I found myself chatting to someone last night about the current situation with ranks. It appears to him that ranks themselves have become meaningless, he contends that basically anyone with enough time in any given family will be promoted to Made Man and beyond, and that this combined with the phenomena of low ranked Mafiosi in positions of responsibility has lessened the value of ranks.

As a result of this, my friend contends that anyone saying something like "you are only an Earner, what do you know?" or "I'm just a Wise Guy, what do I know?" are wrong - the ranks have become so meaningless that sticking to this one aspect of the relationship between ranks is pointless and wrong.

That's what he said.

I replied "what do you know? You're just a Goomba!" To which we both had a hearty chuckle and moved on to other things.

Here's the thing though: He's wrong. Made Man does still mean something. Let's face it, nobody gets excited about the promotion from Goomba to Earner, but when that Made promo comes up, it still sends a tingle up our spines. It means we're in, it means the boss is more likely to go the extra mile for us, it means a transgression is more likely to be examined closely and the benefit of any doubt afforded to you rather than the summary execution so common at the lower ranks.

It means something.

Allowing Gangsters and Goombas to give orders to Made Men in their positions as R/LHM makes perfect sense. The position is a role, not a rank.

Let me stress that the scenario I am about to present is entirely theoretical, my apologies to the people used for example purposes in case someone takes it literally.

Right, suppose Godmother Scipita has an issue with something said or done by a member of JackMacLeod's family out of New Orleans. Mr MacLeod himself is unavailable for comment, but his Goomba RHM (as of this moment) is spotted walking to Pat's Cheesesteaks in Philly. Should she wait for Mr MacLeod rather than talking to a humble gangster? Should she approach the Capo in the crew on the basis that he is now "A friend of ours" rather than merely a gangster, thus privy to family goings on that one would assume a mere Goomba isn't? Or isn't it, in fact, more likely that the Goomba will have been made privy to the family secrets theoretically available only to Made Men and above?

I suppose this ties in with the whole cheapening of the ranks argument. One common response from those who believe RHM and LHM should be at least Made Man is that it doesn't tie in with what we know of La Cosa Nostra. Throughout the history of this thing of ours getting your button was the goal for countless foot soldiers, and many (if not most) of them never made it that far. The simple fact is this, once a Mafioso has proven themselves worthy of running a crew in a city, they are no longer answerable to anyone but the Godfather of that city. It is not up to us to question who they assign positions of responsibility, nor is it even up to a Don CL in another city to question it. Their family, their rules. That same approach applies to the argument that says "If they can't trust those they have promoted to Made Man and above to do they job, why the hell did they promote them in the first place?"

I feel I have rambled long enough. The fact is that once you become a CL you are beholden to none but your Godfather, and should you wish to do things that some see as cheapening the worth of previously vaunted ranks, then you have an absolute right to do so.

Blagger looks on briefly, listening to the mans mussings.

So essentially what you are saying is that its all fine because at the end of the day you are a CL and only the Godfather of your city has the right to police you? Rightly or wrongly as a CL the decision is ultimately yours?

Its a fair point I guess. It is entirely possible that a CL has more trust in a Gangster than a Boss or Capo, there is that old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, after all.

I suppose you are right, its that's mafiosi's family, they can do with it as they wish. But I am personally of the thinking that these positions must be exclusive to 'Friends of ours' If I was ever given the extreme honour of running my own crew I would only put 'Friends of ours' in these positions. 

However I'm not going to go to war and lose these 'Friends of ours' to force others to hold my beliefs. 

In this world you do what you think is right for you and for you nearest and dearest at that time.... just don't be surprised if you get killed by someone else in the process.

Though her eyebrow ticks up at the mention of her son, Kates smiles as the man finishes his speech.

A well thought out consideration of the issue. Or were you lying?

Regardless, allow me to comment.

The selection of a RHM and LHM has nothing, and should have nothing, to do with rank. Obviously it's preferable that these positions be filled by men and women of higher rank, don't get me wrong. But to put it simply, a RHM/LHM is the proxy of the crewleader, with their actions meriting praise or punishment for the leader themselves. We've seen at least two situations where an "innocent" (well... as innocent as we ever get) crewleader was killed for actions that their RHM had taken, without the knowledge of their boss. Because of this, the RHM/LHM position should be based entirely on how much trust the leader has in them, regardless of their rank.

