After a turbulent few days, Maria was settling back into this world and back into the crew that was her home and the district that was her family. Her head about to explode with the craziness of it all, when she decided that it was high time she cleared her head, and settled herself back in another way. The streets too had often been a home for Maria and her bloodline, for better or for worse. Now, she felt as though the days she'd spent away from this place had given her a new clarity and a new way to express her feelings on things. As she'd been packing up her Chicago apartment ready to move away from everything she had known, she had happened upon the family book of fairy tales. Stories that had been read to her as a young girl by her mother, stories that, as she flicked through them, she had resigned herself to never reading to her own children. 

She'd lost several hours that evening, reliving her earlier years, remembering the things she'd been taught as they'd been passed down, and it was only the next day that she found that her place in this world still remained. The book, however, had remained right at the top of one of the boxes which now contained her worldly goods. 

Picking it up, she slipped it into a rucksack to keep it safe, and headed out onto to streets, hoping to bring a new clarity to them by virtue of what was written in the book. Picking her favorite spot, Maria retrieved the book from her bag, and flicked to the page she'd marked earlier. Clearing her throat, she began to read.

Once upon a time, back in the old country, where the Mafiosi way of life flourished in such a way that it was incomparable even to the way our life flourishes in our greatest cities here in America, there was a man considered to have been blessed with the gift of a silver tongue.

Giuseppe Di Caprio was the only son of one of Naples' biggest mob leaders, Francesco Di Caprio, and it was said that Giuseppe and his silver tongue had helped his father consolidate twice as much power in five short years as his father had managed to gather in the twenty years he'd been a leader himself. Giuseppe's way with words was the stuff of legend. People came from all over the city to hear him speak, and it was said that his ability to rally others to his cause was immense. 

During his time, the streets of Naples, however, were considered to be almost totally devoid of other gifted speakers. Sure, several more regularly showed their faces, spoke to an extent, but within a decade, Naples was tired of hearing the same few people speak. Less and less people turned out to listen to Giuseppe, less and less bothered to respond to his words, to converse and debate with him, the heads of the families that had fallen under the control of his father began to shift their allegiances and even the entertainers - the storytellers, the singers - who had previously streamed steadily through the city to share their works began to favor instead visits to the great Northern cities to make their names, feeling that there was little interest to be had on the streets of Naples. 

Steadily, the order that had previously existed within the city of Naples began to crumble and Giuseppe, still trying to inject life back into the streets, fell into a deep depression. He slept little, his mind constantly awake and alert with ideas, thoughts, possibilities for returning things to their former glory, or else mourning yet another unsuccessful attempt. One evening, around one in the morning and with sleep again evading him, Giuseppe changed from his nightclothes into one of his trademark smart suits, covering it with a now shabby looking travel cloak that he'd owned for many years, before he headed out onto the streets of the city, wondering if he might find any inspiration. 

Walking around the city at night showed it in a rather different form than the day. When the shops where closed, but the pubs and bars were open, the city seemed to once more have a pulse in the way that the streets once had during the day. Feeling drawn in, Giuseppe made his way in to one of the more crowded pubs, where a lively debate appeared to be taking place over the role of the mob in Naples. He heard the son of a Don in his fathers own crew, a boy of sixteen at the most, making an impassioned yet imperfect attempt to add to the debate and being shouted down by the more polished speakers who, as far as Giuseppe could see, had a far weaker point, despite their superior presentation. 

Surprised, Giuseppe had settled onto a stool by the bar and drank a bottle of beer, listening to the backwards and forwards debate between the polished speakers. "Why", he had thought, "I could listen to these gentlemen speak all day", he had thought when he sat down. Yet after a mere half hour, he was almost bored. The two went backwards and forwards making the same points, neither having much to add but both wanting to continue the debate,  to keep the excitement in the air. And as the words of the two blended into background noise,  Giuseppe found his eyes drawn to the youngster, who was sat quietly on a small rickety stool tucked next to the Grand Piano, his eyes turned to the floor and his mouth firmly shut. Although Giuseppe never paid much attention to those trying to make a name for themselves speaking on the streets, he couldn't help but recall seeing the lad out on the streets a few times, always looking seconds away from saying one thing or another, and never quite able to, always turning away at the last moment.

Walking over to him, he lowered the hood on his cloak and tapped him on the shoulder, watching the look of confusion and then defensiveness wash over the younger man, as he worked out how long Giuseppe had been in the bar and what he might have heard and seen in that time. He almost trembled as Giuseppe led him to a quieter area of the bar to speak with him properly. 

