Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.

Looking up at a slightly disheveled figure, you read his placard. Dressed in the one crumpled and creased suit he owned although he never knew where it came from. Just that he'd been given it for his 18th birthday, it came in a package with no tag... he'd never had a present from someone outside the orphanage. He looks the people straight in their eyes as he's talking to them...

Gentlemen and Ladies, I have a question for your beliefs.

Is it possible for someone's blood to be truly seen as 'rehabilitated' in this world? I come from a long line of either trouble-makers, bodyguard shooters, noise creators with an acid tongue or men with a death wish. I have read my families diaries and know the crimes they have committed and crimes they haven't... but have been handed the credit for. Being able to read their thoughts I came across a poignant pattern. Quite a few times my blood WAS a 'good guy'... many times they have fallen helping to protect those in the same family or trying to avenge those lost. In fact, apart from my cross-dressing father Orithyia's run in with the Gods (which was more of a protest than a run in) it had been YEARS since they had done anything untoward.

However, there were always questions either directly to my ancestors or between other people that my family had the privilege of hearing about (the grapevine is very noisy sometimes :P) about when he was gonna 'go nuts with his mouth', 'try to take a city' or just 'shoot the shit'. None of it ever happened since... my diaries dont even stretch that far back (we're talking very very early MR days for the last time my blood wanted to 'shoot the shit' and was stopped by a young Gentle..lady? Oliver_McTavish).

So, if these questions still linger after years of falling with the family, how can any bloodline ever truly rehabilitate in these surroundings? Or are people of my ilk doomed to a life of conspiracy theories and the worst thought of them? What does it take for someone's lineage to have truly changed in your eyes? 

I ask because one of the very first mails I received upon getting off the boat was 'what are you here for? cause some trouble? :P'.

Sometimes they cannot. Even if the person wants to "rehabilitate" some people will always look upon them of that of their bloodline and the past. They do not want to look to the future and what you possibly -could- do to prove yourself. My bloodline has had some odd run ins with most of the people around this place and some people will never forget.

Surely most people I would hope would look upon you as a new face to these shores and not the bloodline of the oh so infamous TeQ, where you would get your namesake from. But I have a feeling that may not change.

Sometimes people do things that stain or tarnish their bloodline for life. I know I'm guilty of thinking that way towards several bloodlines. If "A" betrayed his family and then his son "B" did the same exact thing. Why the fuck would I trust his next of kin, "C"? People just keep doing things that remain with their bloodline for life.

I never thought much of the way the TeQ bloodline went out other then he did it for a reason he strongly believed in. The bodyguard shots? That happened eons ago. My bloodline wasn't even here for that, however it shouldn't matter. In my eyes the son should be forgiven for the sins of the father.. Unless they keep doing exactly what the father did to get themselves killed.

Chris walks into the street, drawing on the collective memories of his forefathers... (no that's fore, not four jabroni, the Rock doesn't have four fathers!) he sees something of a familiar countenance in the young man before him.

Let the Rock tell you this jabroni. The Rock says everybody, and he does mean everybody deserves a second chance. Everyone deserves a chance to prove they have turned over a new leaf. The Rock himself has been vilified and persecuted for his actions in the past. The Rock's family have had their run ins with the God's and been sent into exile for years on end. In fact the Rock's family has been banned at one point or another from virtually every land they have ever visited. But here you see the Rock, the Great One, The Bramha bull, standing tall and working his way to the top, still talking trash, and still laying the smack down on candy asses.

So if you need proof that anything is possible jabroni, then look to the Rock as a shinning beacon of what can be achieved.

Your Honour with all due respect, past and present, and without further to-do. Let me ensure this court that I am through walkin’ on the wild side. That’s all I’ve been tryin’ to tell you. I have been sick with the social ills known in the ghetto. But my time in the sterling correction facilities of Green Haven and Sing Sing have not been in vain. I’ve been cured! Born again, like the Watergaters. I know you heard this rap before. Your Honour, I mean it. This is the truth. I changed. I changed, and it didn’t take no thirty years like Your Honour thought, but only five. That’s right, sir, five years. And look at me. Completely rehabilitated, reinvigorated, reassimilated and finally going to be relocated, and I want to thank a lot of people for that. I look over there and I see that man there, Mr Norwalk. I want to thank you, sir, for making the tapes in an illegal fashion. I would like to thank the Court Of Appeals, for reversing you, Your Honour. And I want to thank Almighty God without whom no case gets tossed.

The question of genetic rehabilitation is an interesting one.

Personally, I wholeheartedly believe that certain traits are intrinsic to a person and his/her bloodline. I am not of the school of thought that people can change, even if they truly want to. People are, I would agree, able to create a fake persona to suit personal needs. I believe that are even able to uphold that persona for long terms, eventually leading others around them to draw the conclusion that they have, in fact, changed. This is, however, not typically the case.

In my experience, these "personas" crack the first time that stress is introduced to the system. Maybe, for instance, it is an old friend making contact that brings back old thoughts -- maybe your father owed that person a favor, and not of the 'admirable' sort. Maybe you are presented with a particularly stressful situation; the kind that is excellent at forcing us back to an almost instinctual, genetic level. No matter the reason we choose to attempt to hide inner characteristics (maybe we are ashamed of them), those characteristics will undoubtedly always re-surface.

The point of this is I, as well as many others, do not believe that people are inherently capable of change. I do not find, through vast experience, that people are capable of changing certain fundamental habits about themselves. The bottom line? I tend to think that once an asshole, always an asshole.

Your original question though, sir, wasn't what we think. Specifically, it was: "how do you change how other people see you and your bloodline?" The answer, fundamentally, is that you don't. You can do anything you'd like, and you will never change the way most people view you. The people who have been closest to you over time, the people who have truly known you and your predecessors -- they may be persuaded, through rigorous example, that you can change and again earn respect. Most people, however, will never see that side of you -- those people will always assume that you have an alterior motive and are simply waiting for the right time to resume the less-than-honorable activities of your forefathers.

