Strolling out into the streets, Professor Kates glances at herself in a storefront window. She'd wanted a nice title for her column and "Professor Kates" had a nice ring to it. The president of Wayne University had been very thankful for her donation and immediately granted her a dual professorship in Literature and History. Kates adjusted her glasses- her vision was perfect but the glass lenses and thin black wiring did help her look the part, along with the tightly pulled back bun for her dark hair. Her attire, which was usually glamorous and somewhat revealing, was somewhat conservative. The tan skirt and matching jacket gave her an academic air, but the extra open button button on her blouse gave notice that she was not entirely ready to be locked up in a library. Her shoes echo against the sidewalk of Main Street as she makes her way to one of its busiest spots. Noticing a small crowd, she brandishes a small sheet of paper.

After extensive research and observation, I've put together a checklist for people to consider before speaking in public. This has been sitting in my office for a week gathering dust, but after polishing it off I believe it's ready. If you have any additions, feel free to throw them out there!

Am I, instead of saying something original, merely piling on to the points of another? (Note: If you MUST pile on, make sure you keep it very brief.)

Is my speech made up of filler? (Note: Edit your work to be succinct and clear. Not only will more people read it, but it will almost always improve what you're trying to say)

Have I failed to put effort into what I'm saying with regards to the quality of the content and the presentation?

Is what I'm saying a violation of Omerta, both in the traditional sense of maintaining a code of silence with regards to authority and the more modern sense of refraining from discussing "the bloody business of the day" and other private business in a public setting?

Could what I'm saying reflect negatively on my family or myself in any way?

Can what I'm saying easily be misunderstood to reflect negatively on my family or myself in any way?

Am I conducting myself in a honorable fashion? (Note: People have varying standards of honor, but we do not generally carry ourselves like common thugs.)

Am I showing the proper respect for the Godfathers?

Am I showing the proper respect to my boss?

Am I showing the proper respect to any Made Man involved in said discussion?

Am I speaking within my station? (You should not be publicly taking a stance that opposes that of your superior, unless you are absolutely certain that the particular discussion is entirely academic in nature.)

How easy would it be for Butt_Ox to come out into the street and call me an idiot for what I just said? (Note: If likely, hold your tongue.)

Marietta walks up to the small crowd and grabs an extra copy of this fabled 'checklist'. After poring over it for several minutes she nods her head and smiles towards the Don.

"Thank you, Kates, for creating such a checklist as this. Recently I've noticed several disturbing acts of disrespect and just general lack of street speaking etiquette all around. If you do not mind, I would like to distribute this list around, to serve as a reminder and a learning guide for mobsters around the country. I think new, as well as old, Mafiosi could benefit from having something like this tucked away inside their inner coat pocket; something they can easily pull out and use to structure their responses to some street speeches and debates. I'm sure I'm not alone in those who think some things they have seen and heard lately have been shocking, to say the least."

Marietta steals the list and smiles broadly.

"Once more, many thanks, Miss."

The Hammer eases himself out of the shadows, materialising next to Kates, before whispering in her ear.

Forgive me, my lady, for asking a question?  I do not ask because I question your wisdom, which is clearly evident, but I do ask with a view to improving my own understanding, and hope you can spare the time to educate a lowly wiseguy like me.

Kates nod to Hammer to continue.

I do not know Mr Ox, well, but I had rather gather that if he merely refers to you as an "idiot", you have actually gotten off quite likely?  Indeed, Mr. Ox seems to have an uncanny ability for saying exactly what we are all thinking...especially when that someting ends in "ard", and begins in "ret"!

With a smile, Kates realises Hammer has done something quite rare (at least for him).  He has actually put his gun away long enough to try to crack a joke!  There is some polite laghter from some nameless goombas standing nearby...

...and somewhere, a loud, gruff voice can be heard muttering...

"Geez, what a retard..."