As Giuseppe explained to the boy, Antonio his name was, how much he'd appreciated his perspective and enjoyed hearing his opinion, Antonio's eyes had widened. As Giuseppe asked why Antonio never shared opinions on the streets in front of his fellow mafiosi, rather saved it for the bars filled with overconfident drunks late at night, Antonio had bowed his head slightly.

"I speak on the streets", he mumbled, "and I am nothing like you. I don't deliver my words like you. I can't make them all come out just right. I can't grab peoples attention and they overlook my points and they laugh at how I tell them. I speak here, I speak in the coffee shops, and at least occasionally someone listens and takes me seriously, rather than overlooking my point because I can't deliver it in the conventional way". 

Antonio's words gave Giuseppe some serious food for thought that night. "Perhaps the silence and lack of variety on the streets has fallen for a reason. Perhaps we lack the mentors, to help the next generation find their way. I had a gift, yes, but I had people to guide me in using it those early years. Perhaps if people like myself can not only show the new generation how things traditionally are done, but encourage them to participate and with time find their own style that people can't help but notice, our streets will buzz with activity once more. But if the example isn't there, how can we ever expect people to learn, how can we ever expect them to join in with us, if nobody is willing to take the time to show them our ways?" he had thought to himself. 

The next night, Giuseppe returned to the bar, and once again found Antonio. Once again, he lead him to the quiet area of the bar, and as they listened to the debate raging in the corner, they themselves talked. They discussed their opinions and as Antonio began to form his own, Giuseppe aided him in framing it properly, in making sure that he would not be merely shouted over. To ensure that he would be listened to. And that night, as he spoke, people fell silent and listened. They nodded in approval. Giuseppe and Antonio continued this practice for several months, and each evening, Antonio became a stronger and stronger speaker, until one day, to Giuseppe's shock, Antonio announced that he was going to make his own speech on the streets. 

The very next day, Giuseppe accompanied the boy to one of the crowded squares in the city centre, a place that he had enjoyed making crowds eat out of his hand many times over the years, and rather than taking his usual spot stood atop an overturned wooden crate, Giuseppe sat on the edge of the fountain. Antonio began to speak and the crowds began to gather, at first curious to see who the newcomer was, and then interested in what it was he was saying. It was as though the old days had returned, and Giuseppe smiled.

Twelve months later, the streets of Naples were scarcely recognizable compared to how lackluster and quiet they had been just the year before. Young faces populated the streets, people who might never have been willing to stand up and speak out for themselves, encouraged by Giuseppe himself and by people who also felt the value of encouraging new blood to find their voices. The journey had been hard, but worth it. And as Giuseppe himself stood up to speak, he felt the old thrill returning. He found lively audiences, responsive crowds and his love for the debate spark up once more. 

All was well.  

Closing the book and returning it to her rucksack, Maria faced the crowd that had assembled to hear her story. 

When I read this story the other day, it made me think of our world. It made me think long and hard about our streets. It made me think hard about myself and about other regular speakers out here. It made me come to a series of revelations.

Maybe it should be our leaders out here on the streets setting the example, keeping our streets lively, full of entertainment, debate and creativity. Maybe it should be. People will have different opinions on that and people will justify their opinions in different ways.

But for better or for worse, in many cases, the leaders of our world are not setting those examples. I'm sure many of us would like to see more life in these streets, myself included. I've spoken on the matter many times and although this isn't an attempt to absolve our leaders from not participating in what I personally perceive is and should be a vital part of the role they play AS leaders in our world, which is having a presence on our streets, the story contains good points for what we as a community can do.

There are many good speakers out on our streets. There are some on our streets who perhaps aren't as strong, but who try. Who come out and speak out and get ignored because they don't put their point across fantastically, or who don't have a great way with words but do have enthusiasm, and perhaps those of us who make a home for ourselves in the streets are guilty sometimes of expecting those people to either be helped by their leaders (many of whom have no interest in doing anything on the streets at all to begin with) or to come to others for help. 

So, here is what I'd like to ask everybody. Do you think that the story told here today is something that could translate into our lives in this world now? Do you think street speakers could do more? What do you think we could do? How can we help? If you aren't much of a speaker, what would make doing so regularly easier for you? 

Help us to help you to help our street, ladies and gents. Second guessing isn't working and our streets feel emptier of originality sometimes even by the day.

