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Collective suicide by keelhauling Started by: JackRoover on Sep 13, '17 17:53

Keelhauling is a rare form of punishment given to sailors. A sailor was tied to a rope, which was looped beneath a ship, thrown overboard and dragged under the ship’s keel, which was often covered in barnacles and marine growth. Some attributed the gruesome tactic to pirates, but there is little evidence to support that. Reality is that navy’s from so-called civilised nations used this as a form of punishment. Civilisation, ain’t it beautiful?


And out of the depths we rise!

It’s been a week since Godfather Kharon announced a time of rebuilding to the community, specifically identified as the intent to provide housing for the many homeless. And so far he, together with the other leaders across the country, have been delivering on their promised intent. Multiple crews are starting across the country. Meanwhile we are in a festive mood because some of us reached the honourable rank of Godfather, while in other locations we celebrate because Kharon and Tobias have served our community for longer than most of us could ever imagine.  This is a positive community. It’s on the rise.

Breath. Deeply.

Before the late Disorder really emerged as the man in power, he pointed out in public that any administration over time becomes the bad guy. Events since then sure have proven him to be right on that matter. But that also tells us that we are not only on the rise, but we should breath in deeply. Stock up on oxygen, because at some point a new cycle will begin and we will fall overboard and we go for another pull across the keel.

Bloody. Bloodier. Bloodiest.

In recent debates many people stated that anything the late administration did was not unique to them. While I agree with that, I personally feel things were different simply because of the perseverance and scale of the tactics employed. Things were different, because previously, able persons would intervene out of ethics or simply because they had enough of someone else telling them how to do things. The thing is, with each loop past the keel, we’re coming up more hurt than before.

Cut the rope and the bullshit while we are at it.

To me the only way to prevent a collective suicide as a community, is to cut the rope and land on our two feet on deck. Yes, we are rebuilding and there are happy auths all around, but what the hell are we rebuilding? Are we rebuilding what was lost one week ago? That was lost 6 months ago or that of 10 years ago? Why house all the people, what is the benefit over not housing them? What do we envision for them on the short and long term? Who the hell are the people housing them? Are they the next Disorder, the next MonsterHair or the next Bonkers?

These are relevant questions, because if we don’t answer them we have no clue where we are headed. If the collective makes no move to break the pattern we are still on that damn rope. And we’re being dragged into the next cycle. One we might not survive.


Asking questions

Is there actually anyone out there that wonders about these things? Or are we naively thinking things will be better now? Or are we secretly hoping we are going to be the next one that reigns? Or do we simply not care anymore? 

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Earl listens as he gets a history lesson and description of naval policies. The gentleman's speech quickly related this policy to the world around us but Earl stayed to listen to what the gentleman had to say since it had quite the good introduction. When it came time for the audience to speak up and voice their thoughts Earl made his way to the front to voice his thoughts. 

JackRoover, you make excellent points about how the community could band together and through democracy find the best way to live and survive but unfortunately we aren't much of a union. We are talking about organized crime here, there are GodFathers, Dons, Consiglieres and then there are Goombas. If we are looking at this realistically, the Goomba's opinion isn't going to concern the Godfather that worked hard and fought for his chance to change the world. 

Disorder was wise to say that any leading organization will eventually be the bad guy because eventually we all get used to the status quo and the only people we ever seem to blame for our unhappiness is the administration in charge, whether they are at fault or not. 

Power, in organized crime is comprised of loyalty and the ability to enforce your law. Unfortunately I don't think you can find a way to give power to the people. If you can find a way, great. But if you can't, I think your options are to live in their world and hope they are the best leaders our world has seen yet, or get busy trying to work your own way to the top so your opinions are of concern to the Godfathers. 

You have a good vision, I just don't think the collective can be tasked with where we are heading. Not overnight. 

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Thank you for joining me, Earl. I think your insights are correct. 

I see two main topics in what you say. One is about the nature of our profession; the hierachical structures that are in place make that the Godfather hardly needs the input from a Goomba. And that a Don in Delaware City wouldn't be responsible for the well-being of some Consigliere in Miami. These are very valid arguments that can justify any lack of mutual respect and allowing one it's place.  But our circle of responsibility it not just the family and the wallet. As a community on the shady side of the law, we are attacked by increasing attention of the FBN who wants to put out of business. A growing economy gives men good chances of many in different sub-cultures. Thugs, unfamiliar with our codes and lifestyle devalue our collective experience.

I embrace opposition and I wouldn't want to do with out it. I promote working hard and showing ones worth, before being granted to sit with the big boys and girls. But I also encourage a protective attitude for the community in which the prior things can take happen.

