everyday life, it is sometimes difficult to understand where the complaint ends and the denunciation begins. Here linguistics and semantics come to our aid, according to which:

Denunciation- a secret accusatory message to a representative of the authorities, a boss about someone's activities, actions.

Complaint- 1. Expression of displeasure about something unpleasant, suffering, pain. 2. An official statement with a request to eliminate any disorder or injustice.

The complainant officially and openly reports the violation, injustice, and the informer (or informer) secretly accuses someone in front of the one who has the power. When you seek justice, you complain, and when you secretly tell something out of jealousy or other personal reasons, you knock.

The fact that it is not accepted to complain in our country is not only to blame for history, culture and power. Do not forget that most of us like to violate the rules: drive over the permitted speed, smoke where prohibited, litter. Until we understand that laws and rules are valid for everyone together and for each separately, the only effective way to bring order will be a whip - denunciation "where it is necessary". Until then, the complaint will be perceived as a socially unacceptable action.