Aquila had one hell of a day so far. Who knew stealing an old lady's purse would result in him running away from a couple dozen police officers? After finally outmaneuvering the pursuing cops on a narrow alleyway, Aquila sighed as he took in a deep breath of relief. He then sat down on a nearby bench to catch his breath. Before he was able to catch his breath, a loud bang rang out in the distance. Aquila stared at the direction of the ruckus as a collection of screams echoed through the air. Almost immediately, a crowd of onlookers appeared out of thin air. When the echoes finally died down and a crowd of curious bystanders had finally dispersed, Aquila stood up from his bench and walked forward to inspect the cause of the commotion that had just unfolded. He groaned when he saw the bloody corpse of a thug wearing a pretty decent suit. How does he know it's a thug? He just knows.

"Oh God, don't tell me it's another one." Aquila muttered to himself.

As Aquila stared into the corpse's terror-stricken eyes, a question popped into his head. Since Aquila was a very curious fellow, he walked away from the corpse into the most populous area of the Streets. He grabbed a bench, placed it in the middle of the busy street, and stood on it. He clapped his hands very loudly which caught the attention of a few people. Seeing that he had already caught the attention of a few bystanders, Aquila cleared his throat and started speaking.

"Hello, folks! You might be wondering why this nutcase of a thug is standing on a bench right now after clapping his hands like a retarded sea lion but please hold that thought for a moment. I have a question for everyo--'"

Aquila sneezed before he was able to finish the word everyone. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose. He then proceeded to speak again.

"No God, bless you's, anyone?"

Aquila grinned as the crowd gave out a collective sigh of annoyance.

"Anyway, I have noticed that there have been more incidents regarding 'free speech' recently. In light of this events, I want to ask everyone, especially men and women of power, on their opinions regarding speeches criticizing 'powerful' people. Courteous words, like no offense and with all due respect, can get you so far but the question is where do we draw the line? What is criticism and what is really just plain disrespect? When is criticism constructive and when is it plain destructive? And most importantly, what do you think of the recent shootings regarding this? I am not doing this to make people look good or bad. I just ask this because I really want to know how other people think about it."

Contented with finally asking his question, Aquila stepped down and sat on the bench as he waited for any response from the crowd.

BretTheHitmanHart was strolling the streets this fine afternoon. He finally got some time away from the hotdog stand. Its been a blast selling hotdogs to numerous folks and fans alike. He needed a break however. As Bret was making his usual collections in the neighborhood, he happened to hear Aquila give a short rant about disrespect. As Aquila stepped down from the bench, Bret wanted to give his own remarks.

"I don't think there is such a thing as free speech. There I said it."

As the crowd gasped loudly, they opened a walk way towards the bench. Bret naturally walked towards it and stood on it so that everyone could hear his opinion.

"There just isn't such a thing. Look, we are gangsters. And some of us are wrestlers, ok... But we all work for a certain family. That family has a Don, a Godfather even, leading the pact. You cannot simply just say whatever you want and expect to get away with it. Thats not how this thing works."

The crowd continued to look upon Bret with an odd look. Like they've just seen a ghost. 

"There is something that I use to help me sway my opinions across. I use tact. Tact is a way for me to make sure I am addressing my opinion, while being respectful to all parties involved. I don't ever insult anyone's opinion because all opinions should be shared and respected, only if they are used in a respected manner. 

But again, there is no such thing as true freedom of speech. You cannot criticize people in power, and just expect to walk away from it. There people in power are in power for a reason."

Bret takes a step down from the bench and awaits for others to give their opinion on the matter. 

From the back of the crowd Galvani speaks up...

It is true what Bret has said, but let me add on

He begins to walk to the center of the crowd to address those who are listening, he fixes his coat, adjusts his hat, takes a deep breath then sighs...

Its actually really simple, yet complicated. You have to look at this as if you were a child speaking to a mother or father. Look at it as a literal family. You can not PUBLICLY embarrass your mother and not expect a slap in the face of some type of punishment. Yes you can say what you want but in a form of tactfulness. Pull her to the side, be reasonable, but do not go out and try and shame her so everyone can see that she is vulnerable and not an ADULT figure to the little old child. You just dont do that

He chuckles...

Some people just dont get it. Its not about disrespect, at least in my opinion, it is how you approach you the situation and how it is dealt with. Somethings people can know, but many things people shouldnt. 

Galvani turns away from the crowd walks off silently and after getting quite far away he yells...

Think about it!

Ah, Aquila you are talking about two separate aspects of speech in this world. Public vs private. 

As mentioned previously, you don't criticize those in power publicly and blatantly. Matters not whether it's a fresh faced thug who doesn't know any better or a Godfather clearly in control of a sizable criminal empire. While the thug would think, as you seem to, that being "courteous" is a way to escape retaliation you'd be wrong. Any public commentary on another leader is a challenge, no matter how sweet the words are said. Challenges left unanswered, floating around in the public consciousness, are bad for business. They show weakness, guilt, apathy, or some other malaise that often brings downs cities. While the more blatant ones end in bullets and concrete shoes, don't think for a second that saying something "nicely" is going to spare you. You may not die, depending on the leader, but you will be remembered. 

I do think you're wrong though, BretTheHitmanHart. While there is no such thing as public free speech, I think speech is quite free in private. Whether between same family members or separate leadership circles meeting together to discuss a problem, being able to speak freely is far more beneficial than having to watch every word carefully. Varying leadership temperaments notwithstanding.  In private, you can be far more critical and "up front" with a leader or group without risking an escalation. Because, assuming leaders in this hypothetical situation don't have the temperament of a child, there is no challenge to answer. 

I don't think the recent shootings matter regarding the questions you've raised. From what little I've overheard, it was more of a lack of communication than a lack of respect that shaped how that situation developed. Not communicating, rarely mentioned in the streets, is almost as dangerous as being a raging jackass to every bold suit in town. When your organization is silent, it is either apathetic or not willing to work with others. Not willing to work with others makes you an unknown and we poor, miserable humans fear the unknown more than anything else. 

Think I've covered everything sufficiently. Should always remember that sometimes, there are exceptions to all rules. Thanks for speaking up with these questions, Aquila.