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| The Way of the Mafioso | Started by: ProphetOfDeath on Nov 04, '08 01:55 |
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ProphetOfDeath strolls down the street, passing through each member of the crowded city corner to the soapbox politely. He climbs upon the soapbox with ease and stands before the listeners of the streets. Looking out upon the faces of those who have touched his life and those whose lives he wishes to touch. Well it is hard time that we sit down and seriously discuss our world's view on ways of our fathers. Why they are important, why some think they are not. Few are willing to openly admit to the lack of our virtues in today's world. Especially those who are the grand offenders of The Way. I think we all need to take a step back and look upon our beliefs in the four pillars. If anything to remind ourselves and to teach our young The Way. What our fathers expected for people in their time and what many of us still hold true to our hearts. And while every generation sees change, these are rules to live by that should remain as their name implies. Four stone pillars that built our great organization. Four laws by which we turn from ordinary thugs into something truly extraordinary. My bloodline have been following them closely since many generations ago my lineage was taught in the ways by the leaders of that day. And it is in their memory that I pass on the teachings of the greats lost. And while I know many of you will say how you believe in these as well, to you I must ask - do you practice what you preach? For all of you who may be wondering what this whole thing is about I would like to take this moment to lay the cards down on the table and explain what I mean by all of this cryptic tongue vocabulary that we have developed over the years from our ancestors. These are the four pillars. This is The Way to live as a true mafioso. ProphetOfDeath pulls out a large writing pen and a stick for him to point at the things on the paper. He pulls down the first page to display the following words: Onore (Hono(u)r) A concept that many have seemed to have forgotten. Many have dropped living by a code of honour simply because it is far easier not to. You cannot live by honour part time. Wars have spilled out into the streets only because of a disagreement that could have been dealt with diplomacy. War is a necessary element of our world, but war without purpose, war without a honourable cause is against the way of the mafioso. We are not here to bully each other into submission, we are here to work together and grow. When things don't work out as they often do, it would do our fathers proud to fight over an ideal or a belief worth fighting for. Live by the gun, die by the gun, but for God's sake - do it with dignity and honour. Looking out to the crowd, he flips to the next page. Famigilia (Family) Most of us have this one down, but there are still those who float from family to family. While if you are a lower ranked mafioso and your family is ended, by all means seek refuge with an ally. However if you are part of an upper structure or a high rank within your family, it is essentially your duty to live and die with that family. There are some who don't believe in this, but in my family - unless you are going to help an ally set up, you don't leave unless it is through a speech said by God with tears and Rest in Peace grievances. You get the point. The family should be the center of your attention regardless of your place in it. So many of us are out there for ourselves and that is not the way it is meant to be. You aren't in a family to progress yourself, you are in a family to enrich the family and become a better mafioso. This pillar also puts forth that you work for your family and your family alone. The next page, this time with a serious look on his face. Omerta (Family Business is just that, the family's business) Many of us like to air out our dirty laundry in the streets. And while it is acceptable for a leader to come to the streets and do just that, it is not a good thing to do it in his or her stead. If you are privy to family information you should keep your lips closed to those outside the family. Hell, if you are privy to information, you may not want to even tell family members without permission. Trust me, this never fails. Omerta is extremely important for one's honour and one's survival. Failure to follow this one breaks essentially every rule in the four pillars. He flips to the final page. Sangue (Live for the family, Die for the family) This ties closely in with Famigilia. When war does strike into the lands and your family is a part of it, you should do to the best of your abilities and as warranted by your superiors, to protect your family. Giving your life if need be. Many still follow this rule, but it is important to mention none the less. Jumping ship just proves one thing- that you cannot be trusted. The person who takes you in is either a fool, wants a free target, or is using you. Don't let your loyalty waiver in times of uncertainty. You have but one life to live, would you not want to be remembered as the man or woman who stood their ground till the very end? After speaking his words, ProphetOfDeath looks upon the crowd's faces. Hoping to remind those who have forgotten and to have reached those who have yet to learn. I turn this over to your discussion. Feel free to tell me if I said something you don't agree with, or something you would modify. This is my opinion. This is how I read the four pillars meaning. We are all entitled to our own opinion- I just hope to give a burst of thought into these great times that we have set before us. Raising a glass of wine. To Life! Drinks from his glass, before stepping down from the soap box. He steps to the side to hear what others may have to say on the matter. |
