Big Lucy has not been part of this world for very long, she strolls the streets at night and listens to various mobsters speak and reads flyers that litter the pavement. Tonight, she frowns as she takes her leisurely bicycle ride, this was not the world her ancestors praised about in the many diaries she kept well hidden in her rented room. This is something she had been pondering for a few days now, last night she even re read the thickest of her books thinking she may have misunderstood them but no, she had understood perfectly well and this is what confused her.

Stepping off her bike quite elegantly considering her size, she carefully leans it against the brick wall to her right and slowly walks over to the crate a few feet away. She sighs as she absent mindedly taps the point of her high heel shoe against the box and looks onto the passer byes. Everyone is there, from fresh off the boaters to the esteemed Godfathers being catered to by …the rest of the world really. So many incredible speakers…with a deep breath, she steps on the box and all she can do now is speak from her heart.

"Hello, my name is Big Lucy, and I guess you can say I'm an old soul in a young body, perhaps not as old as many of you but old enough to have noticed a change in this world…according to my diaries anyhow. The first woman of my bloodline was raised under the rule of Godfather ThomasRourke, and he had strict guidelines as to how his city members were to behave and speak in the streets…all New York Headquarters pinned up the rules for everyone to follow, and we did as to not provoke his anger. Sooo…what happened? "

Taking her pack of cigarettes from her purse, she lights up and coughs twice before turning back to the crowd..."nasty habit, I know."

"I'm mostly talking about the young ones, a lot of them seem to do what they want without any consequences. This new slang showing up all over the place, for example…'OMFG', 'STFU', 'FTW', 'XD'…are they not meant for OOC Avenue? In my diaries, it speaks of a family friend whos' story she printed was burned because she used the word 'jet' instead of 'airplane'. So why is this slang tolerated? Do we not live in the modern world of the 1930's and not some futuristic time?"

"Now, before throwing tomatoes and telling me to get with the times, there are changes that have been made that I agree with, although I will never understand those robot like creatures that roam the country with NPM sandwich boards. Like men and women who leave off to war to fight for their country, should we not fight for the way it used to be? To live in a world where mafioso feared leaders and suffered the upmost penalties for the smallest faux pas?"

Lucy nods towards the peer where, daily, elders embark ships headed back to their home land, never to return to this mafia.

"How do we stop them from leaving and convince them to remain here…so we can all benefit from their experience and knowledge? I am an ordinary , run of the mill mobster like MANY people around here and this is my opinion. I would like to know yours."

"Perhaps the Gods will hear this and take it under consideration…or is it just ONE God?"

Pleasure to meet you Lucy.  Interesting speech you gave.  I thought I'd walk over and make a couple of comments, if that's okay.

I'm curious about the fear issue.  Are you saying there is a current lack of fear of the crewleaders? I think that definitely might be true regarding some of the leaders, but I think there is definitely a healthy amount of fear of many of the city heads, as there should be. 

I'm more interested in the lack of respect I see toward their own crewleaders.  Many of the young gangsters, and even some who have been around a long time, don't seem to respect their own crewleaders, or at least respect them enough not to do stupid things.  I wish people would understand that their actions have consequences.  And that those consequences don't just end with them.   I'm speaking generally because I don't feel the need to throw some people under the bus, so to speak. 

How is this problem going to be fixed?  Go back to old days when punishments were swift and harsh?  I'd love to know why there is such a lack of respect.  And no, I don't mean that nobody respects their crewleader.  But I do think there are plenty of people out there who think their crewleader offers them a roof and a tag for their profile, and nothing else. 

Anyway, that's my two cents for now.

Stumbling over a subject that has his interest, Paul steps forward to voice his oppinion.

Two interesting angles, fear and respect...fear will make people do what they have to do. Sometimes even go an extra mile, but fear puts you apart from who you fear. Respect at its best makes you feel apart of something. brothers in arms brothers in crime. That makes people not only willing to work hard and go the extra mile but also enjoy it. And that in my oppinion is the key to the issue. Thats how we keep people on these shores and how CL make their crews special, both in actuall perfomance but also in how it feels for the grunts to be a member of his crew. I am not saying that crewleaders should become cirkus clowns trying to entertain their crews. But they should lead from the front be the good example and make people feel apart of something bigger than just a bunch of guys sending up money while rutinely robbing the good old post office. Communication and creative ideas for strengthening the bond between their guys are fundemental but there is and should be i guess as many ways as there are crewleaders.

