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| Friends, Romans, Countrymen. | Started by: Branston on Sep 16, '08 08:23 |
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Lend me your ears! I come to bury OhCrap, not to praise him; The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with OhCrap ... The noble FlyingPig Hath told you OhCrap was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath OhCrap answered it. Well, if we're honest; nobody called OhCrap ambitious, but it was too good an opportunity not to bastardise a nice bit of Shakespeare. You see, just as Shakespeare portrayed Mark Anthony as a man blind of Caesar's faults, it seems the community at large is guilty of the same when it comes to OhCrap. Don't get me wrong, OhCrap and his bloodline have been close friends to mine since the very first member of my family stepped foot onto these shores, and I would never dream of denouncing him as scum for one foolish act. And bar one or two exceptions, the community has shared my views. As I sat at the back of St. Patrick's Cathedral listening to people saying their last goodbyes, I was surprised at the amicability I heard. I had steeled myself for entering and hearing people whispering about my old friend being a traitor and so on; but instead I was given the sadness and regret of the masses. Then I started wondering why this is. Is it right that a lifetime, or sometimes several lifetimes, of upstanding behaviour in the mob excuses one from the harshest judgements? That the deviation from the path of loyalty to the road of selfishness can be brushed under the carpet? Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I look at the records from Zulo's funeral mass and all I here are snarled mutterings of this that and the other. "Zulo deserved it", I hear you cry, "He scorned one too many chances!" Undoubtedly he did, and the abuse his bloodline received in the coffeeshops over this matter was certainly warranted. So why not so with OhCrap? (Incidentally, whilst I'm focusing my attention on OhCrap here, he is really representing the established bloodlines as a whole) So why would this not be so with, say, FlyingPig/Domino/Primal or any other established family line who decides to rogue? Would they receive a judgement so harsh as Zulo's, whose bloodline have been repeated failures? I'm guessing that, no, and that the established players who have never really fallen foul of our most basic rules before will receive less criticism, and this leads me to my next question. Is that right? That the lack of previous fuck ups can absolve you, even partially, from sins of the present? Is it something to even be lauded, that we respect our elders to the extent that the older your bloodline is, the more immune you are to criticism? Or is this a dire fault in La Cosa Nostra? A foetid cancer that is eating away at our customs and traditions bit by bit? Will our inability to punish and denounce friends and those more ensconced in our thing prove to be our fatal flaw, just as with Julius Caesar in Roman times? Captivated masses, your thoughts please. |
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To sum up my view, forgive but don't forget. We live on the other side of the rules yet we create rules for ourselves. Breaking these rules can sometimes ensure the death sentences of those breaking these rules as well as future members of that bloodline. I do not know why OhCrap took the action he did. While his actions may not be considered acceptable it is completely understandable that he would take such action. If you knew you could get away with killing someone, I won't even ask who, how many would end up dead? We all have a few people in mind that we wouldn't mind helping to the grave. Going through with it involves a lot of risk and unfortunately for OhCrap; it caught up with him. This may stick with him forever. We all now know what he is capable of. Is it a bad thing? Not necessarily. You know what happens if you get on his bad side I guess. |
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| Reply by: NoDice at Sep 16, '08 08:48 | |
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The way OhCrap conducted his life was entirely different to how Zulo conducted his. Zulo didn't seek to make friends, merely to acquire rank for his own personal ends. OhCrap assisted people in any way he could, finding friends wherever he went. However, bloodlines is a large factor too. The amount of faith placed in him by Daera and the high ranks of The New Scum at the time was exceptional. It was a leap of faith on their part and he rewarded them by spitting in their faces. Also, Zulo actually bought out of the crew and set up, just so he could see himself in bold! OhCrap didn't bring that much attention to himself. He sought a quick exit, but not a quiet one and found both. |
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| Reply by: Denver at Sep 16, '08 09:26 | |
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| We lead two separate lives; the "coffee shops" (I hate that with a passion) and the here and now. You have to be disliked in both to be condemned for any ill deeds committed here. "Coffee shop" friendliness tends to supersede all else. It's just the way it is and I imagine always will be. | |
| Reply by: VagInATube at Sep 16, '08 11:44 | |
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| Any man who scorns friendship is a dog. Perhaps a warning should have been given befor he was whacked but it is not my place to make such choices | |
| Reply by: Grant_Allen at Sep 16, '08 11:59 | |
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A warning, Grant? For killing a Boss from the Java Cartel? You must be dreaming. To the contrary, he got off very easily. As a member of The New Scum, and its LHM, he was a representative of that family. In truth, he was the go-to guy at that time with the Boss and RHM being absent. His actions could have been seen as an act of war, since in his position he acted on behalf of his family. It is only due to the good relations between our two families that this did not happen. Had OhCrap been from a less friendly family, you could expect that my shot may have been aimed at someone a bit more notable...the CL, for example. As per the topic of this conversation, I do not treat gracefully those who show even the rare outburst of stupidity. Sure, someone like Clipper might receive more disdain than others, due to the inbreeding and failure of every generation, but if you are a fuck up, I will make sure to point it out, regardless of other noble deeds. In the case of OhCrap, he does have members of his ancestry that have forgotten that they were important family representatives when in such high positions. A certain rogue RHM of DickGozinya comes to mind. So, don't be so quick to express shock at this latest incident. Just because the man wore a friendly smile on the outside doesn't mean that he was not carrying a knife behind his back. |