Than your second point, that the collective can't be tasked with that responsibility, or atleast, not overnight. I agree as well that they should not be responsible in full. Leadership should show direction in protecting their business, but also in creating the environment in which this business can flourish. Ultimately it's everyone's responsibility to give people a chance. But at this point in time, I simply wonder what intent leadership has on these matters, beyond housing the homeless.

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Honestly in New York, we keep the officials palms thoroughly greased, our members know the prison layouts, hell I even play golf with the Mayor on Tuesdays. Sure he could throw me in maximum security prison if he wanted to, but if he was going to he wouldn't have told me where his kids go to school. 

I wouldn't say that the FBN is even our topic here today, lets focus on the second point. What business is in need of protecting? Every Headquarters I pass is slowly getting more obvious with their guard dogs and perimeter walls. I had to help a damn neighborhood kid get his baseball back the other day because it fell on the other side of the seventh perimeter wall. SEVEN WALLS! That is pretty damn protected. I mean these things were all 2 feet from each other. Earl stares off into space for a moment just remembering all the walls. 

I am seeing positive things in the world. I'm seeing people get a chance, I'm seeing families spreading and I'm seeing an increase in morale. I understand that your concern is for the future when the homeless are housed, but I don't understand what you are asking of the people. Or are you trying to make enough noise so that one of the leadership will make their way down here to discuss their business plans with you?

I think you have a good intention but what is your plan of action? Or are you just trying to plant an idea and hope it will grow on its own? Is the "Cut the rope on Keelhauling" supposed to mean no more punishment or are you saying current methods are cruel and unusual? 

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Great to see you are so eager to understand what I am on about. I can understand your confusion, but sometimes things are difficult to speak about without the people getting into the know. If we just look at the past week, yes, we are in a happy spot and if we just look at that time-window without any insight into the past one would understandably wonder what the fuss is about.

Anyway, I guess that my points are in part inspired by this news bulletin featured in a lesser known publicication. That piece paints a frame much wider than what we see if we just look at the now. It includes past, present & future and that's what I'm on about here. Yes, the now is fairly happy, but that's why I introduced the metaphor of keelhauling. Now everything seems fine, but in an X amount of time, there's a big chance it won't be if we don't break with the destructive attitude to our greater community.

Let me know if that bigger context is still vague to you, because I'm actually in New York right now, so we could meet for drinks and talk more in-depth about it.

Anyway, my wonder is to simply see if people share the thoughts that I am having; where is this going?
If I have a personal goal, it would be to promote a community that's liveable for all, but only winnable by one. I don't want to remove the spirit of our business, but I don't want to see our playing field diminished either. After all, sitting on the thrown of a burned down kingdom is not worth a dime.

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When people looked confused, Jack realised he had kept the dodgy newspaper he talked about in his duffle-bag.
He quickly pulled it out of the bag and showed the article to the people present.

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I actually wonder about a lot of these things that you bring up. I am more specifically concerned with who the leaders are though. Many are not known for being vocal and causes a bit of a roadblock. It is extremely difficult to want to join someone if you have no idea about them, or what it is they value.

Yes, I could just start mailing them all and asking but at the same time I have to wonder if we are falling back into a muteness that was once before. And then there are the auths of individuals whose parents have just died. I have to wonder how that looks. I mean technically would it not be doing the exact same thing the previous reign did?

You ask some very interesting questions, and I think more people may wonder about them even if they don't speak about it.

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The bigger context is going to be vague to me until I know what you are hoping to resolve. I can kick a can down the streets all day long and tell people the world could be a better place, but where will that get us when you don't propose actions or methods. Even when you have people raise their hands and say "I agree with you, we should build a better place for our future", I still don't think you've gained any ground until you have a plan in place. 

The game of thrones has always been a thing of this world, people sit on a throne of a burned down kingdom and consider it a win, they build the world as they see fit from that point on. Some have built pillars or a council to unite the cities, others have taxed every family in the world. It is too soon to know what our future holds, but are you going to accomplish anything by telling people to think about the future? 

The burned down kingdom has been strategy for some time now because the loyalty to a crew leader meant that members go to war when their leader dies. They do as much damage as possible knowing they won't win. The administration is most likely safe after the take-down but they don't want their members dying so they scorch the earth. Do we risk the loyalty of crew members to build a civilization focused on personal survival? You may reduce the scorching of the earth this way but you are risking the importance of family. 

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You are an interesting conversation partner, Earl. You show to have quite some insights in our world, but yet I'm not fully convinced you understand what I'm getting at. But perhaps that is rather a shortcoming in my ability to convey a message.

I think I interpreted yours correctly and once again, I think I know where you are coming from. I rather want solutions as well, instead of asking questions, so I understand your reluctancy to see the purpose of what I say. The main thing I'm doing here, is asking if anyone recognizes a problem or whether I am just paranoid? It's been just a week ago that law-enforcement jumped in aggressively and removed the top of organised crime across America. Yet a week later there are very few signs that the reasons for that are up for debate at all. 

