Gian walks into the streets and props himself up against a wall and begins to speak to anyone that will listen

I want to talk about the aftermath of a takedown when children wake up and find their loved ones not there anymore and nowhere to be found and more than likely in some river or lake somewhere. The majority of us take it maybe try to find out what is going on but ultimately it doesn't matter we just get on with our lives rather than looking at the past.

Then we have the minority that are beginning to grind. They come to the streets shouting and screaming "Why was my Father killed he knew nothing?" "It's murder I tell you?" Yeah your right it is murder but how else did you expect your parents to die? I know this will be like teaching the majority of you to suck eggs but let's put this in simple terms.

When a Leader gets taken down all Made Men and above automatically get taking down with them as they should have sworn their loyalty to their Leader, so it is good practice as you don't want to leave the odd one stray who will take random pot shots at people because their Leader has been killed. I like to call this Risk Management or a professional job.

Then they moan "Talk to the person rather than just shooting" Hold on so MR A is planning to attack City B and you want me to ask them if that is the plan? Even though I would be fully against it. I'm sure they will tell me no regardless. Seriously who in their right mind would admit to planning to do something that is wrong?

Seriously this is the Mafia, not play school or high school. We are Men and Women of honour, your ancestors die you suck it up and move on we have all been there and it is no different for anyone else. If you expected to leave this life any other way apart from a bullet in the head then you are sadly deluded. Only a few people get to the top and retire all the rest of us we know what our fate will be one day and we know when our Sons and Daughters come back they will do exactly the same.

So do us all a favour next time when you feel the need to shout and scream that your parents have died pull out that gun in your top drawer, load a bullet, put the barrel against your forehead and pull the trigger.

Mrs-Doubtfire smiles and claps

"I couldn't have said it better myself my dear. To often lately I have noticed little kids running through the streets shouting.. 'Who killed my father. I'm going to kill you' blah blah. At the end of the day just like Gian said.. and I quote.."

Mrs-Doubtfire pauses for a moment

"*Seriously this is the Mafia, not play school or high school*. When you join the mafia.. you join to the end. Only the elderly that have done all they can in their lifetime can retire. Personally when you say.. the leader and their Made Men and above to be taken out.. I personally feel that it should be the lot."

Mrs-Doubtfire pulls out her flask and takes a sip

"You might think.. 'But isn't that just over the top?'. Well I say NO. It by far isn't.. in the mafia if you join a family you pledge your loyalty to them. Just because they have the rank... 'Goomba' or 'Wise Guy' doesn't mean they can't be loyal. It also doesn't mean they can't go randomly shooting. Fair enough they might not be able to do much damage neither might they be able to shoot another leader however.. they can shoot that leaders Gangsters or Earners."

Mrs-Doubtfire pauses again to catch her breath

"That could stir up the debate about what if someones leader dies and they want to go elsewhere.. Well thats upto them. What I mean by the lot is if your going to take down a family for many reasons.. or war for example.. then taking down majority if not all the members is what I would call a Professional Job. And no I'm not saying that the past takedowns that haven't removed the lot haven't done a proffesional job as every city leader has their own ways of taking down and sorting out the spare parts."

"However not to long ago a pretty much full clean of a city happened or the case of all Made Men and above are killed no matter what... and if the Wise Guys and below find a new family to pledge their loyalties to before, the hitters of the attackers can reach them... Then I suppose that could be fine also."

"Just remember.. and the only thing I don't think is quite accurate is.. the fact you say that the Made Men and above could possibly take the odd pop at others. As Wise Guys and below can do exaclty the same. Losing a leader or a Made Man is a big thing. However losing an Earner isn't such a huge loss but that Earner could of had something unique that the other Earners of the family didn't."

Mrs-Doubtfire uses her inhaler and smiles

"I think I've said my piece and just remember.. No matter the rank. They still have a gun."

Mrs-Doubtfire applaudes Gian once more for his great speech and begins to slowly toddle away.

Listening to Gian speak and Mrs-Doubtfire's opinion, Kurtz decided to throw in a word on the matter.

Its a valid point you make about the bleating of the bereaved. So often we see young men and women come to these streets and take enormous shits all over any dignity or respect that their recently fallen relatives had worked hard to establish. It can be a real shame to observe.

No one will ever expect the family of a fallen mobster to be happy about what has happened but really, there are ways to do things. Flailing hands and whaling voices are not the way to go. There has been enough examples over the course of, even recent, history to show that without fail it never achieves anything other than to diminish the general opinion of the people in question. They have died, you can not bring them back. All the crying in the world won't change that. Screaming bloody murder at those that brought them down is hardly going to change their decision either.

The entire process is a painfully embarrassing exercise in futility. If anything it only serves to decrease your chances of improving on the position your departed parent worked to achieve. Really, there are a few simple things to help anyone recently bereaved.

1. If you can't be philosophical about it, be quiet. At least in public.

2. Reflect on the life that has passed and try to learn what you can from it.

3. Move on.

When a Leader gets taken down all Made Men and above automatically get taking down with them as they should have sworn their loyalty to their Leader,

This didnt happen to Khujo's family, or Laquenta's or Infidels, just to mention the recent CL take downs. So please dont state this as a fact when it is not generic. We dont want all made man and above out there to start fearing their life when their CL gets shot.

Thank you for all your responses,

Mrs-Doubtfire and Trolley-Snatcha I will address both your points together. You both make very vaild points and I think the best way to answer it is that each situation is different and as Mrs-Doubtfire said herself each leader will view things differently and who they perceive as a threat to their members.

So as Trolley-Snatcha said in recent CL takedowns it has just been the leaders as they were the people who were perceived as the threat, but thank you for pointing these things out to me, this was by no means meant to scare every Made Man and above just a general rant about people bitching in the streets.

I think the three points that Kurtz has made should be told to every new bloodline and even some old bloodlines, all the whining does is make people not respect you and takes away from what you bloodline MAY have achieved.

I'm more suprised to wake up alive every day than I would be if I were to wake up to some hooded figured whispering in my ear. Even as an associate it's pretty much a given you could find yourself dead at pretty much any given time, be it for a logical reason or otherwise. Accepting that fact makes our mortality a lot easier to swallow.

It makes perfect sense for the kin of a slain mobster to seek a reason for their mother or father's death. Just have some dignity while looking for it. If for no other reason than you look like an asswipe coming out to the streets whining and debating whether it was fair or not.

SexyBeast makes a good point.  It is somewhat surprising (and a good surprise at that) to wake up every morning alive.  We've all chosen this life, with knowledge of the consequences of choosing a life of crime...that at any moment somebody could strike you down and take it all away. 

I understand the reasons why family members are taken out when a leader is removed.  It's simple.  Remove the threats.  But ultimately, by removing those people, we are also creating future threats.  Because, as we've all seen many times, children of fallen mafioso have great memories and can definitely hold a grudge.  So, there may be some merit in deciding to keep a crewleader's family alive. 

In the context of war, everything changes.  And I think most are more accepting of the fact that in war, you are even much more likely to lose your life. 

Bottom line - I think that most people understand that this is the life we've chosen, and it could end at any time. 

Lifes a bitch and then you die.

-NAS-