I agree with Jackal, but I have a bit more to add. There's just not enough to talk about in a debate that the people who are taking it seriously haven't already added, there is nothing said which hasn't been said before and after a while its just people repeating a conversation they had from a few months ago. Hell, there was probably someone in the streets with the same sentiments I have in a chat which was exactly like this one.

I have a little story for you:

Some random thug walks past the streets and hears a conversation, he peeks around the corner to see three or four people arguing in excruciatingly long detail about something they don't even fully comprehend or maybe care to understand. He thinks about speaking up, but they're all going at it so much that he'll feel like an idiot if he says anything and is expected to back what he says with the same kind of conviction and care. 

He hears them getting so huffed up and serious about the topic at hand that he just frowns and looks away, and thus a potential member of the community is gone. This guy grows up in the game and sure he comes onto the streets for the things which are more mechanical than actual conversation (Saying congratulations to his CL, introducing himself, or having an adventure on the streets because he just recently found out about the streets; never to return afterwards because it is generally ignored.) but he will never really attempt to take part in debate.

Now the questions for me would be,

Does anyone really want to care that much about arguments which happen in this place outside of a handful?

Is it wrong of them for not wanting to care?

Is this really fear and intimidation, or is it a lack of want to care and add?

If not for debate, what else is there really to do on the Streets that would get you noticed?

You either need to completely overhaul the concept of what the Streets are and why they're here, or you need to be happy with the fact that some people are just never going to enjoy the same things you do and get by on things which are different from you. I'm glad there are people who love these Streets and wish they could make everyone see them the same way they do, but it just isn't going to happen.

Is this bad? I don't know, I guess it all depends on who you ask.

I walk by the street corner as some worthy, stalwart speakers voice their opinions.  I listen closely and nod in appreciation.  I hear much that I agree with and can only say “Hear Hear!.”  Yes there are pros and cons to speaking in the streets – and much of what we hear is really quite boring – but buried in all of this there are some gems.  My only contribution to all of this is to say “Keep it up – it can be like a treasure hunt for us all.  Finding those gems is indeed worthwhile.”

I have likely been a culprit of this, but I think it's somewhat detrimental to talk about the status of the Streets in the Streets. Especially when we throw around terms like "Street Speakers," as if there's some in-crowd of intellectuals and everyone else is incapable of original thoughts. Realistically, speeches like these (which somewhat require an analytical perspective of the Streets in order to put forth a response) shouldn't target the silent portion of your audience. Why? Because there is no way anyone is going to show up here, read your, eloquent as it is, long and drawn-out speech, and make a response to tell you precisely why they don't show up in the Streets to make responses to speeches.

What gets the most attention? The most responses? Auth speeches. The easiest place to pretend you contribute to the vitality of the Streets. And even in those speeches, there aren't very many responses at all, much less from the "silent" types. There's a very silent majority, and it includes some of the most powerful men and women in our world. It's come time where we just need to accept the activity we get, and enjoy it while we can.

So, I apologize if I rain on your parade, but this speech seems more like a heavy dose of self-indulgence than anything. Starting with a long-winded story (seemingly) about yourself, referring to yourself as some kind of formalized "Street Speaker," the air of condescension in your offers to help, and your opaque desire to be the "savior of the Streets" just makes this all seem disingenuine.

It seems obvious to me that the reason the streets are not as vibrant as some people would like is because people don't want to speak in them. If they did, they would, and traditionally many only spoke in the streets because they had to in order to gain the attention of people who matter. This is also obvious when you are one among thousands, after a piece of only a small amount of available real estate.

Now however, our organizations are much smaller and real estate is much more readily available. You don't need to be in the streets to be noticed and you can readily make an impression within your own family to get what you want. You likely won't be remembered much beyond your own lifetime, but you will probably achieve all of your immediate goals. As a result, only those people who want to speak are the ones doing so and I don't think there are many who really need all that much tutelage. 

So, I don't really think "the regular speakers" offering their services is required or will be particularly beneficial due to the absence of willing candidates requiring it. Those who want to develop a presence on the streets currently can do so and everyone else can do whatever it is they are doing at the moment if that is how they want to get through their days. This is a blank slate where anyone can progress and develop in whatever way they choose and the only thing anyone here must do is be a mobster.

I do agree with what a couple of people have said about the lengths of speeches. Now, in part, I think we have the entire VIP system to blame for that. I'll be honest, a good amount of my motive a good amount (but NOT all of) the time, is that I want to see my district on top and enjoy the perks that go with that. Rather than think up content for five or six smaller threads, it's much, much easier to just do one large one. For bigger districts hoping to regain VIP spots, this is probably more likely to be a bigger problem, because the value of each word in the VIP calculations is slanted ridiculous amounts in favor of small districts. 

