Walking through the streets Angel reads the last page of the battered and worn book she was carrying. As a single tear escapes, she wipes it away, and then notices out of the corner of her eye, the ever present soap-box, and the mafioso milling around it. Straightening her long red dress, she steps up onto the soap-box. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she then clears her throat to get the peoples attention. As they start to look toward her, she smiles bravely.

Good day ladies and gentlemen. I know most of you have busy schedules so I will try to make this fairly short. While I was cleaning out the attic of my home earlier this week, I came across a very old box filled with diaries of my ancestors. Intrigued, I began to read through them, starting with the oldest. These books all tell some very interesting tales. Ones of loyalty, decisions, Omerta, and family. Some of these stories are very detailed, and made me see just how much things have changed. I know that as time passes, the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes.

One of the biggest changes I have seen is what happens when a family head has an unfortunate accident, and its family members are left in a wake of grief and confusion. This is an extremely unfortunate event that we all hope never happens to us. When it does, most of the time, the members from that family are put under a protection order. This is a wonderful tradition that has been around throughout the lives of all of my ancestors. And one I do not believe should change. There is only one thing that puzzles me about it. In these diaries, I read about how members of a fallen family were given a time frame to find a new home. From what I have read, that time frame was normally 48 hours, or in rare cases, 72 hours. In my lifetime, it seems that many of the protection orders posted about are seemingly endless. I am not trying to fault anyone, I am merely curious as to what has changed. I have seen cases of someone who has been in a coma for over a month, and then their crew leader died, and three weeks later they are still alive, and still in a coma. I understand that there are extenuating circumstances in some cases, but I believe that our ancestors had a good thing going, by instating time limits on how long those protection orders could last.

Please do not get me wrong, if (God forbid) my crew leader were to have something happen to him, I would want an adequate amount of time to find another family, and I am not against protection orders in any way. I am merely asking, how long should these orders go on? Should there be a time limit on these Protection orders?

Having stated her question, Angel steps off of the soap-box, and walks over to the wall to listen to the other opinions.

Mrs-Doutbfire smiles

"I do never personally recall any 48 - 72 hour protections. The protections I recall the most are 7 day protections which is basicly the same for inactives. My only question is a simple one.. Why have those who issue protection stopped giving a specific amount of time and stating how long this protection lasts? As like you say they do seem to be 'endless'"


Mrs-Doubtfire scratches her head and continues to smile

I believe the lack of a protection time is for one reason only... they aren't timed.

Anyone in a family is entitled to the protection that family offers, if something unforseen happens and leaves them homeless and they are declared protected by their godfather, then thats it. There should be no vultures hanging around waiting to take care of them if they dont wake up within a certain time scale.

Theres enough bums around for target practice without people stalking those left homeless for whatever reason. IMO if these people are to be killed, it should be done by those giving the protection to them in the first place and not by some random people from another city.

Anyway, just my opinion.

Let me preface what I'm going to say with this:  I am not a Godfather of any city.  I'm not speaking for a Godfather from any city.  I'm just offering my opinion. 

That being said - If I were the Godfather of a city like Detroit or New Orleans (I mention those two for no other reason than the fact that I reside in one and the other just came to mind because I am craving a waterfront location) and there were some bums residing in my city, I'd be somewhat unhappy that they were under the protection order of the Godfather of Philadelphia (again just naming a city).  You see, I'm not a fan of bums from another city littering my streets, so I wouldn't be a fan of allowing them to lay in the alleys in perpetuity.  Obviously I'd be respectful of all other Godfather requests, but I'd certainly have to have a conversation about that one.  And I don't think that makes me a vulture for not wanting somebody to litter my streets. 

So, while I understand where Alabama is coming from, I think each city head should have the right to determine what goes on in their city. 

Now, if there is an active member of some other city within my borders, (assuming, again, that I was a Godfather - isn't that a lovely thought by the way?) then I'd be happy to offer them protection  for as long as they remain active and are spending money in my city. 

So, personally, I don't mind prortection orders that last long.  I don't mind protection orders that don't last long.  I do take issue with protecting bums for more than a short period of time to enable them to wake up, sober up, and find their way back to their city. 

And that's just my opinion.  ;)

I've always thought protection is stupid. If someone is going to war me or my crewleader, then their crew members are the price if they lose - as well as a warning to other leaders that if they want to come, they'd better make sure they'll win, otherwise their crew will suffer for it. If I'm going to war someone else, my goal is to take out as many people belonging to that leader as possible, to 1. Reduce their defenses and 2. Make sure that I don't leave someone alive to come after me in some sort of revenge ploy.