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Phantom_Ghost approaches at the beginning, and listens with intent. A post long overdue my brother. A good read even for the most experienced and hardened of mafioso. I respect you highly ProphetOfDeath. Phantom_Ghost disappears. |
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| Reply by: Phantom_Ghost at Nov 04, '08 02:00 | |
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Briana cranes her head at precisely a 32 degree angle to better hear the conversation. In your opinion, do you feel these same rules apply to sailors? We live by The Friendship Code on the HMS Friend Ship and I wish to supplement their teachings with a few of yours as well. Briana blends in with the shadows and is gone |
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| Reply by: Briana_Arao at Nov 04, '08 02:17 | |
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Turning toward Briana_Arao, delighted to see her. I would indeed venture to say that these are great ideals to live by regardless of profession. |
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| Reply by: ProphetOfDeath at Nov 04, '08 02:22 | |
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An anxious young man listens to the speech...trying to pick up some tips Bravo Bravo!!! Great speech. Def some thing worth thinking about in todays world. Walks off into the shadows |
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| Reply by: Tither at Nov 04, '08 03:13 | |
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| Indeed, a great speech The 4 pillars are the way a mafioso should live by But be forewarned those of you new to our way of life, they pertain to family much more then to friends in many ways so be careful who you give that loyalty to, always be respectful and honourable in your actions as it reflects on your family. | |
| Reply by: Alessia` at Nov 04, '08 05:26 | |
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| When my bloodline first came to these shores, a young man by the name of Sal_Giaquinto taught me these guidelines. From that point on, I was able to truly understand the way of The Famiglia. So, I would say, this small, but incredibly useful information should be placed into our bible. In that way, all the newcomers have complete access to it. | |
| Reply by: Zishla at Nov 04, '08 07:53 | |
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As I was listening to your speech, ProphetofDeath, one phrase in particular stood out to me. "Live by the gun, die by the gun, but for God's sake - do it with dignity and honour." While the four pillars you speak of are undoubtedly important, I feel that as a community, one thing that is lacking is dignity. Too often, we see simple discussions devolve into whining and mudslinging over some tangential point. How many times have we seen someone throw a temper tantrum (either in the streets or in the IRC coffee shops) because they were killed? As mafioso, we must remember that we are role models. The community at large must look up to us. If we are not worthy of their respect, why should they follow us? Handling oneself in a dignified manner is one of the most essential aspects of this life. Never should people see our feathers ruffled so to speak. To my mind, dignified should be one of the first adjectives that should come to mind when describing the public persona of a mafioso. |
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| Reply by: Azuela at Nov 04, '08 09:46 | |
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Alessia, they don't pertain "much more" to family than to friends. They pertain ONLY to family, and in more than "many ways", but in ALL ways. Friends are just friends. They don't mean anything when it comes to business. I feel this should be made clear. The way you phrase it, one should consider loyalties to friends when making business decisions. Every great hitman knows that the best trigger man for the job is the victim's best friend. Since I'm correcting people, I might as well continue on. Azuela, your comments really left me scratching my head... What community are you speaking of? There is a community in Los Angeles, but the only reason I have concern for them is to extort money from them. Unless, by "community", you are referring to the international crime racket of La Cosa Nostra. I think "society" is a better word for us, if you are going to use any misnomer at all. Then you talk about people whining over being killed? Heh, not with my victims. I guarantee that everyone I've ever killed has been 100% d-e-a-d. I even kick them a few times to be sure. No whining coming from them! Then you go on to say we are role models! Maybe for little Scarface Jr, but not for the average Joe. At least I would think. I