Not being on the streets much lately, Tie is in a hurry and goes straight to his favorite car, and stands on the hood. He raises his voice loud enough for everybody to hear, and launches right into his speech.

There's something that's been on my mind lately, and that's the significance of Family. I don't think most people are quite getting it. When a member is promoted to Made Man, they become a member of the Family. Its not just another rank, its a rite of passage. You only make somebody , if you have their complete trust. Sometimes your trust is broken, but its bound to happen here and there. Either way, you don't just promote a person, because they are ready to be promoted. That being said, once they are Family, they should have your complete trust as well, it works both ways. If they don't have your full trust, they didn't deserve entrance into the Family in the first place.

As Tallien brought up not long ago, death is a punishment that seems to be handed out with ease, and for any reason at all. Death should NOT be a blanket punishment. There are always gray areas, nothing is every black and white, but we seem to treat things that way.

Gangster to Wise Guy, one could argue that a person hasn't yet earned their stripes, and that they are expendable. At that early of a stage in a person's life, I can see just issuing death for anything. I still don't agree with that, as they still have time to learn from their mistakes, but still I can see why some would consider them expendable.

However...I've noticed an alarming trend. The same thing is happening to Family members. We're just putting out death as the only punishment, for even our FAMILY now. In my opinion, this is just completely unacceptable. I understand that in some situations, they are deserving of the death that is brought upon them. As I said, at times our trust is broken, but even those we trust most, but sometimes it seems like we're so quick to kill. These Mades and above are our FAMILY, should we not give them the trust, that they've given us? If they commit a crime, take away their gun, keep your eye on them, and talk to them. You've given them a spot in your Family, why are you going to take the word of somebody else, over theirs? Investigate the situation, if you find out they were guilty of a crime punishable by death, then you kill them. It was delayed, but they still die. If you find out they were innocent, you save a life. Not any life, but the life of a Family member. One of your brothers or sisters. For me, I don't give the rank of Made Man to just anybody, I give it to those who deserve it, and I'm going to fight for them if need be.

I already follow this method. If somebody tells me a member of my Family did something wrong, I don't care who the person is, I investigate it. I put my trust into my Family for a reason, I'm not going to take the word of somebody who's not even affiliated with Las Vegas, over somebody who's put their blood, sweat, and tears into working for me. If I just kill my Family member, without question, why should I have even bothered giving them their button in the first place?

That's not to say I don't take what a fellow CL says seriously. They obviously got to the position they're in for a reason. Its just that I don't know them personally. I probably don't even have daily dealings with them, and I certainly don't see them every day in my HQ. I also don't know their sources. Its not necessarily that I don't trust the CL, its that I DO trust my Family, and how can I trust the CL's sources? I'm not going to kill my most trusted people without question, and neither should anybody else.

I see a lot of higher ranks in the obits everyday, and it deeply troubles me. It really makes me think. Either these people are given rank, not because they deserve it, but because its available to them. Sure I know it helps you out the more higher ranks you have, but it hurts you in the long run if the person doesn't deserve the rank they've been given. Could be that a CL has bad judgment on who they promote, which happens to the best of us, not excluding myself. One or two bad choices, hey it happens, but when its another day, another mistake, its unacceptable. I've actually made a few bad judgments in my time as CL, but its made me change the way I think, and the way I do things. Its never too late to fix something. Whatever the case though, the only time you should see an abundance of high-ranking deaths, is during a war. It should NOT be happening during peace time.

In the end, Godmother Aurora makes the final decision for Las Vegas, but I'm going to go to bat for the people that I work closely with everyday. I don't bring somebody in the the Family at the drop of a hat, so I'm not going to take them out of it that quickly either. They've earned my trust, and I'm going to show them that they have, and that they can trust me as well.