Now you've already said "If they can't trust those they have promoted to Made Man and above to do they job, why the hell did they promote them in the first place?". But I would submit that there are levels of trust. I trust any Made Man in my city to act with honor, respect the traditions of this thing of ours, and pursue excellence. That's on a different level than trusting someone to represent me in all things and make decisions in my stead. In other words, trusting someone to act FOR you is different than trusting someone to act AS you.

I think that when one understands the (very) basic hierarchy of a family as CL-RHM-LHM-Button Men-Associates, then there is little confusion. To answer your hypothetical situation, it would obviously be appropriate for Godmother Rourke to approach the RHM. Unless, of course, the meddling Godmother of that city or her upper structure were able to be contacted. Which she usually is.

On top of the points made by GM Kates regarding trust, some people just aren't cut out for it in all honestly, no matter what rank they are. Everyone in a family (hopefully) has their role - some are great earners, some are great hitters, some love the discussion, some are all of these. However, by that same token, there are some people that - whilst great members and highly ranked - you just wouldn't want as your right-hand (not to mention the fact they may not want the role). This person is effectively you, when you're not around, so they may be dealing with other crew and other cities. When it's that important, rank matters far less than it does in theoretical discussion.

Forgive me, I may have concentrated too much on the RHM/LHM arguement, whilst that discussion is going on elsewhere too.. The main point was meant to be that some people seem to be of the impression that this, combined with the fact that anyone can get made providing they simply don't screw up (as opposed to actively doing something to be worthy of it) has devalued the ranks - thus the arguement that you can't do or say something, or hold an opinion contrary to theirs based on your low rank is void.

I take the view that it's their family, and if they wish to dole out Made Man promotions like they're meaningless and have whomever they bloody well like as their RHM regardless of the side effects of that decision... well, so be it.

Being Made is, or at least should be, a big deal. I know that in my father's family, there were expectations to be met and if they weren't, then there were no promotions forthcoming. However, the rank is only what the CL in question makes it. There are no doubt leaders who hand the promotion out without so much as a second thought once the bare minimum requirements are met.

In saying that, I know that my current boss holds the promotion to Made Man in high regard and gives the opening of the books the care and attention it deserves, that's all I'm concerned about.

An interesting and valid claim, I will look forward to addressing this in a little more detail but I've just gotta head down to the synagogue, Mrs. Levenstein's been chewin' my ear off!

For now, I'll just point out that yes, Crewleaders can do what they want and are 'technically' only accountable to their Godfathers. History has taught us that in reality, if you go forth and have blatant disregard for your peers; then you may as wel kill two birds with one stone and get measured up for a nice pine box on your trip!

On the question of has rank been cheapened?

I think so. Is it because of goomba's like me getting RHM? Nada.

Rightly or wrongly, our world has changed vastly over the years. If you were to speak to my great great grandfather and tell him that there will be 31 Dons in the world, and then tell him that this was after a major war involving every city bar one, he'd have laughed you out of the room. In fact, he'd never seen more than 5 Dons alive at one time.

It is naturally the case that if there is more of something, it means less. If you secretly gave a poor thug $20,000, they'd spot it straight away and be thankfull as they can use they money to run drugs. If you did the same to a Rich Don, they'd probably not even notice it.

It also holds true that if you have to earn something, it means more to you. If it is easier to achieve a rank and you get there in minimum time without great effort, it will hardly be a dear diary moment. If you work hard, run drugs, frequent the jails to assist others in escape and commit crimes as often as is physically possible but do not get that same rank in minimum time, when you are eventually promoted, it's time to get the ink.

Ranking is fun. its like u have something to achieve :)

I couldn't agree more, slug. That achievement is in no way lessened by the ease with which the ranks are achieved, surely the increased frequency, and the almost certainty that you can hit them in a very short space of time  if you just keep your head down, commit your crimes, run your drugs and hassle the corrections facilities just makes it all the more special.