Gentlemen, ladies, my fellow mafioso...

I come to you today with something that has been niggling at me for quite some time. As I preluded my speech, I mentioned 'bad parenting'. What exactly do I mean by this?

Throughout the annals of history, all the excerpts and extracts of notebooks, diaries and even word of mouth have always had cases where a son or daughter comes to the streets to "say their piece" on behalf of their parent. This usually involves some sort of sycophantic speech about how their mother/father were loyal and trustworthy mobsters, which then evolves either into inane drivel where most mobsters jump on the person making the speech and said speech-maker then proceeds to meet their timely demise (be it by their own hands or someone else's) or a slanging match between a small group of people (occassionally a large group), some who see the speech-makers point of view, most who don't. It all gets rather catty and tempers flare.

The majority of them rarely end with cool heads prevailing. It is frequently left to a Hand/CL/GF to make a decision and end the life of one or more of their members and yet more micro-management is needed.

Personally, I think it's high time some mobsters started teaching their children right NOW. We're supposed to live by a code and the vast majority of us are doing it right now... so bend your son or daughter's ear, make them promise they won't come out like a seal with a megaphone, whining into the far reaches of space.

Also ensure they're not going to act like a spoilt child and start using their hide and seek skills to mildly irritate people by shooting the weakest bodyguards they can... you know, the ones with limbs already missing.

If you can live by the code, your children should be well capable of it. If you can't even teach your own offspring respect, what hope do you have in this world?

Even the most well behaved children throw temper tantrums at times. I really don't think it has anything to do with good or bad parenting. It is human nature to become upset when one does not receive what they want. Besides what fun would this world be if every single person was on their best behavior at all times? Unless you can remove all emotion from each and every individual, there will always be temper tantrums and acting out, no matter how well we teach our offspring.

Teach our children respect? Respect for what? Respect for whom? Respect for an organization or a person who kills me? Yeah sure, that conversation would be epic 'Listen up, kid. This guy is going to shoot me. I don't want you to get pissed in the least. After all, it isn't like my existence means anything to you, right?'

heh. There is no code. This is the mafia. People are all not going to hold hands and sing around a campfire. People will get angry, people will grow resentful and bitter, people will stab their friends and Family in the back, people will come out and scream about the injustice done to their personal relatives. It's not that they do not posses respect. They just, obviously, don't think you're worthy of it.

Even if you can't manage to teach your children respect, surely you can manage to give them a dose of common sense and decency.

Surely it's better to explain the nature of this way of life and the likely consequences or choice to live this way will bring, and to teach our children to accept our deaths, try to understand the reasoning instead of just going out and crying, kicking and screaming over it, and to make the best of their own life, be it in this world or be it in others.

When you fail to teach your children to accept things, surely you merely set them up to die? Yes, the death of a parent is upsetting, and not kicking up a fuss doesn't mean that their life meant any less to you as their child, but if none of us could at least keep our mouths shut and work through losing them, none of us would be here now. This way of life could not exist if we were all too busy mourning the people we lose along the way. Death is a part of life for us. Crying and screaming about it in public is mostly going to end in another death itself.

This isn't about avenging parents down the line or maybe being left unable to trust a particular bloodline after certain transgressions, this is about senseless kicking and screaming on the streets.

We're supposed to live by a code and the vast majority of us are doing it right now...so bend your son or daughter's ear, make them promise they won't come out like a seal with a megaphone, whining into the far reaches of space.

I would like to believe there are 3 different reasons why some people live by the code:

1. Some people live by the code to simply keep their asses alive.
2. Some people actually believe in the code so they live and die by it.
3. Some people live by the code to merely preserve their bloodline's reputation.

So lets focus on (1). After these individuals (or parents) die, this code is irreverent to their children since they have nothing to lose - causing a commotion in the streets as you mentioned in your speech. But honestly, I enjoy every second of it and hope it never stops! It offers a good change up from the usual routine of our every day lives.

Well.... firstly, Ziva this speech isn't about just the people kicking and screaming in The Streets...

Also ensure they're not going to act like a spoilt child and start using their hide and seek skills to mildly irritate people by shooting the weakest bodyguards they can... you know, the ones with limbs already missing.

BG stealthing. Something quite a few disgruntled youngsters have turned to these days and something disgruntled youngsters will continue to turn to unless of course, The Gods stop them from it. So, I think we've established that this isn't just about people moaning and bitching in the Streets.

 Even if you can't manage to teach your children respect, surely you can manage to give them a dose of common sense and decency.

Common sense. Sure? Decency? Nah. I wouldn't want to raise a runt who apologizes to the old women he steals purses from. Sure, an over-all sense of decency where his life as a mobster is concerned but never a classical sense of the same.