I understand that I'm in the minority on this, but I much prefer a scorched earth policy over a sissy nanny policy.

If people offering protection do not give full details, people WILL and HAVE fucked up, simples. Turning up later with "Oh we only just got a list"...Only just? well you sir/madam fail your crew/family/city.

On a side note I do feel every leader should hold the same rules/punishments in regards to people shooting those on said lists, anyhow I shall hold my tongue,

Also, don't get me wrong if its a full scale war , level them all, sometimes though it is only certain members who need felling, and not only does it annoy the rest of us but it will get you killed so just hold you guns you trigger happy fools.

I feel that if a list of names is released AFTER the murders of said homeless, then all faults are to the ones who post up the list.

When someone joins my city i give them my protection, so if by some chance a leader in the city falls, who am i to say their protection is void now.


I will offer protection for as long as needed for someone who put their life in my hands, i will protect it.

"I feel that if a list of names is released AFTER the murders of said homeless, then all faults are to the ones who post up the list."

No, if a sudden gun accident causes a leader to fall, and hungry vultures take the chance to bang off shots before a list pops, then it is the fault of people who are kill hungry, and lack common sense. They know what they are doing and choose to do it.

I must say, in case those were going to be picky. I was not referring to gun malfunctions, is it common knowledge if a leader falls to a wonky gun the homeless are protected, as Premeir just said...They our in our city..we look after OUR people. I honestly do not feel there is a problem in regards to "People wackbacking and Protection orders" I feel it is when a city wars another then gives the lower ranks a protection order it is often overlooked or merely shrugged off, not on my watch and I sure as hell wouldn't expect to see it happen within Chicago.

*Drexler shrugs*

Maybe that's just me...

That's true.

"No, if a sudden gun accident causes a leader to fall, and hungry vultures take the chance to bang off shots before a list pops, then it is the fault of people who are kill hungry, and lack common sense, They know what they are doing and choose to do it."

Are you saying that it's the responsibility of said shooter to do a background check on everyone after a CL dies, just so that former CL's members don't die? What if there is no way to find out about the person's former affiliations?

Just holster your damn weapon, or if you really are after the thrill...eh well we know what happens, it really doesn't take a lot to know who is who and who belongs where who rolls with who and who should NOT be shot.

I think prem mentioned a thing just now, Common sense? maybe.

"Are you saying that it's the responsibility of said shooter to do a background check on everyone after a CL dies, just so that former CL's members don't die? What if there is no way to find out about the person's former affiliations?"

If you that reckless with your weapon that you just shoot at anyone and everyone without even checking to see who they are, then you are a reckless fool who doesn't deserve to be shooting.

If you don't have self control, then you shouldn't be trusted to use your gun.

Lots of people don't bother putting a button on their suit stating their familial affiliation. In the case of Capos and Made Men and the like, if a Crewleader has recently fallen, you can use common sense to figure out that they were probably a member of that family.

Where it gets tricky, however, is the innumerable gangsters that join a family and don't put a button on. If their CL goes down, it is far harder to figure out whether or not this unsponsored gangster was a member of a family, or if you just lucked onto an unsponsored nobody else had.

The bottom line is, it is the responsibility of a person to put a button on when they join a family.

"The bottom line is, it is the responsibility of a person to put a button on when they join a family."

And for trigger-happy mongs to chill out, omg omg I need to shoot everyone all the time I must I must..

To be honest, my blood has always disagreed with protection orders. I abide by them because I have to... no other reason. Why would you protect people that could possibly bring you harm? I know that's the reason for killing all Made Men and above after a takedown, but I believe it should extend to every last member until the final nail goes into the final coffin.

If you join a family, you should go down with it. No if's, but's or maybe's. If Tanda were to pass on, there is no way I would carry on living, I took an oath to protect and defend this family until my light stops shining.

Loyalty to those who gave you a chance, above all else.

Even then, though, "trigger happy mongs" are less likely to go after someone with a button on their suit, if someone witnesses that murder, they will most likely end up in more trouble.

With a victim who has no button, they can fall back on the excuse of "well I didn't know he was a member of so-and-so's family, he had no button on."

