Qahnaarin was still fairly green to this world. He'd only arrived off the boat from Scandinavia a few years ago, and was still becoming accustomed to the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra in America. However, he had an extensive line of journals from his great grandfather, and spent many an evening poring over them intensively. His father had not joined the life of crime and therefore didn't have much interest in the journals, but Qahnaarin was entranced by them.

He had started to notice a difference between the streets of yesteryear and what was currently going on, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. He had mixed feelings either way, and wanted to see how others thought about it. 

Naturally (at least, for him) he made his way out to the streets to garner the opinions of his fellow mafiosi. He stood on one of the now deserted old street corners where criminals tended to gather to talk about recent events. For a while he just looked silly standing there, as if he were about to address passerby out of the blue. They had banks to rob, heists to complete, stories to tell, auth speeches to attend. They had no time for him. Alas, he started on anyway, hoping that eventually a crowd would congregate and his message would be heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen of 'this thing of ours,' I come here before you today with some questions, and I hope to gain a better understanding of my surroundings through your opinions and thoughts on the matter. Bear with me, as I tend to get a bit long winded on matters and might take up a fair portion of your time with my rambling.

"As I rifle through the journals of my ancestors every evening, I've begun to notice a bit of disparity between the current status of the streets and the status of my forefathers lives. Foremost, stories and reenactments have become the norm in our streets. Of course, they have always been present, but there has definitely been a rise in these types of forays of late. Now, that certainly isn't a bad thing, on the contrary, any activity in the streets is to be commended and encouraged. There have been periods of our history where the streets have been almost entirely defunct and devoid of activity. Hopefully, with our recent infusion of new blood with the chops and desire to add to the streets, we can avoid this happening again.

"But what I wanted to ask is, where have all the discussions gone? The debates on ethics and recent events? For decades those types of speeches have been the backbone of our world, it's where people could really prove themselves not only as a speaker but as a thinker. One could make friends, rivals, or straight up enemies through a debate. For my ancestors, being recognized as a master debater was the pinnacle of prominence."

He tried to suppress a wry smile before continuing.

"From what I can gather, several factors are contributing to the decline in debates on our streets...

• Topics - A lot of topics have been gone over so many times throughout different periods of our history that they've just been driven into the ground. We've already spoken about them so many times and in so many ways that there is just little point in doing it again.
• Old bloodlines have become lazy - We can't deny it. Most of us who had ancestors here many generations ago are markedly less active in the streets than they were. I myself am nowhere near what some of my forefathers were in the streets. 
• New bloods are more comfortable with friends - A new blood is much less likely to "rock the boat" or ask questions. Which is understandable, and why they prefer to tell stories or do things with people they know.
• Post war speeches have taken a downturn - Of course, we have had complete peace in the last few weeks. But over the last few months, post war speeches and explanations are considerably less prominent after a battle. This could be a big reason, as post war speeches could sometimes spark debates with 40-50+ people getting involved, and then create little side debates on the issues raised there in other speeches.

Now I'd like to open up this corner to anyone who has a thought on the matter? Can you think of any other reasons why less people come out to debate these days? Is it just one of those cyclical things that seems to happen in our thing, like so many other things? I'm curious as to what you think.

Hopefully, a few people will hear me/us and we'll get a few discussion speeches sometime soon. I know I'll certainly be trying to come up with one over the next few days.

Olivia was walking the streets when she noticed a speaking about the streets and how they had changed over the years. It was true that a shift seemed to have occurred in recent times, where once heated debates had all but disappeared and far more stories and adventures were being heard. To say this was positive or negative was really a matter of opinion, but the topic of conversation caught her attention. Her ancestors had also once been seen at almost all major debates that would occur in the streets but she herself had very little desire to partake.

“I will agree with two of the reasons you mentioned here and also add one of my own. I agree wholeheartedly that the topics themselves have simply become redundant. How many times can a person discuss blood lining or leadership or what brings them to this world of ours before they run out of new things to say? It takes a rare sort of talent to take the same topic and spin it in a fresh way that will be enough to draw people into the debate. Such skilled orators are few and far between in this world and unfortunately, they haven’t always been valued.”

Olivia shifted her weight from one foot to another, lighting a cigarette before speaking again. “Which brings me to the point I would want to add. This world of ours faced a difficult and lengthy time where speaking in the streets was not only discouraged but if a person said the wrong thing to the wrong person, they would be shot with no consequence. Speaking your opinion was dangerous not just for yourself but for your entire family, district or even city. If you spoke out against the leadership or implied they were anything other than fantastic, you were squashed.

Sure, the leaders of that time would come to the streets to say that such a thing wasn’t true and that people were free to speak. You would see their little puppets running after them, “proving” their point. But if you looked beneath the surface, you could see the truth. This kind of atmosphere discouraged the best and brightest of our street speakers and many of them have left this world completely or simply don’t have the energy that they once did.”

She knew that there would be a variety of opinions on her thoughts, but that’s what this was all about, wasn’t it? She took a drag from her cigarette before continuing. “The current leadership seems much more open to people coming to the streets to speak their mind. Godfather Insomnia himself is often seen visiting the streets, joining in stories and celebrations. But it is going to take time to undo the damage of the leaders before him. That, and people like you willing to start breaking the ice and speaking up more.