don't think the average mom wants their kid to use a mobster as a role model, but who knows. Times are strange. Then, there you go with "community" again. Just stop that, you and everyone else. "If we are not worthy of their respect, then why should they follow us?" Huge fucking sigh, man. Because YOU ARE THEIR FUCKING BOSS AND WILL SINK THEM TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN IF THEY GET OUT OF LINE! You seem to have the whole "respect" thing ass-backwards. The Boss does not need to earn anyone's respect. It is the mobster who is trying to move up in the world who must earn the respect of the Boss. And before any of you say "respect is a two-way street", just shut the fuck up. It is not. The only reason you say that is because it is a catchy phrase. That does not make it true. If you want to move up and stay alive, you had better earn the respect of those above you. The Boss, however, does NOT need to earn the respect of some Thug. Oh, the Thug doesn't respect the Boss? Boo fucking hoo. Shoot him in the head and feed him to the fishes. Problem solved. |
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| Reply by: Hi at Nov 04, '08 11:24 | |
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| Friends are everything on the HMS Friend Ship. They are also family. It is a great situation. | |
| Reply by: Hugzilla at Nov 04, '08 11:31 | |
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| i agree | |
| Reply by: fighter at Nov 04, '08 12:05 | |
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| Excellent input and let me just congratulate you on a beautiful quote. | |
| Reply by: Hugzilla at Nov 04, '08 12:10 | |
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| That is my prize pupil you are addressing, Hugzilla. I am teaching him myself. You could learn much from him. | |
| Reply by: Hi at Nov 04, '08 14:26 | |
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| Nothing important unf. | |
| Reply by: Hugzilla at Nov 04, '08 14:36 | |
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Well Hi I will do my best to clear up any confusion. Let's start with my statement about our community that you had such a problem with. Here's what my dictionary has to say about a community, and about your term, a society. community: 1. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. 2. a locality inhabited by such a group. 3. a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars. society: 1. an organized group of persons associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. 2. a body of individuals living as members of a community; community. 3. a highly structured system of human organization for large-scale community living that normally furnishes protection, continuity, security, and a national identity for its members: American society. I do not see the need to systematically explain the similarities between the two terms. They are pretty obvious. This is a community (or society) any way you slice it. And yes, I was talking about the crime racket. Forgive me if that was not clear enough. Seeing as how everyone who would hear my previous speech is in the same line of work, I did not feel the need to clarify just who my audience was. Now on to people whining over being killed(a bit OOC, I'll give you that) but I think people understood what I was saying. I think we can all agree that losing your composure and making yourself look like a stark raving lunatic when your father or mother has been killed is hardly behavior that a mafioso should engage in. Ok, on to role models and respect. I truly believe that a crewleader should carry themselves in a certain manner, a dignified manner. I try to reflect that personal code, if you will, in everything I say and do. If I am going to wear the suit, I need to act the part. Surely we can agree that someone in a bold suit is held up to much more scrutiny than your average goomba. Most people here aspire to the bold suit. Some of the more impressionable members might just decide that I have it all figured out and they should adopt the same way of talking or acting that I do. I certainly would not want to lead them down a path that would end in there death. Besides that, who here is nae enough to believe that public opinion does not play a role in this thing of ours? If the community at large does not respect you, who is going to listen to you? Who is going to join you? Just a bunch of no talent assclowns who don't know their ass from a hole in a gun barrel. Your reputation is incredibly important in this community of ours. Look at how far you have gone to protect your own. What I meant by respect, was from the community as a whole not just some random thug. |
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| Reply by: Azuela at Nov 04, '08 20:39 | |