It's almost like we all got hit by lightning and keep standing on top of a mountain with an iron pole in our hands during a thunderstorm, as if it's... normal? Instead of proposing solutions, I ask questions, whether there is a collective need for a solution to begin with. Trust me, I have a truckload of solutions that I will share with people if they want to hear it. My main question is, and let's speficially ask that you, Earl:

Consider the recent times, which you experienced. Take into account the unheard of measures of law-enforcement removing Disorder and most of his trusted allies from their positions of influence. Do you see that as any indication for a conversation of our collective direction is good or not?

Cause bottom-line, that is what I am asking. Are you content with our morals and the patterns you see in our community, or not?

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JackRoover, I find you to be quite the conversationalist as well, but not everything can be solved with conversation. I can sit down with 8 of my best friends and a good bottle of scotch and solve all the worlds problems. We can leave that table thinking we've accomplished something knowing that we all agree things could be better. However, tomorrow when I fall out of bed with a hangover, nothing has changed because I failed to include the positions of influence in my conversation. 

You mention the unheard of measures of law-enforcement raiding the headquarters and removing the positions of influence, but their official statement was that those people threatened an untouchable government official. Whether you believe it to be true or you don't, it is obvious it will be talked about, hopefully we will learn from our past. Hopefully any family lines that suffered from that raid and choose to continue working with our organizations will change their habits. However the rest of their operations did things a lot like many before them.

 

Am I content with our morals and patterns that I see in our community?

I will always see room for improvement, I will always promote a community where we value the progression and achievement of others, and I will go out of my way to help others to reach their goals in this life. However I don't like the approach of hoping the future is better and convincing others that it can be better. I'd like to see us do more than hope and converse. The morals and patterns in our community can be better shaped by our actions rather than criticizing the morals and patterns of those that are already dead. 

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Seraph mainly kept to the shadows, or let the various hobos be his eyes and ears. He didn't care much for public speaking. But maybe that was because it had been a non existent thing since his days started here.

This topic did catch his attention. And so too his need to get involved. Out of a dimly lit spot he came forth joined the group.

"As another has said, more think this. I bet many more do than will come out here and say it. But the truth remains, the current people in power are invisible. Their visions, unknown. Their ranks, respected. But them, who they are, who the fuck knows?

We work. We pay taxes. We are spokes in a wheel, cogs in a machine. We do it because it's what we do. We live, we die. But there has to be more. More than this dry grind. More than ghosts and silence.

Maybe those in power have plans beyond their own ambitions. Maybe they have ideas, a vision, some kind of direction for this thing of ours. And maybe I'm thinking and asking too much to want more. To want to be inspired. To want to live for more than work, for more than taxes.

But I don't know these leaders beyond my own. I only know small whispers of who they are and that's stuck in the shadows of what fell. They are respected for their spot at the head of the machine, but they are invisible.

If they fell I wouldn't bat an eyelid. Not because I don't like them, but because they have given nothing to get behind and root for. Is it too much to ask to be inspired and to have a Godfather to not just fear, but to love and revere?

The head is but a small piece compared to the body. The many are the body. But if the body is lifeless, how well is the head actually doing in directing it?

These times look promising. But they are also lacklustre and uninspiring. You can't fault people for wanting more from those directing things. Because when all is said and done, you are remembered for who you were. What you stood for. What you believed in. Your character. If these things are unknown, then what exactly will there to be remembered? And what is there to get behind?

I wish I could say kudos for the first meeting of the minds now in charge of this thing of ours. But all that was mentioned was an agreement on something so obvious there shouldn't even have been a discussion about it. Nothing else? 

In an age where we can openly speak of our ideals and communicate openly with one another, I don't see how being invisible to the majority is the better option. It's like having legs but not using them. These platforms are being heavily undervalued. It just doesn't make sense given the world we live in.

If I am wrong, correct me. And if I can be better informed, inspire me."

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Indeed Earl, not everything can be solved by conversation. But I think public conversation can help identify issues to begin with. If we don't acknowledge there are problems to overcome, no party would work on solutions. I get it, not talking about is easiest. Having a conversation about issues might result in people being identified as part of the problem, rather than the solution. I can understand when people don't want to take lead in solving problems, because than at least they won't be responsible if the attempts fail. But if we all would adapt that attitude, we won't ever actually progress, while recent times clearly showed the need for it.

You mention that there will be talks about what happened in the past week and the things that lead to it, but in what form and with which goal will this take place? This is the time in which we lay the foundations of our future. To me it makes sense that now is the moment to decide how we can create the most stable foundation. There has been massive social disconnect in our community in recent times. I think we should try to bridge that gap and discuss our challenges in public. Once we do that, we can start coming up with solutions and than go ahead and try them out.