Fayth listens to the speech and nods in agreement and then a thought occurs to her

What about new players who do not realise if they trawl back a few pages they'll find the same kind of speech? Yes I realise this may be good to point it out to them but what about when this post is gone from the first page also? I dont want to seem like I'm being funny I'm just wondering if you had thought of this possiblility?

Fayth runs before Kates can beat her with her handbag remembering to check later

Hammer,

First, I don't know of anyone who needs forgiveness for asking a question. If you mean "quite lightly" regarding Don Ox, then yes. But my larger point is that, when you find someone whose opinion you respect it's good to anticipate what they might say about your comment before you speak it in the streets. I've not had many personally dealings with Don Ox, but I realized early on in my bloodline that he had an abundance of common sense and sense of appropriateness regarding this world. So if I was thinking of saying something and anticipated that Butt_Ox would be able to tear down what I would say, I just kept my trap zipped, so to speak. Godmother Marietta is another person whose opinion I project in my head before speaking. It's always good to find someone whose opinion you respect and use them as a sounding board, whether through mail or in your head.

This can especially valuable for newer members of this thing, before they develop their own internal compass.

Fayth,

An excellent point- I'd thought the whole "be original" thing had covered it, but I suppose it could have been elaborated on more clearly.

Anything I have ever said in these streets has been nothing short of absolutely brilliant, but I think this is a great checklist for anyone who may be hesitant to speak publically for fear of their words being criticized or endangering their well being. I like how your list is general and seems to cover al the bases of what a quality speech should be. Salut

I second what KingBenny said. Everything he has ever said in the streets has been absolutely brilliant.

Regarding the list, I'd be extremely sad if it was adopted by everyone. The most entertaining discussions tend to involve those speaking at risk to themselves. Whilst I'm not an advocate of flouting rank, I believe we should make certain allowances for the medium through which we practice our organized crime. This is not a cry for free speech, but neither is it a waving banner in the support of muzzling those who would not conform to the check list.

If every speaker was bound by this check list, I think our streets would become a very dull place.

~T~

I second what Tallien said.

Anytime I give speeches in the streets, I never want to be sweet and kind in the words I choose to use.  Just doesn't seem very Mafia like to me.

No disrepect to you Miss Kates, but the whole school, professor, good speech thing just doesn't sit right with me at any point.  I can understand trying to, at least, speak in a well writing form so that people can understand you clearly, but speaking like a saint is not in my book.

About the school thing. Rastas choose not to go. So I can't take part in learning a professors list, but what I can do is inform other on how not to say things such as, "CuM ceck yA boi Roll Play HoMie".

That I can help with, but as long as the sentence are structured to be understood I can care less what they say.

Just being honest.

Mr. Tallien,

May I ask what is on this list that, if universally adopted, would make the streets more dull?

Mr. Marley,

I don't believe at any point on this list I'd said "Everyone must be sweet and kind and wonderful and fluffy to each other". We're not a social club, after all. Nor did I claim that everyone had to write with flowering language.

And I certainly assure you I'm not trying to wrangle you into a school. I acquired the title so my column in the Detroit Chronicle sounds that much more professional.

Regarding your last point, about "as long as it's understandable or I could care less", I'm sure you'd agree that there's more thought required about things that should go into speaking in the streets than simple clarity. Surely it's also important to refrain from sounding ignorant or foolish, or to avoid insulting a Godfather.

This is not a "How To Write Pretty" list- as you can see, it's a "How Not To Look Foolish In The Streets" list.

But thank you for sharing your ideas. The fact that your comment matches up to every item on my checklist shows your agreement with me, so I thank you for that as well.

Kates winks and leans against the nearby lamppost.

Lites a joint and puts his arm around Kates as the Fedz snap photos

Removes arm and steps back to speak with Kates directly

I must admit you have good points here! I just hope people don't looks at them as softing up, but smarting-up and being more understandable so that we may disagree with aggressive, yet knowledgeable tactics.

I love a good debate and look forward to engaging in more with you so that, together, we may teach the unknowing just how to conduct themselves in constructive disagreements.

