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| Along for the ride | Started by: Zig-Zag on Nov 25, '07 01:01 |
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Zig-Zag, fresh from a stint in the psychiatric ward for paranoia, steps out into the streets Yes, Along for the ride. That's what seems to be happening now-a-days. People don't do anything for their families except rob stores, and sell some prostitutes. It's like they have no ambition. They're cash cows, and you know what happens to cows? They get slaughtered. How do you save yourself from being a slaughtered cash cow? Jump off the band wagon. Do something different. Do something unexpected. Something that will make your crewleader say "Wow, that guy is working his ass off, he really knows what he's doing." In short, make yourself respected. Some people frown on making friends outside your family. To me, that's one of the easiest ways to make yourself respected. If you can garner respect from more families then just yours, then you've instantly become a useful part of this thing of ours. Don't feel like putting in that extra effort? Then welcome to the slaughter, my friend. You've officially stated you're proud to be a cash cow. Zig-Zag walks away, flipping a coin in the air as he does. |
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I agree with a lot you have to say honestly. The current state of our world is one in which we have five total crews. That's right, five. This doesn't give a lot of opportunity to a lot of members in this thing of ours, other than being "cash cows". Over the span of my lifetime I've seen quite a number of people leave our world due to the fact that they were only being used as "cash cows". The thing is, though, how does one go about changing that? As I see it, you have several ways. One, you can decide to go rogue. Take things into your own hands, don't worry about anything, afterall, you have nothing to lose right? Two, you can complain about the state of things. Head to the streets and talk about how "unfair" things are. Maybe you'll find a few others that think like you. Three, you can quit altogether. You can do a petty or two here and there, but your main focus is the coffee shops and the chatting with friends that takes place there. Four, you can take initiative to prove your leader wrong for thinking of you as nothing more than a "cash cow". Bust your butt, earn, lead, and help others along the way, and hope you're noticed. My choice has been the latter one. Why? Going rogue solves nothing. You've just managed to shoot a few people that will be replaced with other people of similar ideology. You may have had a little fun, but you've also damaged the lives of a few others that have actually worked their tails off to try to make this world a little better. Complaining doesn't get you far. At most you'll stir up a few folks anxious to put someone in their places with what they think are witty comments. Quitting is fine I suppose. If you truly get to the point to where this thing of ours isn't worth your time, this is certainly a better option than the first two. However, if you put in the effort, you're usually noticed. Not only are you noticed though, you are also able to encourage and help others along that want to put in the effort as well. In doing this, you not only meet some great mafiosi, but you can strengthen bonds for your lineage in the future. Simply put, this world we live in is far from being perfect. Sure, many people are treated as nothing but "cash cows". Sure, we still have memberwhores recruiting anyone and everyone for their own personal benefit. Sure, we see on a daily basis how expendable members of families are when they're shot for no other reason than someone needed to train their gun. All that being said though, I can't think of a time when it ever was perfect, in fact. You...me...we all have the chance to do our best though. If we'd all spend more time working hard, we all have the chance to make this world better down the road. That's my two cents anyway.... |
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| Reply by: VonGaunt at Nov 25, '07 01:33 | |
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Wait a second...making friends outside the family is the same as garnering respect from more families then just your own? So, just because someone is my friend, that earns me respect? I don't have to work hard or do anything different? Just make friends? You started off great, then you lost me. Making money and doing the normal stuff is the bare minimum of what an associate should do for the family. Those who want to stand out must do more, but I think it would be more appreciated if that extra something benefitted the family. Cozying up with potential future adversaries isn't going to set your leader's mind at ease. |
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| Reply by: maxwell at Nov 25, '07 01:33 | |
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Maxwell, you have a point. I strayed a bit off topic there, and for that I apologize to those listening. I didn't mean to say that getting friends outside your family is the way to gain respect outside the family, I meant to use it as an example of a way into getting your name known, which, if your name is known, people tend to pick you out of the crowd, so your extra efforts will be noticed easier. That thought, I'm ashamed to admit, wasn't expressed. I agree with Maxwell, the best way to garner respect is to work your ass off for your family, volunteer for jobs that others might not think were "fun." Get out in the streets, much like I am, and attempt to point people in the right direction. I agree with VonGaunt as well, going rogue--as I've expressed in the past, and will continue to express--is not the way to get respect. If anything, you've damaged your family name. And that's not to mention the animosity that the victim's children will have towards your family. I hope my thought's been cleared up now, Maxwell, again, i apologize for my pattering off into the daisy fields there. |
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| Reply by: Zig-Zag at Nov 25, '07 02:39 | |
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i agree with your points about family members merely being seen as "cash cows" and targets nowadays but i can see quite a simple reason for this. Put simply the expectations that were in place during the time of out forefathers are no longer there. Nowadays to become a Made Man you can be an adept jailbreaker and nothing else and you will not be held back in anyway. It doesnt matter if you havent walked within 50 yards of the streets or even stepped foot outside your headquarters. In my opinion there is a lot more to a rank then simple crimes and i really think a lot of people have forgoten this. |
