GoodFeIIa approaches a small gathered crowd on a relatively quiet street corner.  After listening to some of the general conversation, he interrupts with an interesting story and commentary of his own

If the title I have given this little street rant seems a bit perplexing - you've got the right understanding.  You see, this paradox fits perfectly into the particular idiom I have formulated for you today regarding the current society we have established for ourselves.  Have you ever asked yourself, why do I do what I do everyday?  What in fact makes you so determined on a day to day basis?  Well, I went around asking some basic questions to see what kind of answer I would receive...

The first gentleman I approached a few days ago didn't even give me a chance to speak before he was holding out a gun towards me.  I felt intimidated and threatened of course, and I would have otherwise reacted if it weren't for something I noticed about the man's facial expression - he wasn't the least bit nervous.  So I asked him what he wanted from me and the answer was also not among the things I could have guessed.  The man, a simple goomba in another family asked me me to pickpocket him, and then asked if I would let him do the same to me.  Naturally, I was as perplexed hearing this as I am sure all of you were hearing the title I have given this street speech.  This short story ended with me going along with his plan and by the end of the night, I had the same amount of cash I had gone down that back alley with, just a few minutes later than I would have otherwise.  None of this made any sense and I was even more determined to find the underlying cause.

The second individual I approached the very next day; this time not as confident of having a "normal" answer- and I was right to be skeptical.  I asked the second gentleman if he knew who his family leader was and how happy he was with his family.  Now, having been around the politics of upper echelon leadership in La Cosa Nostra because of my father, I was more than aware of each leader, their city of origin, and their two right and left hand men.  This understanding allowed me to better analyze the answer this individual gave me.  He told me the not the name of the actual Don of his family.. hell he didn't even tell me the Godfather of his home city... but instead told me the name of his families RHM.  When I corrected him, the man seemed a bit unnerved; not because he was wrong, but simply because he disagreed with me.  Not completely comprehending what this gentleman meant, I asked him to elaborate.  His answer was simple - he had never spoken to his Don, but had met and been recruited into his family by the RHM only.   He also stated that his happiness in his family was conditional only on how quickly he would be promoted up the ranks. When the full reality of his answer hit me, I took a step back and thought for about a minute before thanking him for his time and heading back to my safe-house for the night to sleep on these thoughts.

The third day of my quest to find some answers to the many questions that were racing through my head only seemed to create more questions than it answered.  On this day I approached not one, but two gentlemen who were both Made Men within one family.  I will not give away their exact ranks, but to say the least they were "Made," and that understanding should be sufficient for this argument.  Now, my question to both men was simple and straight forward; I asked them what they believed the requirements for individuals to be "Made" should be, and to also share with me, their opinion on what they believe makes an effective leader.  The first of the gentlemen stated to the agreement of the other that in order to be Made, one should be active in their family and on the streets while also donating a ton of money to their boss.  I replied quickly, "So being a good earner for the family is all it takes to be Made?"  Their reply was not something I necessarily agreed with, but definitely interested me nonetheless.  They claimed that anyone could and should become a Made Man and be given higher ranks over the days, weeks, and months of hard work so long as they keep donating and staying alive long enough to attain a level of seniority over other family members that would "earn" them the right to be promoted further.

The two individuals then commented on my second question regarding what they believe should be required of an individual who is seeking a crew/family of their own.  They essentially believe that if one is loyal enough to their family for a long enough period of time, and is deemed "suitable" for leadership, then they should be allowed to have their own crew.  I asked them various questions about the paradox of this belief - for one, if someone is so loyal to their family and leader, then why do they seek to have a family of their own?  Who "deems" someone suitable and if this is the only way someone should be given leadership, then how did the first leaders get their initial opportunities?  I also played devils advocate some more and asked them if they believed that the unworthy are often given opportunities over better "equipped" individuals simply because they lived long enough, were the seniority of their families, and needed to be repaid for their time.  I must admit that their responses to these questions were neither sufficient for my purposes, or in my opinion, wise to the "old ways" of this thing of ours.  My final question I posed to them was somewhat personal, but I had to ask them if they believed they were "worthy" of such an opportunity to have their own families.  They both nodded, but had very different reasons for believing this way - the first gentleman told me that he had trained his gun for quite some time and spent a lot of hard earned money on BGs and training ranges in order to be an esteemed "button man" for his family.  I admired his vigilance and determination to protect his family, but could not fathom how having a "great gun" and spending a lot of money for his family would make him an effective leader, responsible for dozens of lives - not including those of other families.  The second gentleman had an even simpler answer for my question.  He made the claim that although he had never had any leadership experience as a family LHM or RHM, his rank was high enough up the chain, and his time in the family long enough that he should be rewarded for this enduring loyalty.  So not only did he believe that seniority should reward him while in a family, but he should be rewarded with a family.  I thanked them both for their time, having gotten the information that I needed to formulate an opinion another day.  

