My most recent speech took an unexpected turn, it led to disharmony; something I am against.  In light of this, today's speech with instead focus on the essential qualities that make up a man of honour in this thing (for man, read men & women, and and children or little people amongst us).

 DUTIES OF MAFIOSI ACROSS THE 8 CITIES

Of course, in one sense, the first essential for a man’s being a good Mafiosi is his possession of the home virtues of which we think when we call a man by the emphatic adjective of manly. No man can be a good Mafiosi  who is not a good husband and a good father, who is not honest in his dealings with other men and women, faithful to his friends and fearless in the presence of his foes, who has not got a sound heart, a sound mind, and a sound body; exactly as no amount of attention to civil duties will save a nation if the domestic life is undermined, or there is lack of the rude military virtues which alone can assure a country’s position in the world. Across these 8 cities the ideal Mafiosi must be one willing and able to take arms for the defence of the family, exactly as the ideal Mafiosi  must be the father of many healthy associates. A regime must be strong and vigorous; it must be a regime of good fighters and good breeders, else its wisdom will come to naught and its virtue be ineffective; and no sweetness and delicacy, no love for and appreciation of beauty in art or literature, no capacity for building up material prosperity can possibly atone for the lack of the great virile virtues.

But this is aside from my subject, for what I wish to talk of is the attitude of the American Mafiosi in these 8 cities. It ought to be axiomatic in this country that every man must devote a reasonable share of his time to doing his duty in the Political life of the community, on the Streets. No man has a right to shirk his political duties under whatever plea of pleasure or business; and while such shirking may be pardoned in those of small cleans it is entirely unpardonable in those among whom it is most common–in the people whose circumstances give them freedom in the struggle for life. In so far as the community grows to think rightly, it will likewise grow to regard the young man of means who shirks his duty to the 8 cities in time of peace as being only one degree worse than the man who thus shirks it in time of war. A great many of our men in business, or of our young men who are bent on enjoying life (as they have a perfect right to do if only they do not sacrifice other things to enjoyment), rather plume themselves upon being good Mafiosi as if they even contribute to the Streets; yet contributing is the very least of their duties, Nothing worth gaining is ever gained without effort. You can no more have freedom without striving and suffering for it than you can win success as a Consiq or a Don without labour and effort, without self-denial in youth and the display of a ready and alert intelligence in middle age. The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in these 8 cities.

Do you fancy breaking that down for the less educated than your good self, merely for the sake of clarity. I would hate for you to be misunderstood again.

I am unsure how being honest in your dealings with other men and women stands with being what we are. Consider the petty crimes we do exceedingly frequently

Rob the local Post Office.
Extort a shop owner.
Con a poor schlub.
Snatch a purse.

Are these not all dishonest acts to other men and women?


I would say the best of our world are some of the most downright and despicable human beings walking the world. We trade on human misery and addiction to make our dishonest daily take be it from the drugs we run on a regular basis to the prostitution rings we have working.

Principally the most important duties of any budding Mafiosa is upholding our virutes one of which is Omerta, the code of silence.

Moving on to your second point a silent mobster is but only holding dear to Omerta in an extreme way surely.

It's an attempt to capture the essence of the things that make those who populate these cities what they are.  For example, it could be said that what makes a tree a tree is its essential treeness.

Yes, of course.  Now, many would say that trees are made of wood.  Correct.  Another commonly held assumption is that wood floats.  Yes it does.  But not always.  Wooden ships sink, do they not?  Look at the number of trees rotting at the bottom of rivers.

So, there you go.

Another way of looking at it is this.

I am a member of these 8 cities - I'm proud to be a member.  What makes you a mafiosi?  Is it distinct from the general characteristics?

What makes a good mafiosi or a bad mafiosi?

Over to you...

If you do the following, Rob the local Post Office, Con a poor schlub, Snatch a purse, I think it's alright - as long as you do it with your head held high.

Omerta - yes.  Very important.

Honesty? From a Mafioso?

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*Pause for breath*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Well, not sure how they do things in your family, but in NY, honesty is *very* important to our way of life.

I am sure before the last war NY was involved in Godfather Prem was up front and honest about how annoyed he was getting with that CL/Crew. I'm sure they had a nice long chat about how he was going to kill them all soon in the name of honesty.

I'm sure his hitters regularly discuss their shot records outside of their own tight-knit groups.

