Curiosity & Knowledge

Sometimes there will be casualties in war, that some might call 'weird' or at least unexpected. I have seen some of these deaths myself, but often I managed to find out the identity of the killer and the reasons for which he took the shot. Or sometimes a unexpected death will happen out of nowhere. But maybe that death was not unexpected to some? I must admit that I am always curious about the reasons of a death. I will always check the obits to stay up-to-date with the events of the world. I peak in and visit their funerals and see if any friends come to pay their respect, to see if their leader has something to say or if there is nothing but the unnerving silence of death.

It is good to be curious about this, I think. Through curiosity the secrets of the world will be uncovered, mysteries will be dissected and solved. But curiosity has it's limit. In the past my ancestors have asked about a death [within the family] that came as a surprise to them or which surprised and confused them. Usually they have been met with a friendly response, and my ancestors were happy to see that their leaders trusted them enough to confide that information in them. 

Often though the death is not within the family and not within the district, or even out of the city. I am still curious, but how can I find out? If my leaders know not the reason, should I know it? Perhaps if I am friendly with the local leader that I might ask, but that could be perceived as disrespectful. And so I come to the conclusion that we can't possible know the cause and reason of all deaths that occur within this world of ours, and that we can't and shouldn't know the identity of the killer.

The recent death of Chairman Ajani showed that we cannot know everything if the killer and his accomplices does not want us to know. It is possible that they are the only witnesses, and that they choose to bury the secret with them, never to be found. Such things can happen and we shouldn't strive to know everything. We will never be omniscient and sometimes we can only take a guess. Sometimes we have to act on vague suspicions and rumors; before we ourselves are taken out by these shady words. 

Our inability to know everything ultimately led to the implosion of Chicago; an unfortunate event that show us the limits of human knowledge, and that bring out our emotions, something that will lead to arguably rash and not-thought-out actions. The action is yours, the reaction is not. 

Our lack of foresight and omniscience is ultimately what makes this world so interesting. If we had such things, all actions could be predicted and all secrets would be uncovered before our eyes. It would lead to stagnation and inactivity; our world would become incredibly boring. Thus I think a little secret there and a mystery here is good for us. We try to solve the puzzle and everyone will have their solution of that puzzle. A solution that, ultimately, might not be the correct one, but that does not matter. Our lack of knowledge can lead to a feeling of distrust and paranoia, and these feelings will lead to death for you or someone else.  In short, our extremely limited human mind leads to an active, surprising and interesting world.

Innocence

And sometimes in war someone might die that some will call 'innocent.' I do not believe that anyone who doesn't wear an special tag is innocent. We are all mobsters; we steal, we extort and we kill. Sometimes we kill without remorse, sometimes we kill with glee. Thus I find it extremely weird that anyone would call any among us innocent. 

I would call the death of the victim as it is: Unfortunate, unexpected, perhaps unfounded, but certainly not innocent. We are all connected with each other through crime, and we cannot stay in a bubble of isolation forever. When a leader is gunned down in a war he wasn't thought to be part of - is he innocent? When a rogue shoots down an unsuspecting Goomba, is the Goomba innocent or was it just a death come early, but a trip to hell nonetheless? 

In a war death happens, even if the war was thought to be contained to a specific city. Every day we should expect death, to do otherwise is fleeing from reality. Death might come at you in an 'surprising' fashion, but that just shows our lack of foresight and the fact that the reaction is not in our hands. Every single one of us dies at some point, and maybe fate has a will of it's own.

Curiousity also killed the kitty.

In our dark and murky world, it is sometimes not always best to be curious. It could lead to you overhearing something you're not supposed to and fit you with a pair of cement shoes. There are certainly NO 'innocents' here.

'Often though the death is not within the family and not within the district, or even out of the city. I am still curious, but how can I find out? If my leaders know not the reason, should I know it? Perhaps if I am friendly with the local leader that I might ask, but that could be perceived as disrespectful. And so I come to the conclusion that we can't possible know the cause and reason of all deaths that occur within this world of ours, and that we can't and shouldn't know the identity of the killer.'

Apart from the recent case you mentioned of Ajani, if your bloodline has built up the right connections it can be REALLY easy to find out about a death. Sometimes news of who killed whom even reaches members of bloodlines that have shunned this world and hold down a legitimate job in the city (taking a break from MR). :P

'In short, our extremely limited human mind leads to an active, surprising and interesting world.'

Correct! Although I wouldn't consider the human mind extremely limited. No two people are the same and althouh people usually think along the same lines as the people they surround themselves with, there will eventually be a disagreement in there somewhere.

'Every day we should expect death, to do otherwise is fleeing from reality. Death might come at you in an 'surprising' fashion, but that just shows our lack of foresight and the fact that the reaction is not in our hands. Every single one of us dies at some point, and maybe fate has a will of it's own.'

I find this an extremely bleak (and a little deep for a mobster) viewpoint. Sure, we will all die... but to 'expect death' is to not truly live. Death will probably surprise you, but once you're there you won't be that bothered. :)

Thank you for  your insights, Father_Teq, they are greatly appreciated.

Now, I will quote some passages from the holy scripture (because I can?):

Revelation 21:4

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Ecclesiastes 7:1

A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

Until the day, I think death is as much part of our existence as living is, and we should remind ourselves of the possibility of [unexpected] death every time we feel the joy of life. And yes, that is very depressing. And I must say, death really gets the adrenaline going. It is very exciting. Sometimes it can be extremely fulfilling to die. To be freed.

I think expecting death is like waiting to fall asleep while laying in bed. You know it's going to happen and you wait for it; but you usually will not know when it happens. Before it you may have a comfortable enough time, or you may ponder about many things, but ultimately you will fall asleep.

I've never been much of a 'believer' and the things I've seen (and done) only confirm that status in this world.

We will indeed all 'fall asleep', however if I viewed death from your stance I'm not sure I'd be waiting around too long for it to come. I despise the saying "every day above ground is a good day", life needs to be taken by the balls. Spending your time pondering about the inevitable just seems like a waste of time to me. 

Should we really be privy to that information at all? La Cosa Nostra is built on certain values that dictate, or at least should dictate the way in which we conduct ourselves and the way in which this thing of ours works. Omerta, or the code of silence being the prime example. People outside the family should not know why murders have been carried out, in fact those outside the upper structure shouldn’t really know. Obviously each leader has their own decisions and reasons and that is something that we should respect but speaking in the strictest context, it shouldn’t be subject to public debate. TeQ makes a solid point, and what happens within the coffee shops and back alleys is a totally different kettle of fish, the borders between alliances and cities can become blurred but again that is largely down to personal preference. It is well worth remembering, ladies and gentlemen, that loose lips sink ships.