As a CL, when one of your Family, not just a crew member, but FAMILY does something wrong and its brought to your attention, you either: A. Kill them right away, which, to me anyway, shows that you expect such a thing out of them and they should have never been brought into the Family in the first place, or B. You investigate it, giving your Family member a chance to defend themselves from the accusations. you either ind out they're innocent, and avoid a pointless killing, or you find out they are guilty, and you go from there.

Personally, I try to avoid death whenever possible. Certain things warrant death as soon as you've confirmed that your member has done what they're accused of, but others should have gray areas, and not just a blanket death sentence. If one of my Family does something, I'll try to discuss other punishments, and use death as a last resort. I'm a CL, but I'm a business man as well. A high-ranking member of my organization not only bothers me on a personal level, it affects my bottom-line. Money isn't everything but it sure does make the world go round.

Anyway, sometimes the death of the Family member is demanded. In this case you have to examine all possibilities, and possible consequences. You can give in and kill the member. They've done something wrong, obviously, maybe they do deserve death for it. Especially if it means your crew's safety. You have more than one person to worry about, you can go out on a limb for that person, but also keep in mind that others are also depending on you. You could also take a stand and tell the CL that you won't kill your Family, and you don't feel that the person deserves death. Maybe you can convince them to see your view but, more likely, they will take matters into their own hands, maybe even declaring war. You have to weight all of this in your head before making the decision. In my opinion, it depends on the situation. Usually you should go with what's going to keep the majority of your crew, and Family alive, but you can't let yourself be pushed around either. At some point, you're going to have to take a stand, you just make sure you pick the right time, and that you're ready for it.

I know I've jumped around quite a bit, as I tend to do when I get on one topic, but my main point is this. Made and above are ranks reserved for our most trusted, and we need to start treating them that way. Whatever the reason, there are far too many high ranks in the obits, and I think if we start realizing the importance of Family, and of the rank of Made Man, no just giving it to anybody, but actually taking the time to figure out who deserves it, this problem will be resolved as well. That's really all I have for now, thank you all for listening.

And please excuse my mispronunciation of the title. I'm bringing stupid back.

I dont think you are bringing stupid back. You made some good points here. You were all worked up over getting this off your chest you just had what we like to call around the Sicilian Connection HQ "Baby-Firefly" moment. 

That is a good point, Baby-Firefly. Nothing wrong with having a fire inside. We all make mistakes when we're caught up in the moment, and if this is referred to as a "Baby-Firefly" moment, then I would say its a good thing!

Tie makes a mental note to add "Baby-Firefly Moment" to his mental dictionary.

Tie, first of all I understand the way you reason and I appriciate you brining this topic into our street.

However I feel like you left an important thing out. The deeds that are punished by death are the ones most noticed.
You wouldn't easily notice a Wise Guy being demoted to earner or having his gun taken away... Simply because it's out of your sight.
So yes, the obituaries are the ones that talk loudest but they don't tell the full story.

There are not many crimes actually that are punished by death, out of the top of my hat I can come up with 3.
1. Shooting the wrong target.
2. Being disrespectfull in coffeeshops, the streets, mobmail and IRC avenue.
3. Breaking the rules of the gods.

Now the first one can become a huge problem once you approach your member about for example shooting the wrong target, a Made Man is at a rank where they understand that what they did was wrong and they'll die if guilty is proven. Most people don't like to die and you might get to a situation of the person buying out of your family and going rogue. At that point it's not only your responsibility anymore but also every other Crewleaders because then we have a rogue on the loose. Even with all the trust in the world it's a common fact people don't like to die, so there's a chance especially after Made Man that you have a possible rogue situation.
So you need to ask yourself everytime if you can "afford" inquiring.

The second one is an easy one, there's enough evidence usually to go on and usually yes you have enough time to inquire about ones actions.

The third, is completely out of your hands.

There will always be people that slip through your fingers.
There will always be people that loose their motivation for the family and take matters in their own hands.
There will always be people that fool you for their own reasons.

This is regardless of rank or trust.