Paul takes a little pause to let his word sink in

As to the punishment discussion, it is my experience that there is still to this day punishments for all sorts of mistakes and fuckups and also i have seen numerous occasions of cls or even gfs who was put violently from power by failing to keep their members in line. So i dont see that this is a factor that could contribute positivly by making more strict. In the end, even the fear of capitol punishment wont hold back a determined villain, we are all proof of this since we chose a life of crime well knowing it can only end one way.

So thats where i stand, i do however appreciate this subject was brougth up as it is one of importance.

Paul having said his piece steps  back and awaits the next to give his say...

Well the military uses fear to train their recruits. Drill Instructors in this day and age would yell slap or work you hard even if you speak incorrectly.

Effective? Well we did win "The Great War"

However Fear also may lead to hatred and in the Mafia i don't think a CrewLeader wants their members to dislike or hate them.

So my standpoint on this is rather neutral. I would like to see more respect for one's Boss(es) and more consequences. However i don't think Mafioso should be afraid to speak their mind, as long as it's reasonable.

Peace then waits for the discussion to progress

Choot stands and listens to Lucy, then the others who spoke on the subject. He crushes out the remains of his cigar and steps up on the box

Thank you Lucy for bringing this subject up. I won't address the issue of the fear and punishment but will offer my views on the subject that is at the heart of your speech. Respect, or lack there of.I too have seen the diaries of my family and they also mention the great respect shown in the past. They mention also about the way young mobsters were brought into a family and taught, if need be, how to properly speak in the streets or in a business. I have no mention in my diaries as to when all this gibberish and rubbish speak became okay. Also I have looked and found no mention as to when respect lost it's great importance. Your speech, if properly interpreted, provokes some wonderful food for thought. Just why don't crew leaders and Godfathers demand the proper use of the language and the proper respect from their members anymore?
I am sure their are many reasons. Maybe some of them were introduced to this world after the etiquette that was once the rule was already watered down. Maybe some who have long and glorious family heritages in this thing of ours haven't looked through their family diaries recently. Who knows, the reasons.
History seems to repeat it's self from time to time and maybe, just maybe, once again in the future proper speaking and respect will return as one of the wheels that drive this thing of ours. Thank you Lucy, for such a wonderful stroll back to the good old days.

Choot steps down and lights another cigar before wandering off into the streets.

I think that being a good orator is still much appreciated among the old souls of this line of work.

However, I remember a time where many people would pick on and make fun of people with "OOC'itis" and they would analyze and tear apart their speeches and show them, through mockery, all their symptoms of the "disease".

I believe that after that came a time where some people starting viewing that mocking as making all the lower ranks (OOC: newer players) be hesitant to speak up in the streets for fear of being mocked.

Nowadays, I think that young thugs get away with saying weird slang, but I don't think we really encourage it in any way, we are just... allowing it conceding a little in exchange for hearing the opinion of said new thugs.

People who are able to express themselves correctly still do and hopefully over time people with lower education (OOC: informal and "futuristic" way of speaking) will learn from them and slowly start to express themselves in a better way.

Cassi listens to the speech and the commentators that voiced their opinion afterwards before trying to speak her thoughts.

It's nice to see this issue being brought to the front again. I believe there are lots of issues with street speeches that are being brought forward, spoken about and yet, still ignored. I believe there are a few problems in the streets these days. One being fear of being ridiculed for stating an opinion, even if that opinion is spoken in respect. It is like some people are afraid to be challenged in their thinking and their opinions. Another thing being a lack of respect. Or maybe it is that they honestly are not being taught the proper way to approach the streets. Maybe each family should have a liaison that is meant to educate people on how to approach the streets and how to speak properly. Someone who can tutor them and maybe help with their accents.

And another thing I notice is the lack of presence period. How are people to know how to spin a speech properly when there are no examples to be seen??? And since there are no examples, then it's easy for people to come to the streets and disrespect them and use them for things other than their original intentions. And when the people step out with their disrespect, multiple people step in and feed them the attention they desire instead of ignoring them as they should. Because we're not being taught any differently. We're not being shown to praise those that speak well and come to the streets with good stories or ideas, only the condemning of those who speak poorly, disrespectfully or opinionated.

A change needs to happen. I would love to see the streets thriving as I've read in my families old journals and diaries. I would love to see that part of this world become as important as it once was. I believe that some are already trying to make that change and for that I applaud them. Thank you again Lucy for bringing this subject back into the light.