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Ok, so I suppose if you are going to use strict definitions, you could describe La Cosa Nostra as a community, but most people define words by their common usage, not their strict definition. The common usage of "community" is more akin to a "neighborhood" than to an international crime ring. About the whole respect thing...I suppose your views are valid for you, but they do not work for me. Your views could apply to a hypothetical Boss who is more fearful and, dare I say it, weak. No offense. My view of a decent Boss is a strong person who is able to demand the respect and loyalty of those around him, not simply to hope for it or strive to earn it in a genuine fashion. It is more important to be feared than respected in our lifestyle. I do not believe a STRONG leader gives a rat's ass about public opinion. Is a Boss someone who must pander to low ranked mobsters to get their approval? Of course not, as I'm sure you will agree, but to achieve the type of respect you believe is important, such pandering might be necessary. No, I believe a mob Boss is a strong individual who makes demands, and those demands will be followed out of fear of his power. A mob boss is not a politician. It does not matter if people like him or not, so long as they fear him and obey him. A mob Boss is subject to more scrutiny than a Goomba? Maybe, but what matters is who is doing the scrutinizing, right? The powerful will be scrutinizing the Goomba. The person who pays the Goomba will be scrutinizing the Goomba. The person who holds the Goomba's life in his hands will be scrutinizing the Goomba. Who will be scrutinizing the Boss? The people who work for him, and who should be asking "How high?" when he says "Jump!". The people who you ask "Who is going to listen to you", in other words. If I'm sitting on top of the criminal underworld, I will tell you who is going to listen to me. Everyfuckingbody. This is not a business for nice guys or for the weak. Power is a central tenet of La Cosa Nostra. Your views seem to ignore power, and replace it with being well-liked as a method of survival. |
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| Reply by: Hi at Nov 05, '08 01:05 | |
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It's best to loved and feared. A fashionable cocktail of your ideologies. But one should never break their back or expel too much energy to be loved, selling yourself in such a manner is a sign of weakness. In the same manner, one shouldn't go out of their way to be hated. You need a balance of behavior to ensure longevity and self-respect. |
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| Reply by: Revanchist at Nov 05, '08 03:31 | |
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Lights up a cigar. Listening to Hi's powerful words, ProphetOfDeath steps in. I agree to what you are saying. Although being well like can have its advantages, if you are a boss you should be feared as well. Face it, any mafioso that has ever attained some form of permanent status in our hearts and memories was probably feared more than respected, if not equally. It is a powerful tool that can not only make you seen as a strong leader, but chances are if you demand respect you are going to get a hell of a lot more. You are a boss, you shouldn't have to EARN respect. If you made it to this prestigious honour, you have already earned the respect of those who are most important to have the respect of. Anyone who joins your family or allies or enemies for that matter, should not take you in as Mr. Nice Guy(Although I certainly try to seem helpful for our young blood, I most certainly do not try to make myself out to be peaches and creme). Being someone's boss should not be a casual relationship, but that of a professional relationship. We do grow closer as a family, but we must make sure to place business first. Any mafioso who does not treat you with respect as your position of power dictates is already in direct violation of the four pillars. More so if they are in your family. I would indeed place more power in a word like society, not that I am going to say either word is wrong- I do say that one holds more weight than the other as far as the connotations are concerned. Societies tend to be more official. Societies tend to be more intertwined. Pausing a moment to let out a puff of smoke. And I do agree with a few points that you presented Master Azulea. The way our followers view us can directly impact several aspects of our life, such as the dynamics of one's own family. The Way we carry ourselves is a window into how we operate in our minds, and many can see that. As we are mafioso ourselves, we follow our path of virtues, and if our young follow in our footsteps then they are learning their place. We do not earn the respect of our followers, they either respect us and live, or disrespect us and die. It is harsh at times, but it is the way this thing of ours works. As my good friend Revanchist spoke it is important to have a mix, but not stress it too much. You shouldn't have to go out of your way to make people have a certain view of you. Your actions and words that the mafioso see should be well enough for them to get the idea. The ash on his cigar has almost engulfed the entire existence of said tobacco. He tosses it away into the street as sparks and embers fly off the tip. There is a certain order to all things, a balance if you will, that (if well maintained) can certainly make you ascend above other mafioso in your surroundings. And that balance is how feared and respected you are. With only one the balance will topple, but with the proper application of each the balance remains steady. |
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| Reply by: ProphetOfDeath at Nov 05, '08 03:42 | |
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