As religious dissidents, we need to be careful!
Even if you’re not doing anything wrong, someone if your coven or social circle could attempt to lead you or the group into breaking the law. I’ve seen some questionable stuff in my time provoked by informants. The informant/provocateur is usually someone very new to a group who rises up in rank quickly, acting overly cocky, lots of knowledge, coming out of no where and pressuring people to meet and do things that they wouldn’t otherwise do.
“C’mon man, let’s break into the cemetery - you go first.”
“Can you get me some xyz drug for my ceremony tonight?”
“Let me come over and use your saw to saw off the end of my shotgun”
There are two common categories of snitch you need to look out for:
The infiltrator/agent provocateur. This is someone (often a professional) who is inserted into a group for an active purpose, such as disrupting the group, or worst, talking formerly innocent (or at least formerly non-violent) people into committing crimes in order to bust them. Agents provocateurs may, among other things, try to turn non-violent protest into violent action, thus discrediting movements, giving excuses for crackdowns, and giving more publicity and power to government agencies.
The informer/informant. This snitch is often a legitimate member of a group or social circle who continues to be active while giving information to the police. This person may be acting under duress (to save his own skin after being arrested, for instance). This person may be hoping the cops will pay with money, drugs, or ongoing criminal immunity for her dubious “services.” While this person isn’t necessarily a professional agent provocateur, he may nevertheless try to talk friends into committing crimes so he can get more credibility or rewards from his police handlers.
There is a reason why I’m posting this and hopefully none of you will fall into this trap.
Best,
EL