Good morning fellow sheep, and of course, our shepherd.   Instead of waiting in that long line to respond to Mr. El_Nino’s  speech,  I wanted to come over here to my own street corner and offer a sheep’s reply.  Yes, I am an attention whore.  Yes, my parents didn’t love me enough,  which is why I am that attention whore.  But anyway, I did want to take the opportunity to offer my rebuttal, as a sheep that I am.  I accept it, I own it, I live it.  Of course, I am a sheep, so take it for what’s it’s worth.  

So before I’m herded into my pen for the night, let’s begin.

I appreciate your words.  It definitely gives me insight into how you feel about the masses.  Obviously I don’t agree with you, and I’ll tell you why, but, again, the weight of my words is close to nill. 

You are correct when you say this is not a democracy.  It is ordered anarchy?  I’m not sure what that means other than there is some semblance of order.  The reason there is any order at all is because there is some give and take.  We give everything we have to our leaders, and they take it.  Ahahahaha.  I’m kidding.  We give what we have because they offer us something in return.  They offer us protection.  Promises are exchanged, and we all live happily ever after. At least for a while.   Can we at least acknowledge there is some give and take? 

And God forbid somebody take a stand for what’s right.  Are you really saying that? I would venture to say, if you asked them, that most Godfathers don’t want yes men.  They want to know when they’re overstepping, and when their policies suck.   Obviously, they can come to whatever conclusion they want, but I imagine even  the top dog wants the input from the crewleaders he appointed, they want input from their most trusted members, and those trusted members seek the input of their family.  

Why should leaders care about what’s right and wrong?  Hmm…probably because that’s what a leader does.  That’s why he/she is a leader.   And when leaders do right, people want to follow that particular leader.  And when a leader does wrong, they are likely to live a lonely existence in this world of competitive recruiting.   Not many of us want to follow a leader who doesn’t have our back, whether this is a democracy or not.

About those rules – yeah, there are rules.  And yes, we are expected to follow them. And when we do follow them, it’s nice to know we’ll be rewarded.  And I don’t mean with a bullet to the head.  I mean with a place to stay and the protection of our family and our city.

So, thank you for the guidance, and now let me offer some of my own.  Point by point.

Point 1: Yep, private messages should remain private.  But don’t look now, there may be some Godfathers out there that want those private messages to become public.  So, don’t come down on those who  disseminate that information too harshly, their Godfathers may not like you too much.   I venture to say even the top guns have relied upon some of that once private information to protect their cities. 

Point 2: Not much to say here.  I agree.   Follow your leader. 

Point 3: For some,  rules don’t count.  Okay.  That’s true.  But see above.  Here I’d mention that respect is an interesting concept.  If you don’t respect your members, you’re probably not going to keep them.  Again, this is a brave new world.  Leaders need people.  People have a lot of choices.  The next generation  will likely go elsewhere if their leaders spit on them constantly.    So, it’s true that for some, the rules don’t apply.   But – as a crewleader, you may still want to consider them when dealing with your family.

Rule 4: I think you definitely have to tread lightly when coming to the streets.  But let’s not walk on egg shells.  If somebody says they don’t mean to offend, they may very well not intend to offend. Shocking as that sounds .  They may be aware that their speech may offend some, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s their intention.  Perhaps their intention is simply to speak the truth.  Unfortunately, the truth does tend to offend sometimes.   I think some people have thin skin.  And I also think we should be encouraging debate, and a street presence, and not threatening people with death if they dare to come to the streets and upset people.  If you come out here and are respectful, then what topics should be off limits?  I’m sure there are some.  But not many.   As for proper English…meh, I don’t care how people sound.  As long as they take the time to prepare a thoughtful speech or response, I’m happy.

And, Rule 5: Bahahahahahaha.  I love this one.   So, right.   But this rule is totally imcomplete.  Should say:

“You work for your family.

If you are not earning, not contributing why oh why should your family continue to keep you. Keep that in mind for future reference.” …

… And even if you do all these things, your family still reserves the right to kill you  no matter what, because, after all, you are a sheep and I can just as easily replace you with a robot.

Shouldn’t that be the complete rule?  I mean, we are sheep.  We can’t think for ourselves.  Or at least we shouldn’t.  Right? 

Finally, Point 6:  This is what I like to call the loyalty rule.  I agree.  Be loyal to your family.   Hopefully your family will be loyal to you too.  But, obviously, that’s not necessary.  But it would be nice, right?  I mean, as a crewleader you do promise your crew you’ll be loyal to them, right?  You demand their loyalty, but isn’t it a two way street?  Same issue – you need those people.  You want those people in your crew, how do you get them there?  Well, you promise them a home, protection, and that you’ll be loyal to them as long as they’ll be loyal to you.   That give and take stuff again.  Otherwise, you just sit lonely in that ivory tower.  Don’t you think? 

Ah, but that’s all I have.  I appreciate getting the opportunity to speak to the masses.  I am ready to be herded to my pen for the night.  But that’s not your job Nino, that’s Duke’s job.  He’s my shepherd.  You, my friend, are just another sheep, like the rest of us who don’t make the rules, but follow them.  But don’t worry, there’s a spot here in my pen next to me. 