Now, onto the other points. I am not saying that children shouldn't accept their parents passing. All I am saying is that sometimes it is quite hard to over look a few actions. Lets take for instance, ThomasAnderson a member of the Late Detroit crime syndicate, The Space Outlaws, who during the recent BIG war decided to change side, a decision which those 'not in the know' thought of as purely motivated by a need to live. Now then.... what happened immediately afterward? IRC Avenue and The Streets exploded with statements of how much of a traitor this man was. These statements were repeated by men and women belonging to very respectable bloodlines. Of course, they weren't the ones who had died fighting(which would be odd, cuz they.. you know.. died) but their children and in some cases, their children's children.

Now to say that these young men and women weren't brought up with a sense of all the aforementioned qualities, including decency would be laughable at best but the way they acted was something that would, according to Orithyia reeks of 'bad-parenting' and a 'lack of respect' . No, not really. Well, at least in my opinion, it speaks of people who have taken the death of an immediate relative very seriously but lack the conviction to bring about a terrible revenge or possess knowledge which tells them that they will never be able to exact aforementioned revenge. Therefore, the only way out is..... ta da! Screaming on the Streets. It's not that everyone wants to come scream on the Streets. It's just that most people have no other avenue to express frustration.

Just my two cents.

Well.... firstly, Ziva this speech isn't about just the people kicking and screaming in The Streets...

Please, tell me where I said that the speech originally made was purely about that. My response was, but show me where I said the speech was. I actually said at the end of my response that my objection is not to people avenging their parents how they see fit down the line, it is about people kicking and screaming like infants who've thrown their toys out the pram.

Common sense. Sure? Decency? Nah. I wouldn't want to raise a runt who apologizes to the old women he steals purses from. Sure, an over-all sense of decency where his life as a mobster is concerned but never a classical sense of the same.

If someone suggested you take a dose of medicine, would you down the entire bottle? I certainly hope not. Again, I didn't refer to an all encompassing pussification of our way of life, where we do stop and say sorry after every single move, but I don't think that teaching our children to not embarrass themselves publicly with theatrics about who killed who's parents is anywhere CLOSE to asking for a classical sense of decency where we do stop and say sorry after every move.

Well let's face it, anytime anyone says anything about his father (or mother) getting wacked he's called a whiner, he's butt-hurt, he should get over it, and so on. My boy looks up to me as much as I looked up to my father. When I'm dead I doubt he;s just going to get over it. Death isn't always easy. People wanna to talk, debate, and argue, let them. If all of us didn't talk about topics everyone else dislikes these streets of ours would be dead, we don't want that now, do we? 

Sure, apologizing for everything they do is nowhere CLOSE to a classical sense of decency and I think I agreed with you there by saying I wouldn't want my offspring to have a classical sense of decency. Again, considering as your response was (partially, at least?) a response to what I had said, I assumed you meant everything being discussed here was people bitching and moaning in the Streets.

I do wish you would direct your attention to exactly what I was trying to say. It is not possible to teach your children to stay calm, at all times. Sure, a few bloodlines will stay calm and carry on, no matter what but eventually there comes a tipping point, a tipping point which when crossed would lead to aforementioned bloodline crying, roguing, bg stealthing etc etc. Things which the majority of us feel are 'indecent' and 'disrespectful'.

There is no code in the mafia McLuvin? Are you serious?

If your blood has not witnessed it then perhaps they have been living in a cave. Just because there are instances here which show that people do not stick to it, does not mean there is no code.

Are you really trying to tell me you haven't sworn an oath/signed rules towards your boss, Finnick? That is part of our code. I think every member of our world goes through that process. I'm not sure you'd still be standing if Finnick hadn't been re-assured by you in some way that would you would tow the line.

Well, you never know. I just might be the first of my kith and kin to abandon our lives in the caves hunting lions  and chosen to descend among you 'civilized', 'decent' and 'respectful' mobsters. 

Perhaps my phrasing was too simple for you. Allow me to elaborate. When I said there is no 'code', I implied that there is no right or wrong way to go about this life. There are rules. Rules to which you keep if you don't have the ability(or the contacts) to help you ignore, bend or even, on rare occasion break. A 'code' of honourable living, seems childish fantasy to me. We are not knights sitting around a round table. We are not samurai defending the honour of our lord. We are mafioso. This 'code' is just what the majority of us adhere to and quite obviously, at least from this speech, expect everyone else to adhere to as well.

Allow me to show you the contradictions in your reply as it may be too simple for you understand...

"I implied that there is no right or wrong way to go about this life. There are rules. Rules to which you keep if you don't have the ability(or the contacts) to help you ignore, bend or even, on rare occasion break. A 'code' of honourable living, seems childish fantasy to me."