I'll confess that even if I see an interesting thread, if an argument in there has become well advanced before I read it, I'm more than likely not going to bother to comment on it. It involves reading page after page of notes on all the to-ing and fro-ing that I've missed and by that point, anything that I could add probably already has been added. 

So with all this in mind, perhaps one thing that could be put forward to improve the streets is a change in the way the whole VIP thing works - I know it's changed my way of doing things a little. Less is most definitely not more when it comes to VIP, but if it IS stopped people from wanting to become involved, then it probably should be.

I'm referring less in my speech to people who don't want to be here, though, and more to people who do want to be here, who put forth a bit of effort in being here, but find it a negative experience. Like, how can we make this NOT a negative experience, without compromising the standards that in general we like to keep here?

Anyhow, on to you Denam... I'll go out of order to do this, but I'd like to get one thing straight before I really begin to comment on anything you've said. 

So, I apologize if I rain on your parade, but this speech seems more like a heavy dose of self-indulgence than anything. Starting with a long-winded story (seemingly) about yourself, referring to yourself as some kind of formalized "Street Speaker," the air of condescension in your offers to help, and your opaque desire to be the "savior of the Streets" just makes this all seem disingenuine.

I have absolutely no desire to be the savior of anything. I'm well aware that I came back from the dead, and that certain religions out there do hold that as pretty savior-ish behavior, but that's where the similarities between me and wanting to be anything like any kind of savior end. There are a lot of people on these streets well capable of helping out others and of making these streets a more interesting place. Do I consider myself one of them? Yes, I do. But I also consider you to be one of them. I also consider FourLoko to be one of them. Hell, when the lazy scouse bastard can be bothered, Jono is most definitely one of them. That's just 3 people off the top of my head, there are many, many more. There is no one savior of this situation, but there are lots of people who can help the situation.

The story isn't about myself or about any one individual here. It's about the fact that quite a lot of the time, the people confident in speaking are just speaking to an audience of each other. That applies to rather a lot of people, if the truth be told. How many times do you see a speech that isn't an auth speech, isn't something that can be replied to mindlessly, that has people speaking on it that aren't regular faces out here?

Now, you seem to take real offence to the term "Street Speaker", so let me explain to you what I mean by this. Do I believe that some people are "Street Speakers", while others are not? Hell fucking yes I do. People who regularly come out here and contribute become known to be speakers... on the streets. So, yes, Street Speakers. For some, it's genuinely what they do best. If you can distinguish people as being Hitters or Earners, then I certainly think you can distinguish them as Speakers. But like I wouldn't call a person with a +50 gun a Hitter, I wouldn't call someone with two threads and six comments a Speaker. The term Street Speaker isn't particularly exclusive though, lets be honest. If that +50 gun grows, then eventually, that person will be seen as a hitter. Just like anyone who makes their street presence grow will be seen as a speaker. It's really quite simple.  

And if you consider me to have an "air of condescension" in my offers to help... well that's fine. I wasn't aiming for condescension because I genuinely would help anyone who needed it, so at least I'm putting my "air of condescension" to use with good intentions. What's your excuse for yours?

Anyway, moving on.

The target of my speech wasn't the silent majority who have no interest in being here, it was those who DO have an interest in being here. Perhaps we shouldn't be looking for ways to reach out to those people though, maybe we should just accept that the streets are a bit shit and there's nothing we can do. That'd be the easy way out at least. 

You can argue all you like for being happy with the status quo, but we shouldn't be. There isn't any reason to be. The status quo is nothing to be proud of. The people who do make the streets worth visiting should be proud of themselves, but there's no way we should be proud of the state that the streets are in.

The target of my speech wasn't the silent majority who have no interest in being here, it was those who DO have an interest in being here. Perhaps we shouldn't be looking for ways to reach out to those people though, maybe we should just accept that the streets are a bit shit and there's nothing we can do. That'd be the easy way out at least. 

You echoed the words I recently said myself Maria. I believe that is where the focus should be placed. Forgot trying to force or encourage silent leaders to speak, just focus on those who come out here and make an effort. I for one, like to speak where I can. I'm not the worlds most gifted speaker, and more than once I have sought assistance to ensure my thoughts conveyed well. It helped encourage me to speak more often, and based upon that alone, I think others can be helped. 