Yes, fault lies in both places, but I find that the simplest act that one can do is to wear a button. Will it stop all the trigger happy mongs out there? No, of course not. But it is a form of protection that you can give yourself that will raise your chances should the worst befall your crewleader.

Personally I believe that it is the responsibility of a person to check if the person they are looking to shoot is on a list of protected people, or if they were a member of a family that was recently a victim of an unfortunate accident. And if you are not sure, then you need to ask someone in your upper structure. If someone is under the protection of a city then yes, that protection is to be honored.

My question is this. Say, for example, a crew leader has a gun malfunction and loses his life to it. The family of that leader is then put under protection to give them time to find a new family. I support this completely. But, say there no time limit stated in this protection order that they need to find a family within. Then say there is a made man in this family, who is on that protection list, and is not told how long he has to find a new family. Two weeks later, he is still roaming around, committing crimes, possibly killing people, and has no one to answer to directly. He has no RHM or LHM to go to, no one to ask permission from for anything. He is still active, so earning money, but yet could possibly be a threat to the cities.

All of the above mentioned scenario is of course hypothetical, but it could happen when people are put on a protection list with no time frame. This is where my question stems from.

"After listening to my fellow friends from Chicago and the rest of those expressing their opinion here is what I believe should be.."

Mrs-Doubtfire takes a breath

"If your leader dies to gun malfunction or some no name C decides to shoot your leader cause he/she is a complete arse then you should be granted protection by your city and for as long as it requires you to wake up and join another leader from that city. However if your city is taken down in a war and you are lucky enough to not be shot and are given the protection of the said attackers then there should be a certain amount of time you're given to find new loyalties (although you shouldn't really jump ship)."

"Why you ask?"

"Well I think that if you already killed their entire city Made + but have left Wise Guys to find refuge then you don't shouldn't really care much for their lives either that way.. why give them endless protection? If your kind enough to give them any then give them a said time Is what I think. If those people can't be arsed to find a family by then or wake up then its their own fault and they die just like their family and city."

Mrs-Doubtfire smiles at those around her and she reaches into her bag and grabs a cloth. She takes her glasses off and rubs her glasses to clean them. She places them back on and those around her are still looking at her waiting for her to continue to speak..

"What? I'm done speaking. Oh then again.. One more thing. I guess after all that, that must be why I am a huge fan of the.. If they find a family before the hitters find them then they may live policy. That is if its a war kind of context.. not the gun malfunction."

Mrs-Doubtfire smiles again and slowly plods away down the street on her way home to get some sleep.

Mrs-Doubtfire quickly spins around and takes a quick breath

"Oh and, I am a firm believer that all members of a family should wear some sort of button. (In the mafia they usually wear the same colours (like clothing) to show which family they are loyal to.. so a button works just as well!)

She smiles again and then continues to walk home.

In many crews I have seen in the recent past. The rule states that no one is to be shot under 48 hours OR if after 48 hours they are sponsored. Now a crew leader dies.... so now we have many homeless gangsters about that are over 48 hours old. Never mind whether or not they are active. Now if no protection order is put up or even if there is a delay in putting one up those gangsters in theory should be fair game.

Now in the day of my great great great great, so on and so forth, grandparents. A public protection order was unheard of. Only time it happened was with in a crew when an allied or sister crew went down. Then obviously you are not gonna shoot your allies.

Now if I was a godfather of a city I would not want to shoot respected members of another city for diplomatic reasons, however, if a crew leader from another city happens to die no matter what the circumstances are, I would allow my city members to shoot the unsponsored of that city. Only because I have already made specific instructs to not shoot UNSPONCERED, UNDER 48 HOURS. I would recommend that my city members don't shoot but would not hold it against them if they did and would even protect them from another gf or crew leader that did try to hold it against them.

Otherwise my rules of wacking would only be to shoot fake targets and the Durden zombies and no exceptions unless my city/crew was at war.

Now on the other hand if I were a gf or a crew leader, and I died for any reason, I would ask my son to do anything in their power to get protection for those left alive. Then again if it didn’t happen my son would not complain.  And to be honest, I never understood the logic of wearing a button on your suit. It is common sense that in a war after a CL dies, that anyone wearing the button of the fallen crew would be killed in case of remaining survivors try to attack back. Then again if you are going to war with another crew you should already have a list of high priority targets whether or not they wear a button. In fact any time in my ancestors past when their CL died, it would be common practice to remove your button but continuing the fight. Lets face it.... with your CL dead you are some what less of a target with your button removed.