A lot of shit has happened in the past few days.
Meetings have been held. Topics were discussed. Changes were made. Lists were formed. Wanted posters were put up in every Post Office from Los Angeles to New York City.
And a manhunt started.
Some were put on the list for their actions. Others were put on for the sins of their father. Suspicions were raised, and some were justified with concrete evidence and backing. Some were circumstantial at best.
I can't speak for many of the family lines on that list, but a couple I knew personally. One in particular was in my family. And he was taken from us on Friday night.
I don't know ALL the intimate details of what his father did, or his father's father, or is great-grandfather's second cousin fourteen and a half times removed did. I know the highlights, but frankly, I don't give a shit. I didn't invite his father, or his grandfather, or the whole family reunion to be my associate. I invited HIM.
I know what HE did for Andrew_Paxton.
I know what HE did for me.
I know what HE did for the Fremont Street Experience.
I know what HE did for Las Vegas.
He was put on that list by another city, and the hit went out from the head of Las Vegas. ViciousViper was killed very soon after by the very city he'd worked to protect. Say what you will about him. Say what you will about his father, his grandfather… whoever. Did he deserve to die? Doesn't matter.
The hit went out. The call was placed. A ticket was purchase on a flight, and soon after, a bullet passed through the temple of Vicious.
Andrew_Paxton and I started the FSE on the four pillars of Omertà, Honor, Loyalty, and Respect. Though Vicious had shown loyalty to his city, regardless of his father's actions, his city stabbed him in the back and shot him in the night. And in one last disrespectful move, no effort was made to give a head's up to Andrew_Paxton or myself.
A hastily crafted letter with the "wanted list" and the notice that Vicious had been 'removed' was left on Andrew's desk well after the business was done. It could have been an invitation to watch grass grow for all the explanation that was offered, except for "it hurts business."
It was a slap in the face to Chade's city underboss. Andrew knows it, I know it. Chade knew it and so did Whiskey. And quite frankly it pissed me off.
I'm not just angry about a member of my family being so casually discarded. People were shot before a list was ever finalized. Names were brought up for discussion and quickly disposed of. One person's voice could carry weight over an entire 'committee'. It was a veritable Red Scare and bullets few before the Queen could finish saying "Off with their heads!" Individuals were lumped in with their bloodlines, sometimes without regard for trying to play it straight and separate themselves from what their ancestors had done.
And when I came back and saw what had happened, I took it in.
It doesn't matter what's happened now, and what apologies have been made by others. What happened happened and can't be redone. People can't be resurrected, and there's a time limit on doing the right and respectful thing to people in your city.
I was angry, but I took time to think about everything. Today,I was still enraged. But this didn't happen in just one meeting, folks. It's been happening for a long time.
If I was to shoot the person I am most incensed at, I'd turn the gun on myself. I saw where things were going, and I sat idly by. I let it happen. I sat and lamented in the coffeeshops about how I felt things were declining but didn't do a goddamned thing to change direction.
I used futility as an excuse.
I thought that someone else would stand up and make a change because I know what my limits are. The most I could hope to be is an annoying mosquito. I just hope that by this bite, some people stop to scratch.
This isn't a call to arms. This can be ignored by everyone. I'm not making this speech to incite anyone, anger anyone, or appease anyone. I'm doing it to make a statement for no one else but me. That statement is I can no longer stand with the leadership of a city who can't stand up for themselves and follow them blindly. Personally, I'm tired of rolling over. I'm tired of saying "Yes sir, may I have another?" like a doe-eyed sycophant. It probably won't be much of one, but I'll be holding my own meeting in the halls of the headquarters where I serve.
So I'll be standing with my crew leader, apart from the policies that I'm ashamed many 'leaders' from Las Vegas were privy to making.
They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That's hardly true. But I know, for me at least, what happens in Vegas will end here. Anyone who was on the 'leader initiated' ban list before, regardless of the outcome of today's conference, is more than welcome in the Fremont Street Experience.
And come what may, here's to hoping they serve Dr Pepper in hell. |