Your thoughts are in the right place, and you provide much for this world. Thank for you that Maria, and thank you to everyone who comes out and shares his or her thoughts. If you give it your all, youll succeed in this world.

Ah, Vaelin_Al_Sorna, you're making me blush! 

But on a serious note, I want to dwell on something you've said there.

I'm not the worlds most gifted speaker, and more than once I have sought assistance to ensure my thoughts conveyed well. It helped encourage me to speak more often, and based upon that alone, I think others can be helped. 

I do think you're a far better speaker than you give yourself credit for my friend, but that isn't what I'm dwelling on here.

You mention seeking assistance from others - so do I. So do MANY of our speakers out here. I had a couple of people look over the notes for this speech before I made it to check for any glaring errors, omissions or outright lacks of making sense, as I do with the majority of my speeches. Looking over notes for others is something that I do regularly myself too. It's such a small thing but it's so beneficial for so many of us. None of us are infallible but most of us can help each other. The problem is that many of us who ask each other to read over our notes are friends, we know who to ask, we know who will do the job for us. Do newer folks in our world always have that luxury? Maybe not. But they should. Offering help isn't a bad think and taking that help is nothing at all to be ashamed of.

 The problem is that many of us who ask each other to read over our notes are friends, we know who to ask, we know who will do the job for us. Do newer folks in our world always have that luxury? Maybe not. But they should. Offering help isn't a bad think and taking that help is nothing at all to be ashamed of

My lineage has never gone into a crew that did not make it obvious that someone else in the crew (generally a CL or someone in the upper structure including your sponsor) will, can, and wants to help you in any aspect of this thing of ours.  In fact it is explicitly stated in many HQ's that someone will help you with your notes for a speech.  

How many times does new blood need to get mob mails asking if they are alright and have any questions until this cannot be seen as a factor?

If you do not know where to get help within your family structure than you are one of the very far and few between.  

(OOC: Avert your eyes, LandShark, I'm going full blockquote.)

There are a lot of people on these streets well capable of helping out others and of making these streets a more interesting place.

I don't think people really need help. I think people need to be engaged. Most of my colleagues are quite capable of stringing sentences together; they just need a reason to do so. I feel that offers to help are more belittling than beneficial, but if it gets people to the Streets I won't argue with results.

It's about the fact that quite a lot of the time, the people confident in speaking are just speaking to an audience of each other.

I agree 100%, and it frustrates me that most (even leaders) won't approach anything except the most purely innocuous discussions or speeches. But, I think that's a line we've drawn for ourselves, and we won't ever truly successfully move people across that line unless we start engaging them rather than encouraging them.

Do I believe that some people are "Street Speakers", while others are not? Hell fucking yes I do.

Instead of treating it like earning or hitting, where there's some definite guide to excellence, it's something that you only better yourself through engagement. There's no defined point where you arrive at "Speakerhood." If you're referring to it as a personality trait, then I'll concede that some people are naturally more vocal. But if you're implying there's a trainable skill with some objective grid of progress, then I disagree. If someone approaches the Streets at all, we shouldn't belittle them because they only show up to one or two discussions. I don't think we should separate ourselves from the masses because we talk more. There's no benefit to it; it's not like being a Streets Speaker is something to strive for in the first place. Earning and hitting are self-deserving goals. Speaking your mind is something entirely different, because the only gain you garner is from speaking your mind, and that gain rooted in quality more than quantity.

You can argue all you like for being happy with the status quo, but we shouldn't be. There isn't any reason to be. The status quo is nothing to be proud of. The people who do make the streets worth visiting should be proud of themselves, but there's no way we should be proud of the state that the streets are in.

When things need to be discussed, someone is moved to enter the Streets and strike up a conversation about it. If things don't need discussed, then there's no reason to push for it. We need to stop treating the Streets like some kind of content generation mechanic to which everyone has to or should submit worthwhile material in order to receive their "Street Speaker" badge. The fact is, if people have nothing to say, then that's what the Streets will be full of. There's no implicit range of activity where we stop being proud of it, or start being proud of it.

I'll close with this. The activity in the Streets is directly proportional to the activity of our world. When things happen or change, the Streets usually light up. When nothing happens or changes, the Streets will dim. There is no better or worse state of the Streets; they are simply the Streets. The only time I will contend that the Streets are lacking is when there is an elephant in the room and no one has the balls to talk about it. But as far as content generation goes, I see no reason to expect great content from our world. We've been blessed in the past with great content creators, but that's no reason to condemn the current state of the Streets.