I'm sure nobody in NY has ever told a lie, hidden a truth, sat on a WS or obfuscated in any way.

Oh wait, Prem's not a fucking idiot.

This is the MAFIA. It's not a fucking Sunday School, people lie, cheat, steal, double-cross and bluff all the damned time for the good of themselves or their family. If they don't, this isn't the life for them.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this isn't the mafia any more, maybe I'm a dinosaur and things have moved on. I hope not, I really do.

ClickMonkey

Are you saying you'd lie to your superiors to protect your own selfish interests?  That is dishonest and is contrary to a way of life that we have here.

My superiors, probably not, but there are circumstances when I may.

You? In a fucking hearbeat.

So was that answer you just gave me dishonest?

Unfortunately another fine example of how a speech of yours has gone off point, well at least turned into another slanting match, is it just me or can anybody else see a pattern emerging hear? Going off subject, to keep in fashion with everything that comes from you, your mission is to inject life into the streets, yet I'd rather have them baron than listening to arguments just for arguments sake. I think it was chuckle who said you run the risk of looking like the village idiot and for trend, you really do.

It's easy to pin point people's negativity Against you at the fact you have a certain bloodline within you and I fully endorse a city back their own but it's your negativity in responding to other people's input who do not whole heartadly agree with you and your stance and again the irony that comes from that just kills me inside.

It's this negativity that breeds contempt and inturn this forces the issue at hand to turn into this back and forward bullshit! Granted you have an excellent way with words so much so that you can and do turn anything said into what could be taken as attack of words in your city and frankly it's a very teansparrant act.

This is last time I will address anything you have to say here, frankly your not My cup of tea, even so much so that I dread everytime you step out here. Thankyou for your efforts but they are very much wasted on me. I hope your mission is a successful one.

SPACE_POLE

I can assure you that this is not a "slanting match".  I have no desire to compare angles with you or anyone else.  The physics of a slope are of no interest to me.  I would have thought it obvious.  I do have esoteric tastes, but some kind of competitive "slanting" is quite a niche enterprise.  I might well have not understood what you meant, but I take people as I find them.

You appear to want to enoble the Streets.  Only people can becomes Barons, and only then from certain bloodlines.

I am sorry that something I does "kills you inside".  But I can't quite work out what you meant.

I could be accused of many things - but having a "teansparrant act" is something I am unfamiliar with.  Perhaps it's an amalgamation of a popular quiz show host, a small bird and a popular hot beverage?  Either way, that's not what I do.

Thanks for your comments.

Once again going off point! Simply poking fun at peoples ability and street prowess does not address the issues at hand! Again another very transparent act also again your presence here is filled with an abundance of irony in the fact you want to draw people out to the streets yet because I or we don't believe in what your selling you resort to tactics you only know how to use which inturn null and voids your mission because why would someone who wants to address you do so if you are going to be aggressive towards the way the speak.

I have broke my own promise of not addressing you again but you are simply an infuriating character.

Estebano is a Theodore Roosevelt fan, "Duties of American Citizenship" by The late president, Theodore Roosevelt, see if you see a bit of a similarity...

SPACE_POLE

Quite on the contrary; I took what you had written at face value and responded. 

"Of course, in one sense, the first essential for a man's being a good citizen is his possession of the home virtues of which we think when we call a man by the emphatic adjective of manly. No man can be a good citizen who is not a good husband and a good father, who is not honest in his dealings with other men and women, faithful to his friends and fearless in the presence of his foes, who has not got a sound heart, a sound mind, and a sound body; exactly as no amount of attention to civil duties will save a nation if the domestic life is undermined, or there is lack of the rude military virtues which alone can assure a country's position in the world. In a free republic the ideal citizen must be one willing and able to take arms for the defense of the flag, exactly as the ideal citizen must be the father of many healthy children. A race must be strong and vigorous; it must be a race of good fighters and good breeders, else its wisdom will come to naught and its virtue be ineffective; and no sweetness and delicacy, no love for and appreciation of beauty in art or literature, no capacity for building up material prosperity can possibly atone for the lack of the great virile virtues."

Theodore Roosevelt~

Caboose;

Great minds truly do think alike

And they are then horribly plagiarised by the likes of you.

~C~

Chuckle

Reader for reader, I have a following that you can only dream of.  End of frickin' story.