Drops down on one knee next to Kates and poses for another Fed photo.  This time throwing a finger-sign as his pose.

Fayth skids to a halt and comes back to Kates who is being very reasonable and seems quite happy to talk about this

Yes but what I mean is some people in the future will not be able to see this thread itself and may make another such speech or repeat something else. I just wondered what your thoughts would be on that.

"Smarting up and not softing up". I couldn't have put it better myself.

Smiles for the next picture and gives Marley bunny ears when he isn't looking.

And Fayth, I hung that list up from a reason. If people say "you know what- I consider this important" then they're certainly free to bump into it as much as they want and keep it in the public eye.

Fayth smiles at Kates reply

That was all I needed to know thank you I understand where you're coming from now and I totally agree I was just checking first, cant be too careful these days :)

Fayth spots Marley looking the other way and pulls his pants down for Kates amusement.

Several things if universally adopted would make these streets particularly dull.

"Is what I'm saying a violation of Omerta?" If we didn't speak about our activities, we would hardly speak at all. Perhaps the only communication would be to share irrelevant details of our legitimate dealings to make us all appear to not be involved in organized crime. No discussions of takedowns, accounts of jobs, wars, hits, anything illegal involving our organized activities in fact, would be allowed to be discussed.

Everyone abiding by the "Am I showing the proper respect..." points on the list would also detract from the entertainment of the streets. The most entertaining discussions tend to involve those speaking at risk to themselves. Whilst I'm not an advocate of flouting rank, I believe we should make certain allowances for the medium through which we practice our organized crime. As much as I like to hear the powerful of our world speak, I also think if those below Made Man have a worthwhile input or feel particularly passionate about something they should be afforded the opportunity to speak. I'm not saying they shouldn't face repercussions for what they state, because everyone is accountable for the times they open their mouth, but I would find the streets far duller if only those on par with the speaker could offer any form of criticism. I'm not suggesting people being openly disrespectful but I'm sick of seeing lines such as "You're only a Wise Guy" being spouted as reasons for dismissing entire contributions. Whilst from an entirely realistic perspective their opinion is irrelevant, neither would anything ever be announced in the streets (my first point) nor would people shoot hundreds upon hundreds of times without going to prison, in a jail where the maximum sentence is 20 minutes.

"Am I speaking within my station?" for reasons previously stated would again make the streets pretty dull.

I assume the Butt_Ox point was meant in jest. If not again people caring whether he called them an idiot before speaking would further detract from our entertainment.

I would certainly rather watch a passionate TeQ or DW get involved in a discussion than listen to the hundreds of responses that basically boil down to mutual backpacking and commendations that we have at the moment. One of the few points I would like to see universally adopted is regarding filler, as I'm sick to death of people adding absolutely nothing to a discussion.

~T~

Silvio reads the list then turns to Kates
Thanks Don Kates, for your check list I am sure it will help lots of our street Visitors avoid being disrespectful and having themselves killed as we recently have seen many people dying for street disrespect.
After reading your check list and applying it to their threads they can now have no excuse for disrespecting or acting stupidly in the streets.

With regards to Omerta, as I said, there are at least two operating definitions floating around. Luckily, neither of which would involve "No discussions of takedowns, accounts of jobs, wars, hits, anything illegal involving our organized activities in fact, would be allowed to be discussed". The first, traditional, definition of Omerta is as the code of silence with regards to authorities. Since we've done an excellent job of keeping cops off the street, I hardly think that discussing any of those things you mentioned would be an issue. An alternative concept of Omerta has also developed here that refers to the code of silence with regards to wacking. So yes, I assume that this would be slightly restrictive if one were looking for people to post witness statements, discuss kills they're made, or things of that ilk. I've never seen a definition of Omerta as a code of silence that means one must be silent about everything to everyone. Unless you're planning on instituting this alternative definition, then this checklist would not be restricting people to "irrelevant details of our legitimate dealings".