On the days to come I approached more individuals and asked them various questions that I had already asked the group of people on my first 3 days.  The answers to all of my questions were relatively similar, with very few who actually had any bloodlines that could be traced back to the "old days."  It was not easy to differentiate between the young and old, but it was relatively simple in distinguishing between the naive and the wise - neither of which had any correlation to the age gap, which would have further vexed me if not for my understanding of bloodline history plays out in this context.  

So I took some time to gather all these thoughts after over a weeks worth of work.  Sitting at my desk in my safehouse, close to my family HQ, I contemplated every possible answer as to what the underlying causes for the questionable behavior by the first gentleman who asked me to trade pickpocket attacks on one another.  I finally realized that the simplest answer could be applied to this situation and every other I had experienced.  People were bored; they were unhappy with their family conditions, yet they were as tenacious as ever - remaining loyal and active in their family.  With each promotion they would become reinvigorated and find new ways to spend their time - either pickpocketing friends, shooting at civilians who had lost the favor of the Godfathers, or locking up the mobsters in their city just to spend a long period of time breaking them back out.  None of it made sense to me, but I finally understood the why - the why is power. 

I polished my boots that night, poured myself a glass of scotch, and took my Wise Guy badge off and placed it on my desk.  I stared at it for a good long hour as I buried all of my concerns.  It's ok I told myself, all I have to do is earn money for my family and show some initiative with donations and training my gun.  Hell, I don't even have to be relatively intelligent - I can be the drunkard I've always admired in my after midnight self and be cool.  Tomorrow or the day after... or the day after that... or maybe the day after that I will be Made and on my way up the chain.  It's only a matter of time right?  I'll keep playing cards this way and mind my own business and it won't be long before the Don makes me a Capo... or maybe a Consigliere like the rest right?  

My head hit the top of the desk and I realized I had passed out.  All of my concerns came back and all of my worries about what tomorrow will bring were re-instilled within a few seconds of regaining consciousness.  I looked back down at my Wise Guy badge on the desk.  I couldn't help but nod to myself and thought, "I may only be a Wise Guy when standing near some of those guys with shinier and more expensive Made rank badges, but at least I'll fucking do everything I can to prove I earned my rank.  I'm no whore and my old ways may seem antique to some, but it keeps me straight and it's something that you can't fucking teach - not anymore at least.

I put the badge back on, got the rest of my gear, suited up and headed out into the night.  I won't settle for the fucking average... not on my life.  Thinking about the individuals I spoke to over the past few days and how determined these gentlemen were to accomplish nothing by their actions, but simply rank up their family tree;  I couldn't help but to say out loud, "Fuck their status quo." 
. 

Good for you with those final thoughts sir! I believe there is far too much promoting because the button is there and people expect that if they have earned it per "the gods" way of using a point system then they should get it. As well do I disagree with the opinions of your interviews regarding auth.

Our family has strict expectations for made and even having met these does not mean you will automatically get your button as soon as it is there. Above made, the expectations are not written out for you but unless you come up with innovative ideas or take over jobs that need doing, you can forget the next badge. And again, just because the badge is there, doesn't mean you'll get it as soon as our leader does. At one point in our ranking, the opinion of others of the same rank comes to bear also. Although I have not been witness to nor heard of anyone amongst us that has had the audacity to expect auth because they've done so much for the family, I tend to believe they probably would not reach those ranks to begin with. It is usually obvious when someone is truly doing things for the family or simply to rank themselves.

Another thing that I think is overlooked a lot is not just doing projects/competitions etc within one's family but being involved with the lower ranks to the point of letting a newly made man for instance come to you with questions on how to best find an associate, just generally as a higher ranker being available for the lower ranks. Obviously, there are issues that if brought to you, your answer should be to direct them to the hierarchy but frequently it is a question that a high ranker can answer easily or point the person in the right direction for the answer.

All of this should be combined for decisions on promotions and I'm proud to say that my family leaders follow such. So, in my opinion should all.