Finally, the topic of post-war speeches is a touchy one I think. A leader is often damned if they do, damned if they don’t. No explanation will ever be good enough for the kin of the deceased and so some leaders find that giving an explanation only poses more of a headache than it is worth. However, I do agree, from reading the journals of my ancestors, that some of the best debates spurred from these postwar speeches and so perhaps they are something we should revisit. Thankfully we are in a time of peace right now, but should that change I would look forward to seeing these speeches returned to the streets.”  

Olivia finished her thoughts and stood quietly smoking her cigarette, waiting for others to voice their own opinions.

Are the topics really exhaust or is the repeated approach simply not engaging?

If you pose someone the question “What do you think of restaurants?” you’re gonna get some blasé answers apart from confused looks. But when you ask “What do you think of that restaurant on 42nd street that slaughters the cow right there in front of you, before pissing all over it before serving it on your plate?” - the chances are high you’d get a more diverse response. Granted, you’d still get the confused looks.

For as long as people existed, they’ve discussed the same topics. The changing variables are what makes each conversation viable again. You wouldn’t want an abstract discussion on disrespect. But you want a conversation on how Dar Gabrielson disrespected the Godfather of Milwaukee. Such a topic would draw in Dar, the Godfather and many closely involved with them. Speaking is silver, silence is golden and many people adhere to that principe. But only until it becomes more important to step up, just to prevent they miss out on the opportunity to make their point and either lose face or something more important.

In that sense, post-war speeches are very valuable as it’s very hard to dance around the actual topic at hand. “X backstabbed Y” is a whole different debate than “What do you think about backstabbing?”. Toning such a speech down probably has some benefits, but it keeps the masses from learning a thing or two. In that same sense, bringing a general subject to the streets is strange as well. The orator probably got inspired by something, so why not name that and make the conversation actually touch people rather than just ideas?

Start by naming the variables involved in that what inspired you to bring something to the streets and you are bound to get a more heated conversation. If we really care about the abstract topics, let's bring in the practical examples to show their worth.

Symfora had been wandering around just browsing store windows, listening to the occasional thing that she heard and every once in awhile she debated with herself whether or not to get involved. For quite some time she had put it off and eventually she figured was time to finally speak up. A subject that people should be heard on regardless of which stance they took or whether anyone disagreed. Fixing a loose strand of hair as she went to speak to the individual that brought up the topic that had caught her attention.

"This is a wonderful topic that you bring before us. It is something I had wondered myself and then I began to think of all the ancestors that had brought up topics and why I choose not to myself.

I do agree with that young man that getting more specific does help a lot in the area of debates except it brings about the possibility of offending those at the top (depending on topic of course), which only leads to them getting upset and asking for heads more often then not. So while specific would be lovely and a grand idea it is also something that is best left alone. Believe me, I had an ancestor who was once encouraged to do just that and the aftermath to her and her child was possibly not worth it.

I heard it mentioned that this leadership is open to debate. I find myself struggling with this, because then you have to figure out where that precise line is. Where you need to stop yourself, what is acceptable enough and what isn't. Each reign has its own lines, and its own ways of doing things. Some give post war speeches sometimes, and forget other times. Some bring the debates themselves. Others remain quiet. We have a plethora of history that could go either way when it comes to debates."

Pausing briefly she realized she was sort of rambling on a little too much of the history and she should draw herself back into the present. Away from journals, away from talk and other archives. Drawing herself back down to her intended reasoning.

"As a line that used to speak in debates, and bring them about from time to time, I have to say that I personally just have no interest in doing so. I don't fear my head will be chopped off so to speak, but I grow tired of trying to find the acceptable lines. I love to participate in debates but there have been so few to catch my interest.

I wouldn't exactly call it lazy or being comfortable. The streets can at times be a very big undertaking and some people just find they would rather find something else to do. Perhaps attend a business lunch with a friend or two. Maybe they enjoy just taking a buck or two, practicing their thievery. It could be anything really. Any of the points you raised are good ones.

Maybe there is a fear to the streets. A fear of being ridiculed by those old lines that have been around. A fear that they may not say just the right thing at the right moment. Fear that the topics that are brought up will be said to be the same. How would a new line know that without digging through all the archives? Perhaps Fear should also be on the list as a reason. It's fairly plausible."

Having finished her thoughts she went about her business. There was a dress shop that had caught her eye almost as much as this conversation had.

"I just wanted to touch on one part of what you said, Symfora, and that is the beautiful thing about a discussion such as this - it can split off into several other discussions.

Fear. The "Fear factor," if you will, has been prevalent in the streets since the day the gods breathed life into our world. There have always been people (myself included, admittedly) who will ridicule or even belittle a newer bloodline for saying something silly or out of place. However, it's people like this that have taught me the most important lessons about the streets - or at least, taught my forefathers, and they left the lessons in their journals. If you mess up in front of the whole mafia world, you're less likely to do it again, yeah? If you stick your foot in your mouth, as my early ancestors did often, you will be scolded and mocked from all directions. It's just part of our world, and it can be both constructive and destructive. Getting the mickey from an old timer has scared off more than a few bloodlines from the streets, and yet it has also helped numerous ones who used the experience to better themselves and their descendants. 

I've tried to be a bit less harsh than my predecessors, although have probably failed. But it's not in my nature to just stand by and let someone make a fool out of themselves and diminish the quality of our streets without putting in my two cents. Does this make me a bully?"