My final thought on the issue is simple: you may never change the minds of some people, but that shouldn't matter. You have to lie in the bed that you and your forefathers created for you. You also, however, need not be governed by the thoughts of others. If your intentions are to redeem your bloodline, then nothing should stop you from seeking to earn back peoples' respect, no matter how long it may take. Do not subject yourself to the whims and views of the general population, do what you think is best and carry on.

Remember those people, like me, that believe that people can't change? You shouldn't subject yourself wholly to what we think. Instead, you should try to prove us wrong.

I think it really depends on what "Rehab" means...

In this case, if we consider it helping the poor hopeless sons and daughters of the TeQ family survive the genetic flaw that is passed down from generation to generation, to endless take and toke from the poisons of Alcohol and Pharmaceuticals... ...

Then yes, not only is Rehabilitation something that can be done, but rather it SHOULD be done. Done with an open heart and a giving hand, to help these dregs of our society get off the cruel never ending merry-go-around of their lives.

Indeed UptownShark, it is remarkable how many just can't let go. I'm not fully in agreement with your statement about the son being forgiven for the sins of the father though. Revenge is sometimes the only answer in this cut throat world and the apple never falls too far from the tree, so in some (admittedly, not a lot) cases I believe that taking revenge on someone's son/daughter is a totally viable option.

Well Rocky...

After numerous trips down Know Your Role Boulevard from the Gods and being checked into the Smackdown Hotel a few times, I can see how you believe in seconds chances. If only your millions........ AND MILLIONS, of fans would follow suit! Maybe their should be a punishment for those kind of people? Maybe they should go... ONE ON ONE WITH THE GREAT ONE?

If you're a believer in 'once an asshole always an asshole', Dexter. Do you also believe a friend is always a friend no matter what? It's an interesting concept you speak of... for me (granted, not all but some) bloodlines get 'older and 'wiser' there is a possibility that they have 'grown up'? From personal experience I'm definitely with you on not being able to change certain people's opinions though. I've also come to terms with the fact  that I won't be able for 'persuade' some people of my legitimacy as a respinsible bloodline, but I will carry on doing the same regardless. The ones who speak ill I tend to not give a monkey's arsehole about anyway... water off a ducks back in most cases. It's the ones whom I hold in some regard myself that I want to prove wrong.

Last but not least... JustDed! I can happily inform you that I have pretty much cut out the alcoholic trait of my ancestors, lol! Although we are still quite fond of the 'herbal remedies'. Good to see your lineage gracing our world still Sir. :)

Curtis listens to the question raised and to the various participants putting forward their views. He thinks back over histories he's read and the things he's experienced in his own life for a moment before contributing. 

"This is an interesting topic TeQ. And a topical one."

He takes a quick sip of a curious Czech liquor he'd been 'testing' for a possible import deal, winced at it's potency and then returned the flask to his pocket before carrying on.

"I don't see this quite as black and white as some. More of a sliding balance. I think most would subscribe to the ideology that everyone deserves a second chance. And most would agree that you can go too far. Too many generations of bad works taint the name too much for most to work with. But I think there are very few who truly go beyond repair.

In the past my line held a Leadership position and took on one of the (then) world's most reprehensible individuals. A man who had broken every honorable value we hold and stabbed virtually everyone he'd ever encountered in the back. One of his most spectacular feats was to HQ half a crew before he was killed. It was shortly after that incident that the Gods put pay to such actions. Needless to say no one would touch this fucker with a ten foot pole. So naturally, I took him on. 

I let him know where he stood and why his life would be horribly restricted and he accepted the terms. That guy lived a long life for me. Worked tirelessly and never complained once about the crippling restrictions he was forced to endure. He only ever behaved with honor and never once reacted to the train loads of shit that came his way on a daily basis from the world around him. In the end he died with dignity and my respect without putting a foot wrong. That one well lived life was not enough to repair his reputation but it was a valiant start. He earned my respect and put me in the position of having no option but to vouch for his ability to behave when ever anyone asked me about him again. 

I am sure if he repeated that process, it would have not taken more than four or five cycles of life before he was broadly considered a rehabilitated and trustworthy member of the community once more.

Some people dig very deep holes but hardly any are too deep to climb out of. The problem is that most habitual offenders lack the patience, endurance and stamina required to go through the work of repairing their character."

Cinnamon had been wandering around when she bumped into someone just on the outskirts of the crowd. Duly apologizing and stopping to listen she had a few thoughts to add in.

Do I think a bloodline can be 'rehabilitated' in this world? Yes.
Do I believe that all leaders or members of this community would recognize it? No.

I find that being able to do the things that Curtis before me was suggesting means finding a leader that isn't going to constantly bring it up or badger you. A lot will tell you they won't, but they do.

Thing is even if you could do those 4 or 5 cycles with your line, it doesn't change the perception others have of your line. It really doesn't until they decide they want to see the current line for what it really is, rather than what it used to be. Rumors trump reality in this world it seems, or at least in my experience, so people generally base their opinions on the past or what has been said rather than the current and what is being done now.

That's just my own thoughts.

She smiles and backs out of the crowd.

<The screech of metal on metal> a manhole grate is unceremoniously scraped back in the centre of the road.

A bedraggled looking oversized clowns head slowly emerges shrouded in purple & green tinged fugue.  The clown appears to be crying.

A throaty voice rasps:  

"Rehab doesn't work."

<CLANG!> The clowns head disappears as the grate slams back into place.  The fog settles an rolls into the gutter.

All that remains is a distinct smell of spoiled gunpowder.