I think that many others, just like you & me, will see things to improve on. Almost anyone would admit to support progression. I don't think I ever came across someone who didn't plan to enjoy their time on this side of the law. But it always stays with abstract statements. Unless we openly define what progression looks like, it's a hollow statement. If we don't define what a rewarding experience looks like, we won't know when we are on the right path towards it or when we strayed far from it.

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Mastefull debate Mr JackRoover. I must commend the way you presented your argument here. Talking about keeling and how sometimes, the sailors go forgotten. At times maybe its for shits and giggles, sometimes for necessary punishment. I will however take a wide lens scope to this conversation rather than talk about how you, Earl and I can fix the world and community's problems over a nice bottle of scotch. 

See first up, as you said, the problem has to be pointed out. Most out here will talk about how the law enforcement raids happened because the previous GF's went after this one 'Godly official' in town hall. Which in a lot of different ways is true. From my perspective, that was the straw that broke the camels back, as they say. There were a lot of things that were happening in the community before that, which essentially led up to that influx of the law enforcement in our business. And a lot of those events that led to that influx, were actually due to the shortcomings or rather policies of the previous leaders. Ill throw up an example here. The workings of the mob are suppose to be kept under wraps, out of sight out of mind type thing. Yet what we saw from the previous heads was the opposite. We saw a spike in killings of members of the mob, members slain in the middle of the night. Bodies discovered, no proof of war yet the reports from the Pathologists suggested a mob like struggle. You can maybe get away with a couple of these, hell even a handful. But the moment it became common sightings without full scale mob wars, now the cops and the legal departments were finding bodies left and right. Usually when the mob went to war, you would hear gun shots for a couple of days. And then everything would go dull. Business would resume without a hitch. Some palms would be greased, some cops and mayors bought. Business would resume as normal.  

Then came the publications that started to point out how this influx of bodies of random mobsters, some actually Dons in our part of the world. Were being slain, with no word or messages. Had the mob lost its way? Did we have a problem and not even understand it was a problem? Was this just going to be the way of the mob moving forward? As the bodies pilled up more and more, our part of the world started to question what was going on. More and more stood against the policies that weren't being spoken about, but yet inhabited every corner of the mob world in whispers. At some point the power goes to peoples head. And in this case perhaps it was that. Leadership, loyalty and rank was starting to mean less and less. And in our code, those things are held in very high regard. What we were witnessing was a full blown war between the heads that thought it was exclusive policy vs the members that were just trying to pay their bills and bring home bread for their families. The death toll kept rising, the out cry rose. Town hall saw all these problems, as now it was effecting the common people outside our little world of the mob. They placed laws to make these policies go away, but the death tolls kept rising. More and more bodies kept being found by the cops, more and more police reports went un-investigated, yet the publications only were starting to gather steam.  

At one point tired of all the new departments town hall was making to preserve the peace. And to keep our world separate from the commoners. Forced our previous heads to just out right start a war against not just the mobsters of the world. But against the members of town hall. Had our previous bosses lost their minds? I even heard someone say the Mad King say "Burn them all, burn them all, kill them all". Till one day the Mayor could not keep his position safe anymore, commoners were starting to ask about these murders in the mob world. And the next thing we saw was a the intrusion of the law enforcement to establish a line again. That would keep the mob separated from the common world, which would be in the interest of both us and the mayors of the world. Something that would guarantee the longevity of both the worlds, side by side. 

So alas, here we are again. Back to business and usual. But have we learned anything from the events of the previous days? Have we learned where the line is to guarantee the longevity of our world? It matters not who leads today, it matters not who dies today. What matters is that there is a leadership tomorrow, what matters is that there is La Cosa Nostra tomorrow. We are mere small players in the grand act that is the mob, all of us insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The only thing we can do to be remembered, is to leave this place better than the way we found it. Otherwise history will remember you as nothing more than mere tyrants or the captains that left their own crew members beneath the Keel of the ship, for mere shits and giggles. 

After saying his bit Taco makes his way to the closest margarita stand in the neighborhood, he shakes Seraph's hands and gives them a nod. Well said. Inspire us, and watch were we go. Curtail us and watch us go down the drain again. 

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Rev leaned his back against the wall and lit his cigar and listened carefully what everyone had said .

''Finally , a sensible non -shit talk discussion environment.Maybe there is not that much people knows insights of mob businesses nor the big scene's everyone knows from the past .Like me .But it is good to see a conversation like that to find solutions and distribute some.Please continue sorry for disruption  and Can i buy you a bottle or two maybe three ehhh fuck it as much as you want .Just continue doing this.''

Took a sip from his glass with a smirk in his face and happiness in the hearth people started to talk again..

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