I like your style, Whatchamacallit. Do you mind if I call you What? No worries, if you don't like it, don't worry, you're just a sheep anyway. A sheep that's run out of the pen for a moment. Baaaaaaaaaad sheep.

This is a great topic, and one that should be listened to, perhaps more from the sheep's point of view rather than the shepherd's. We get enough of the shepherds trying to fleece the little guy, that it's time we stopped letting the wool be pulled over our eyes and see things as they really are.

Point 1.

A private message is....

Well guess what the clue is in the statement. Fucking private don't publish it don't come to the streets spewing them it just makes you look like a fucking tard.

Not only are there sheep running loose from the pens, but they're TARD sheep. Tard sheep that go out an announce private business. It would seem to go against the tenets of Omertà, right? Except that Omertà is a solidarity of the mafia world to keep mum in the face of the authorities. You wouldn't sell out your worst enemy to the boys in blue, not even if it meant proving your innocence.

But none of us are boys in blue and business is business. We all live in families where we're to report any information that could disrupt our way of life to our leaders. It's a dog eat dog world, or in this case, sheep eat sheep, and sometimes that's the example our shepherds set for us. I can't tell you how many times I've seen "I have the logs" or "Show me the mail" by our shepherds in the coffeeshops. It's one of those subjective rules. It's okay to loud out people, publicly or privately, as long as it helps your side.

Point 2.

What your leaders say goes.

If the Godfathers say that in all funerals you should only say "That person licked pussy" then guess what, that is what you should be saying in the fucking funeral. Ditto if they say "You do not visit the funeral of a rogue" You don't visit it. I don't care if they were your brother, sister, fuck buddy or second cousin twice removed. The person pissed on the honour the family gave him, they are bad for business they cause death, destruction they hurt profits. THEY ARE BAD FOR BUSINESS.

Perhaps this point should have been titled "When it comes to funerals, what your leaders say goes." Otherwise, this could be a very, very dangerous point indeed. Being a sheep is one thing. Being a lemming is just irresponsible.

Point 3

We have rules but for some they don't count.

This has clearly come as a shock to some of you but there are people who are above the rules, they lead our cities and as such they can pretty much do whatever the fuck they like.

This is one hundred percent the gospel truth. The leaders can and should do whatever the fuck they like. And when they do, and find themselves with about 2 loyal members and a handful of drones, perhaps they'll realize that a lack of a certain amount of quid pro quo was a baaaaaaaaaaad idea.

No one's asking for the shepherds to personally suckle their members. But even in a life of crime, you lead by example. If you're a money grubbing, stab a lamb in the back kind of guy, don't expect a whole flock to come to your aid.

Point 4

When you come to the streets.

There are a few simple rules to follow on street talking, possibly controversial but hey ho.

The words "I dont mean to upset anyone but" you clearly intend to upset someone

Speak to yourself, speak to a friend but think as you say the words will they upset someone further up the food chain. If there is a chance they will then you are probably on a one way ticket to the cement factory.

We don't all speak perfect english, some won't pause for breath, some will mutter words which sound not quite like they should. Picking on these people is neither big or clever.

I'm not sure if how someone says something is as important as what they say, unless your name is Kuklinski, then it only matters if your lips are moving. Problem is, what's the point of coming to the streets anymore? The word respect is so arbitrary that we're so worried about upsetting people that no one says what they really feel anymore. And when they do, they get a bullet for a rebuttal. With a very few exceptions, the same shepherds who want to see a revitalization of the streets are the ones who are simultaneously calling for the silence of the lambs. Of course, I don't mean to upset anyone by this.

Point 5

You work for your family.

If you are not earning, not contributing why oh why should your family continue to keep you. Keep that in mind for future reference.

I may have missed the baaaaaaaaaaall on this one, but I don't know if there's been a lot of crying out for more vacation days and a lighter work schedule. I could be wrong though. I don't get out of the pen much.

Point 6

The last point for me to make.

We all have friends, and they are linked to blood lines, coffee shops and various other strange connections. However your first, last and final loyalty is to your family. I don't care if Katarina has popped a cap in the ass of your best friend because Roman felt like asking her to. The injustice you feel is irrelevant. Swallow your pride, push the injustice to the back of your mind, smile and get on with things because that is exactly what best benefits your family.

Truth, friend. Truth. Recently the topic of the baaaaaaaaaaaaan list caused a minor hiccup in the standard operation of this thing of ours. Yeah, many were pissed that they were put on the ban list, and many friends of those on the ban list were understandably outraged. But I think the majority of the outrage was focused on so many supposed shepherds turning into sheep themselves and following orders without realizing they had a flock to protect and they ran their own pens.

But in, that's alright. There are men (and women) who will be remembered as sheep, and those who will be remembered as shepherds. It just seems that the sheep get out of the pen a lot more than the herders do.

And i believe that is what you call 'pwnd'

baahhhhhhhhh