Disrespect and entertainment, at least for me, do not have a synonymous relationship. "Am I showing the proper respect..." and "Am I speaking within my station" does not mean to shut up if you're a Wise Guy or below. It means to understand where you fall in the pecking order and act accordingly. If a Wise Guy has "worthwhile input" they should be out in the streets- I don't know anyone who would argue this. Ad hominem attacks that reference a person's rank and not their argument frustrate me as well. With that acknowledgement, we have ranks for a reason. A Wise Guy can make an argument in the proper place without being disprespectful.

While the Butt_Ox point was a bit tongue in cheek (Who can ever truly know the mind of Butt_Ox?), I do believe it's beneficial for people to use someone they respect as an internal sounding board before they develop their own voice and filter. When my great x grandfather was in Oliver_McTavish's crew, for example, he used to question "Would Oliver think this street speech was a  good idea or a troublesome waste of time?" I do think that those newest to this world would benefit from this sort of reflection before speaking.

How well a job have we done regarding the police? Ever wound up in jail? Ever walked into two of Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Philadelphia or Chicago's finest? I have. Right after being engaged in nefarious illegal activity as it happens. I think discussing all of the things I mentioned, if we were to abide ourselves by Omerta without any allowance for our medium, would be incorrect as these men are walking our streets, lurking around the corner.

Obviously this isn't direct assistance to the authorities, but we can hardly pretend they don't exist and I expect vivid accounts of kills and hits would be just the type of thing they would like to hear about coming from our own mouths. I also imagine it would be frowned upon discussing these events in front of Civilians and Petty Thieves as well.

The second definition, as you've stated would be restrictive.

As I said, I'm not suggesting people being openly disrespectful. Nor am I saying every act of disrespect is entertaining, neither are the two positively correlative all the time. However, some of the time when people speak above their station they offer a worthwhile input even though this can be viewed as disrespectful. This was evidenced recently in a business proposal by TM and subsequent changes have been made on the policy of street speaking in New York. My fear is that abiding by this aspect of the checklist would further eliminate all this input, which I would be extremely sad to see. That is how I understood it but provided this isn't interpreted in that way, then clearly I'm not condoning people badmouthing their betters for the sake of it. That isn't entertaining. That is stupid.

I also know from discussions elsewhere that we have differing opinions on what is entertaining, which I imagine is part of the issue and why you do not think this would detract from entertainment.

To be perfectly honest, we're probably arguing on semantics more than anything else. You can argue that omerta should encompass this or shouldn't encompass that, but we'll just end up going around. If we're being 100% realistic then I would agree with this checklist. But then I wouldn't agree with a female professor trying to educate me on what I said, would say and will be saying. Neither would she be the Captain of a criminal organization in Detroit. I doubt (although I'm open to historical correction) any Captain in the history of organized crime ever tried to govern the way other members of Cosa Nostra spoke.

My point is probably that we should make allowances for where we are. We should let people speak more freely than they should strictly be allowed to in an authentic mafia dominated world. I see this as a dangerous step towards further eroding away the passionate debate and limiting (in a forum based mafia game) the worthwhile input people make in the street. I hate the handholding culture we have here, it sickens me. I can't help but seeing this as a further attempt to make everyone a friendly, smiling, business owner who happens to commit the occasional petty crime or two. I know that this probably wasn't your intention.

~T~

Marley, still sitting on the bench across from the alley, begins to lite another joint because things seem to be getting more interesting

Uses the back of some passing thugs neck, to strike his match

"I hate the handholding culture we have here, it sickens me. I can't help but seeing this as a further attempt to make everyone a friendly, smiling, business owner who happens to commit the occasional petty crime or two." ----Tallien

I've spoke of this type of culture on several occasions. Only to be called a hot-head and loose cannon.  So you all no my stance, I couldn't agree more with Tallien and am happy to see someone feels the same.

I say, say what you feel if you have the status to do so, but ONLY if you have the status to do so.  If not, find a better way to say it without the disrespect and you will still be heard.  But please don't make it all flowers and sugar snips.

Marley heads over to his limo and heads off to his HQ