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| Reply by: BruceCarrol at Nov 25, '07 07:34 | |
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To me, it is completely obvious how to gain respect from your Family and how to move up in this world. Perhaps that's because of the experiences my own relatives have been through over the years and which have fortunately been passed to myself. I understand for others however, the answers remain elusive perhaps due to inexperience, perhaps due to their misunderstanding of what it takes to get to the top. From the previous comments mentioned here, there are some good examples of what to do. My own advice however, would be to start small and build on the foundations you create. This could consist of: *Volunteering for work, and seeing it through to it's finish. *Making suggestions to your Capos or the higher echelon about methods to improve the Family's operations - remain respectful when doing this of course. *If you have an idea that you suggested that's liked, don't expect for someone else to do the grunt work, instead offer to head things up yourself. *It's not easy to speak in the Streets, but it does seem to be an important factor in getting noticed. What you need to remember is that you don't have to start your own speeches. Join in on some of the conversations and improve your confidence. If you do begin to start conversations, don't become disheartened if you don't have the masses running to talk to you. Instead keep plugging away, you will eventually hit upon something that does pique the community's interest. *Be willing to help others. We all have to start from square one, if you take time out to help the training of someone fresh off the boat, it won't go unrecognised and that person will always remember you for your help. These are but a few ways of trying to make yourself stand out from the rest of the faces in this thing of ours. My advice is that, if you really want to climb the ladder, that you put in the leg work. If your efforts are going unnoticed or they're not yielding results, you have to ask yourself, what are you not doing? Rethink your method of approach to the matter. If you can't figure out what you're not doing, talk to someone with more experience and ask for help. So many people seem to operate on an individual basis which is for me is obsolescent if you want to gain respect for yourself - something that comes first and foremost from your Family. Of course, afterall we do not live in a perfect world, far from it. There *are* people out there who do not need to engage in these activities, there are those who seem to rely on their name alone to get them to the top. But what is most important to learn from this, is that at some point in the past, those people actually had to *do* something to make a name for themselves - they did not get well known by doing nothing at all. In my opinion this applies to any one from the lowly thug to those trying to get auth. In my opinion you can make it happen if you work hard enough. |
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| Reply by: Cathy_Parks at Nov 25, '07 09:18 | |
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I agree with Cathy. After you joined a crew you can go silent and just keep doing petties, gaining ranks till you get bored and try to wack someone, or you CL dies and you're wacked. Or you can offer yourself to do some work for the crew. Sometimes you'll be asked, but most times you have to step up to it, show you're interested. A great part of the coffee shops is to show you're not only interested in ranking, earning money for YOU and wasting your life in it. It shows you want to interact with the players. That is a good start for families that just joined La Cosa Nostra. Then, when you have an idea what are the stuff the guys high in the family structure do, you start being a volunteer for jobs and start learning and getting respect if you do it properly. As for getting respect outside the family, streets are a good place to begin. But mind what you say, don't spam and etc. |
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| Reply by: BloodyFaster at Nov 25, '07 10:15 | |
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| Where you read players, understand mafiosi ;) | |
| Reply by: BloodyFaster at Nov 25, '07 10:16 | |
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Zig-Zag flips his coin. BloodyFaster, no worries mate, I'm a player. Just look at me, style to the limiiii!!!!!!!!! Zig-Zag falls down while attempting to catch his coin. Errrmmm.. You didn't see that. |
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| Reply by: Zig-Zag at Nov 25, '07 13:15 | |
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I think each hold a valid point. I believe cathy makes some excellent points, In my opinion the points she made about getting noticed or on the money, I believe to many people of our nation come to these shores blinded by the lights of New York the wild stories of the wild west (Las Vegas), the drugs the girls and the excitement of living your life by the gun. But this is not the case it is a lot of hard work to get noticed in a family where you have 30 odd brothers and sisters all looking for their chance at the big time. I believe Zig-Zag you were right with your original point, but like you said you got a bit lost I interrupted it as not making friends with other Crew Leaders but gaining a mutual respect and admiration, you respect his/her ideas and capabilities of doing their job. I believe some people are living off their bloodline but as Cathy mentioned some day they had to stand up and be counted for and go against the grain weather that was to stand up to what someone said in the streets or stood forward for a job when no other did. But what happens is the new generation and lower rankers do get scared and fall into the all to familiar trap of becoming a, as Zig-Zag but it, a Cash Cow. When they rank up they are stuck in this position and do not know any better. I for one was one of them, until I strolled into some coffee shops and sat down and held some conversations with my fellow members and also put my face in a few local bars and also my HQ. As Cathy said this built my confidence and actually a topic of conversation I have an opinion on. But no doubt someone will look upon this opinion of mine and say "what does he know, he's only an earner and has only been on the scene for 2 minutes", but that will always go on until I stand up and be counted for. |
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| Reply by: Charlie_Cut_Throat at Nov 25, '07 15:33 | |
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