If there are rules, then there is quite clearly a right way.

If as you say, the majority of us adhere to the code then why shouldn't we expect our children to? Because they had to deal with our deaths? Didn't we have to deal with our mother/father's deaths and manage not to turn into a whiny sycophant?

I'm confident that your bloodline would never come out and whine about their parents death, McLuvin. They might have a wee gripe in the coffeeshops, but that place is not part of this world and I'm pretty sure your son won't cry about what happens to you out here. So I'm not sure what you don't expect the mutual respect from others to not do it too? Is it because since your blood has been part of this world it has happened time and again and you're just used to it so have come to accept it?

Allow me to show you the contradictions in your reply as it may be too simple for you understand...

If there are rules, then there is quite clearly a right way.

I see no contradictions. Allow me to expand again :D

Rules don't specify a right way to go about things. They just specify a way to go about things and avoiding reprisals. 'Rules' are your crew leader's/Godfather's/Godfather council's definition of right. There was a time when shooting of MIAs spawned by another hitter was considered normal and even encouraged as it saved you money. Along came Gwarble(I think, my memory is starting to get rather shitty) and boom! the 10 minute rule was born and now shooting an MIA within the aforementioned time is considered a gross breach of the 'code' and the 'rules' we are expected to live by. 

Basically what I am trying to say is.. rules are in no way permanent and neither is the codes we live by. Odin, Frank, Sticks,LF, Petrov and Severe could come out tomorrow and decree that the Made button would be granted only to those who have at least one thread in the  Streets crying about the death of their father/mother and then this would be accepted as part of the code by all of us. Sure, there would be a lot of dissent and quite a few people, myself included, would call it idiocy. However, it would be part of the rules and part of the code. What was once wrong.... would become right. 

Power dictates everything in this world. Everything. You might have gotten that power by virtue of your gun, by virtue of your contacts, by virtue of your otherworldly bank account, or even by virtue of flashing some skin which motivated people to share their other worldly bank account with you. Doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that a person possesses power over others in this world and he/she is exercising it. If I was powerful enough, I wouldn't give a rats arse about rules. I would shoot anyone I wanted. I would pickpocket anyone I wanted. I would bloodline anyone I wanted. 'Specially that cunt NiNe. He sucks.( Had to do that, soz).

If as you say, the majority of us adhere to the code then why shouldn't we expect our children to? Because they had to deal with our deaths? Didn't we have to deal with our mother/father's deaths and manage not to turn into a whiny sycophant?

The circumstances surrounding every single death is unique. Now, as you so kindly mentioned, my bloodline is not one to come to the Streets and bitch about it. We usually take it on the chin and move on to our own endeavors. However, as I contemplated this statement, I realized something. Nobody WANTS to bitch about their parent's death. At least, no one I have met and no one my bloodline has met. They bitch about it in the heat of the moment. We have all had those little moments when a vein pops in our head and we see red..... Those people just choose to mouth off before the get their heads removed.  Now lets create a hypothetical. Lets assume that I have been charged by Arrow, a member of my Family's upper structure and a member of a bloodline I quite enjoy working with, to kill a certain person... I do it. Two seconds later, she shoots me in the face, calls it an unauthed shot, pronounces me a rogue and moves on. I am not really sure what my son's mindset would be at that point. He might just laugh about it, call me a schmuck and get into another Family. Or... he might choose to come to the Streets and mouth Arrow off. Call her a filthy whore and what-not. Accuse her of whoring herself out on Skype corner etc etc.. the usual drivel. Now if I was a member of 'Intentionally Left Blank' and you had done the same thing to me.. my son would have rolled on the floor laughing, called me a moron and moved on.. primarily because I don't really know you that well. However, Arrow is a friend. My son would feel betrayed and he would scream like a whiny sycophant because in the heat of the moment he(lets hope it's a he. Don't have it in me to raise a girl) can't see another way out and he feels like his father was betrayed by someone he trusted.

  So I'm not sure what you don't expect the mutual respect from others to not do it too? Is it because since your blood has been part of this world it has happened time and again and you're just used to it so have come to accept it?

I don't expect it from everyone because of the reasons I have mentioned above. Every death is unique. I cannot presume to understand what is going on in the mind of the child whose parent was shot down. I find it a mildly repulsive and wildly entertaining practice. 

My sincere apologies. I seem to have spoken the names of the bloodlines, rather than the actual people 

 I meant to say

 Cpt-Harris, Frank_Sinatra, QuintenTarantino,LadyFighter, Paul_Klint and Lex_Luthor could come out tomorrow and decree that the Made button would be granted only to those who have at least one thread in the  Streets crying about the death of their father/mother and then this would be accepted as part of the code by all of us.