Morgan,

I think you have added a lot of important points, particularly regarding the "innovative" (or lack there of) ideas regarding family activities and events that help to create a unique bond among associates.  It seems as if there aren't enough creative ways to reinvigorate family members to get more involved.  I feel as if the dynamic that should be a part of this thing of ours, is now a lackluster scenario of time management and profit earning.  Mind you, we're all here for respectable business but in the instances I discussed in my initial story, I believe have accurately depicted the essence of everyday life as it stands now - which is fairly boring.  Of course, it's hard formulating an opinion on this subject without stepping on the toes of existing leadership in the various cities.  It's also impossible to know the "inner workings" of each family HQ; it would be ignorant of me to pretend otherwise, but I can say with some certainty that by the lack of interesting debate and fruitful happenings on the street - there is something missing everywhere and possibly a lot missing somewhere.  We just have to figure out exactly what and where and why.  The leaders can take a new initiative and motivate their family, but it is up to the family as a whole to see the events through.  So whatever shortcomings there are, the finger cannot simply be pointed to the top of the tree, but at every level of branches. 

On the issue of ranking, all we are is a family associate until we get the title of "Made Man."  I believe once we have achieved that status, we should be considered  a "family" member and no longer a free loader and hired enforcer.  If I had a family of my own, I would ensure that every person given the title of Made Man or a higher rank would be responsible for recruiting associates into the family and "vouching" for their recruits and training them in the ways of this thing of ours.  Of course it is in my opinion that every Made Man who takes on associates should always request permission from the Don or leader before hand.  I believe there is no excuse why new recruits should be given associate status in a family without having the expressed consent of the Don.  A Don who does not know his family and his people can not possibly lead as effectively as the one who takes the time to do so.  Remember too, a hierarchy like this requires a very competent group of Mades, Capos, and Underbosses (Boss) to put their reputation on the line when getting new people into the family.  The old way of doing things would be to have a Made Man or higher ranked individual, vouch for a new associate by calling him a "friend of mine" and if that person fucks up, there will be severe consequences for the family member who vouched for them.  In extreme cases, even that Made person can be offed as a result.  Once a vouched-for associate achieves the rank of Made Man, they are now considered to be a "friend of ours" and are given much greater responsibility with the opportunity to take on and train new associates themselves.  This is the way things once were, and the way things should be now... at least if I had my way *Smiles* 

There are a lot of Don's out there these days... maybe half of them have been given the opportunity to start up their own family or at the very least, expand their existing family under a new regime.  I think having so many Don's has its pros and cons.  I just hope that on a positive note - having so many Don's will remind each one that is a family head, they could be forgotten in a month's time if they do not establish a memorable legacy.  Essentially, maybe this will create an incentive to do more than just follow simple orders from their cities respected Godfather.   Then again, having an inflation of Don's may have an unintended consequence on the whole - people will take for granted that which was once so revered. 

Instead of aspiring to a rank that one believes he has earned, he will ambitiously demand that one is instead, owed. 

Is this a standard we can value?

Of course it is in my opinion that every Made Man who takes on
associates should always request permission from the Don or leader
before hand.  I believe there is no excuse why new recruits should be
given associate status in a family without having the expressed consent
of the Don.

When a person becomes made within a family, that means that the Leader of the family has trust and faith in this person. Otherwise, they would have never been made in the first place. Made Men within Tallien's Northern Lights Crew don't need to come to Tallien or myself for permission to bring in associate. The trust is there that they have done their homework and know this person before they let them work for them. If the associate breaks the rules or really screws up, the proper diciplines will be handed out. I believe what you're speaking about occurs already. Im not familar with the inner workings of every crew within the eight cities, I can only speak for my experiences within Las Vegas.

Ragnarok,

I thank you for the insight on the particulars of your families trust between the Don and his actual family members.  It is admirable that your leader finds the trust in his family to allow them to recruit new people without requesting his consent.  I am not necessarily saying that this is ineffective or does not work for every family, but I am saying I do not thing it is as effective as a Don knowing all of his people.  I have just seen too many instances where new people create problems for the family in its entirety, well beyond their actual individual worth.  Any leader who puts as much trust in his family members who are recruiting new associates, is no doubt taking a substantial risk. 

This is not to say that the family members he has chosen for those ranks are not without quality.  I am sure why your family continues to prosper is no doubt a result of Tallien's exceptional leadership.  In addition, it is great to hear that your family places value on each rank and with each promotion - no doubt removing the idea of ranks superficiality which may be evident in other cases.   But again, every leader who places this much trust in their members is still taking a risk.  If Tallien is still willing to do so, with this understanding, it is of course a very admirable character trait - one which all of his family members should appreciate.  I summed this idea a few days ago into a personal quote that I believe accurately reflects this ideology:

Friendship is everything in this business. It's easy to trust
blood relations and extended family, but to trust a complete stranger
requires true courage. To place everything you have dedicated yourself
to, in the hands of the unknown is a category of character unto itself.
And the individuals who build lasting bridges will find themselves
crossing over each and every obstacle that life throws their way. But
the people who go around burning bridges; the work of others. Well,
lets just say that what goes around, comes around; and in this
business, arson is just another tool in the bag. -GF