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| Reply by: FlyingPig at Sep 16, '08 14:19 | |
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Hear ye, hear ye, I sing your praises for bringing this discussion to life, Branston. First, I'd like to pose a question, then follow with a simple man's thoughts. The question: What is everyone's thought of OhCrap's bloodline? Has his bloodline carried on a spotless record? Has his bloodline ever carried with it a little controversy? Has his bloodline ever been labeled whiners, cheats, or antagonists? Are there others in power or of rank that have these little "snafu's" attached to their pasts? Is your past spotless? And yet, time and time again we see the bloodlines of the ancients, and the famous, rise to power...rinse, repeat, yada yada. Is it that we forget past trespasses? Do we all deserve another one, two, five chances? Do we all receive the same treatment? Clipper's lineage has already been mentioned. But, am I too far off in pointing out that few of us are without past "faults"? So, for the most part I've seen this community choose to ignore these "faults" of the past when it comes to the ancient lineages. I'm not positive as to why, but this repeats itself too often to just be chalked up to a "once or twice kinda thing". Sure, I have my theories. My lineage has had them and shared them for years, picking up negative labels and being branded a(n) (insert word of choice here). So am I due my own city? Am I due leadership or any of those other things that everyone seems to want around here? Perhaps I don't visit the popular coffee shops enough. Do I not flaunt my identity to all the right people with each and every character? Maybe I don't nod my head with the masses during "important" speeches often enough. Why is it my lineage is shoved to the back, whilst others of equally questionable character quickly advance to the top? Simply put, we choose to forgive those bloodlines we like. Those we don't, feel free to join our crews and earn cash for us. It's the way of this world. It's the way it always has been, and no doubt the way it always will be. Right, wrong, it is what it is. |
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| Reply by: Hitch at Sep 16, '08 17:12 | |
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Clipper's betrayal hurt, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. I believe in giving people chances. This is the first real opportunity I've had, and I was determined not to let past biases weigh on my decisions of who to invite and who to promote. He had done everything asked of him and more, and then when he went rogue, I was disgusted, but unfortunately, not shocked. OhCrap... I trust Evsie implicitly. I had used him as a LHM and a RHM for as long as I had been a CL. He's been one of my bloodline's better friends for quite a long time, and to be perfectly honest, I had considered him a brother. This betrayal, and that's what it is, it's him turning around and stabbing me in the fucking back, is just... words can't express it. I've been so angry and so disgusted and so disappointed all day. What this means, frankly, is that I can't afford to give out chances anymore. I wanted to start with clean slates, and I've been fucked over three times now. There really is very little room in this world for trust, and that's a sad fucking thing. |
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| Reply by: Daera at Sep 16, '08 20:24 | |
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She stands in the streets, one of her most loyal members dead.... For what reason did this happen? One person was unhappy with his life of crime so instead of retiring or asking someone to assist in his suicide... Shit, instead of shooting himself.. He took the life of someone who was happy with his life, someone who had worked hard to get where he was. He took something that can never be given back. OhCrap was originally a member of this "one-time parent family" called The Java Cartel. Throughout the years our families have relied upon each other in times of stress, pain, and success. We have always been there for each other. But instead of taking the road of honour out, he dishonoured the friendship of Daera, he slapped him in the face by taking the life of Philosophical Psycho. Did OhCrap fuck up in the past? Yes, he did. He killed one of Alessia's inactive members by accident, and who was there sticking up for him? Me. Even though he had denounced all relations to The Java Cartel I still went to bat for him. He was still family to me. I respected him. I trusted him. I stuck my neck out for him. Would I do this for any other member of the Cartel or a family that came from the Cartel whom had earned my trust and respect? Hell yes I would. Blood is thicker than water after all. Why compare OhCrap to Clipper, Zulo, or whatever fucking name you should choose to call him by? They are two separate and totally different bloodlines with different morals and attitudes, most of the time. Thank god for that or it could have been worse. As angry as I am at OhCrap's bloodline I cannot bring myself to making such a comparison. However, I can honestly say that any future generations of his bloodline may not be given the same trust, respect, or my willingness to stick up for them. The one question that runs through my mind is whether or not OhCrap would have continued killing my family instead of just dying in peace? How far would he have taken this betrayal? One action can ruin so much.. This whole event saddens and angers me. So if you will excuse me, I shall retire to my office to throw darts at a picture of the local police commissioner and eat pounds of chocolate covered coffee beans. She snarls at those who get in her way and goes to mourn the loss of her friend and family member in the peace of her own office armed with her flask and a sack of her favourite coffee beans. |
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| Reply by: Iris at Sep 17, '08 00:23 | |
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