Please note that it is never easy for a crewleader to approach another crewleader to take someones life, atleast it isn't for me.
Also know that when I as a crewleader have to take a life of my own family it's not done lightly and I feel really bad about that.
But what needs to be done has to be done.

It's pretty black and white to me.

The issue with who and when to rank people comes down to what is necessary to survive. The option to rank someone beyond made man means a person will become stronger, their reputation increased and they can make more money, why would a crew leader hold back on this chance just for the sake of what the rank should be worth?

Tie, you make some valid points in your speech. I will agree with you that we need to put more emphasis on the value of Made Men and higher. However, if a Made member is caught shooting someone from another city because they were pickpocketed in an open pickpocket city, then that Made member should also be fitted with cement shoes. I'm just using that as an example because it can be widely recognized. It can be easily fixed though, if you don't like the rules put into place by one city then don't fly there. Don't put your family in jeopardy because you feel you've been wrongfully attacked. Made members and above should have the bearings to remain calm and recognize situations like the above. If they don't, they didn't deserve the rank in the first place.

We have seen a lot of high rankers in the obits recently, but why? A few fell victim to a unholstered gun, some didn't know how to use their own gun as well as they thought, and some probably broke some rules they shouldn't have. It's up to their crewleader to decide if their punishment is worthy of death. I'll agree that there are many different situations that can be handled by means other than death, but sometimes death is the only option to ones offenses.

SammyGato, you bring up the point "why would a crew leader hold back on this chance just for the sake of what the rank should be worth?".

Holding people back who aren't ready is what we as crew leaders should be doing. If we promote everyone just because they have their button in, it will just create more chaos. If a crew leader gives every single person their button just because they can, it could definitely backfire on them. It has the potential to create more problems than good for that particular leader as they might not know the member as well as they should. They could have an untrustworthy person in that family just waiting for the chance to give that leader a bad name. Not to mention it completely devalues the rank of Made Man and above, if you just had out Made Man like it were candy at Halloween.

I'd like to thank both Scipita, and Aurora for their responses. I do get both of your points. I'm not saying that every single death is one that wasn't warranted, but I think there are cases where maybe something else could be worked out instead of death. Still, I do realize a lot of them are deaths that were completely warranted.

That being said, why are there so many high-ranks that deserve death? That looks badly on us as Crewleaders. I know there will ALWAYS be ones who slip through the cracks, I've had a couple and I'm sure I'll have more. But I still feel that there should be a lot less slipping through the cracks. I'm not going to say I have an absolute solution, nor am I saying there's one solution for every Family and Crew, but there must be some way to prevent so many from getting through. Even being a bit stricter, or possibly even more lenient, with our Crews, may be the solution. If we're too lenient members won't take us seriously, and they'll do as they please. If we're too strict, they'll lash out at us in anger. There's a middle-ground, the problem is just finding it. Once its found, I think a lot of the rule-breaking will stop. I AM an optimist, but I'm also a realist and I know that complete order will never be accomplished, but still I think what we have can be improved on.

Mr. Gato, I do see your point, and I understand where you're coming from. As I've mentioned before, one of our biggest goals is making money. Money makes the world go round and that'll probably never change. Some CLs may take this approach, I know there's been ones in the past. They'll rank up anybody who's able to be ranked up, and I'm sure that pads their banks for awhile, but I don't think its the smartest thing. The CREW, your associates, make up the bulk of a person's organization. They are the ones on the front-line, and they are the ones padding your bank account. Your FAMILY consists of Mades and above. The most trusted in your organization. Sure, they make a lot of your money, and do a lot of your fighting, but that's not why they are Family. They are Family because you put your complete trust in them, and they put their complete trust in you. They are your advisers, and your inner-circle. You don't just put anybody in that position, its a decision that you make carefully. Money is extremely important, but money can't buy pure loyalty. Sure it can buy allegiance, but only until somebody else pays even more for that allegiance. Made Man is a rank that always has, and always should be the most important accomplishment in a person's life. If you just give that to anybody and everybody, it becomes nothing.