It had been a busy day for Deja, but also a slow night.  After cleaning her gun, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass. She took a seat at her desk, and was sorting out where her current finances stood.  Earlier that day, she had gotten a call from her boss Pine, telling her she needed to lay low since the local pigs had been asking around about her.  Deja grumbled, knowing laying low meant a self imposed house arrest. She spent her next few days reading over some of her ancestors journals. She noticed a common question being asked for generations, but not once had any of her ancestors gone to the streets and just asked the question.

Deja threw on her coat and left her self imposed house arrest.

"Hell with this staying at home garbage! What the pigs gonna do arrest me?" She said to herself as she locked the door on her way out.  She walked to where she knew the majority of her associates did business.

Thinking to herself as she walked towards the spot, "How the hell does this work? Do I just yell at the crowd? I did see some guy standing on a soap box, that seems like a good start."

Flipping over a near by crate, Deja stepped onto the soap box.  She looked around before she pulled out her liquid courage. Downing the remaining contents from it, she tosses the empty whiskey bottle at the wall!  The crash it made, garnered the initial attention she was looking for.  She cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Right, now that I have y'alls attention.  I was reading though some of my ancestors old journals, and I noticed that all these women wrote about wanting to bring a topic of discussion to you all, but never had the tits to come out here and discuss it.  It seems they always wanted to bring about a hypothetical situation to the the masses here."

"So here it is.  Leaders, you have Johnny here, and he's worked hard and busted his ass for your family.  He's become a crack shot, he's got the ability to bring in large sums of money. He's been out here in the streets, so he's got the connections needed to go far in this thing of ours. When the time comes, you want to make Johnny one of your Captains. Hell, you may even have plans down the line for him to have his own district or city.  But alas, tragedy strikes!  Be it, rogue, Durden, or the sad casualty of a war... Johnny dies."

"Leaders, you are now in need of growing your city and you need a member to step up as a Crew Leader.  Do you auth from other deserving members of your ranks?  Or do you wait for Johnny's son to earn his button?  We all know the sins of the father can harm the son, but can the merits of the father also assist the son?  Does the Jr deserve a crew because his father worked hard?"

Deja glances around the crowd gathered, seeing this has sparked some interest.

"So my fellow non leaders? What would you want?  Would you want your leader to push on, choosing another worthy candidate? Or would your son or daughter deserve to have what was promised to you?  Personally, I would like my leader to move on from me and let my daughter earn her own keep in this world.  But I leave this to you all to discuss."

You bring an interesting and difficult matter to the streets today, Miss VooDoo.

Interesting because it touches on the subject of preferential treatment, which rightfully hurts people who want their chance, but don't get it.
Difficult, because each story has it's context and the best approach for each will vary and thus render any general comment invalid.

That said, let's cut the abstract bullshit and just say things.
It would be good for this society if leaders gave auth to people who deserved it, instead of who they are most comfortable with.
It would be good for ambitious people to realise that leading a family is a tough job, and being a well-trained hitter or being of age doesn't mean you're entitled to getting auth.

Sticking with your example, to me that means that Johnny's kid might still be the best candidate to run a big operation, even if he only recently became of adult age. But that also means that there's a good chance that Johnny wasn't even the best candidate himself yet, let alone his kid.

In the end everyone in the position to pick someone for auth should pick who's best for the continuity and growth of the operation, regardless of age. Picking any other option out of social expectations while that might hurt business is simply stupid.

I realise I want to talk about all these different situations that exist, but let's hear what others have to say about this.
 
 

If you've worked hard then sure you may deserve it, but should that mean you get it? Perhaps not. Why do you deserve it over the possibly dozens of others who have also worked just as hard? What makes any one person more worthy than another? Surely once they have made their bones all are worthy? A lot of the time we seem to judge people on worthiness with how much they can earn for us, but that's just not the case.

As Rob has stated, in the end it's down to picking someone for the betterment of that little slice of the world you're from, it's not about authing your chum, or the guy who may have earned you millions. It's about the ones who you know will do a good job, who know what to do and who make your district or city stronger. Sometimes we see sons and daughters of mobsters rewarded and not necessarily rewarded for their parents accomplishments but rewarded for their abilities which are alike to that of their parents.

In the end you have to look at what the purpose of an auth really is? Ultimately it's to extend your power in whatever part of the country you currently live in, so you need to pick wisely. All it takes is for a few unruly rogues coming from your auths family and your entire district could be wiped, or a conversation between your leaders and those of another city gone bad and bang, your cities gone.

All decisions should be made with a business perspective, not a personal one.

Mack was sitting on a worn out chair, puffing away on a cigarette when the woman's whisky bottle crashed against the wall sending fragments of glass scattering about. He leans back and listens to her words as they flow forth. He contemplates her words with serious thought and forms his own opinion on the matter. Having been the son of many of mobsters in his blood line he pops his opinion.

 "In what I have seen and experienced, generally the crew leader will wait till their "old friend" has the required rank and respect to push them to the position they desire them to be. Is this right for the others who have tirelessly worked hard, shown initiative, are knowledgeable about the ins and outs, and simply on the up and up but are passed over because that persons father or mother were this bloodline? It can't be explained. I feel it is wrong that its allowed so frequently from the circle of heads. But it is allowed. Johnny may have done well for that person in the past and Johnny's kid could do just the same. But that's it. Johnny's son will do the exact same thing his father did because that's what he has always done. No fresh material to bring to the weaving table. That is also another matter I have seen happen. However, you don't serve Johnny, you serve your CL. So in essence, unless you brightly shine past Johnny you will remain where you are, gaining rank and making money for your CL. There is nothing wrong with that. There is plenty of stress put onto our leaders and their hands. If you have such an issue with being passed up on a hand position, Hit squad leader(Ooc: Lets not pretend every family has one), etc etc. than have a talk with your leader in hopes of possibly gaining what you wish, but with the backing to prove you could get the job done."

Mack picks up his bottle of beer chugging it quickly. He smashes it into a trash can with an effective toss.

Telkin had been listening to the conversation from nearby, passing his flask back and forth between himself and Ubu. Why he even bothered feeding Ubu alcohol was beyond him, it took so fucking much alcohol for the bear of a man to get intoxicated that it hardly seemed worth it. Especially with the current squeeze via his alcohol supplier, the liquid gold was getting harder and harder to come by for his Club in LA.

Grabbing the flask back from Ubu and finishing it off, Telkin stashed the container in one of his deep pocket as he rounded the corner and joined the small group. Waiting for Chade to finish, Telkin took the mans words in for a moment and then stepped up to speak.

"Deja, first off let me say well done on getting out here and bringing this topic up for discussion. I think that it's a double-edged sword, as Mr. Oakheart had somewhat alluded towards. I don't think there's a clear-cut right or wrong, either. If Johnny had the ability to all the things you mentioned, then there's a damn good chance that his kin would be able to do the same."

"Then again, I suppose at that point it comes down to a different matter entirely, doesn't it? What if your district/city simply can't afford to wait for that persons kin to rank up enough to warrant their own crew? On the flip side of that though, there's a damn good chance lil Johnny's kin would come back bitter as all hell. Who's to say their kin would even want to do it, given the chance? There's a variety of different things to take into account"

Telkin turned to Chade.

"I was hoping you'd be able to clarify something that you said for me."

' Surely once they have made their bones all are worthy? '

"By that, are you trying to say that everyone of the rank Made Man or above should be worthy to run their own crew??"

Sal listens as the people talk.  He remembers reading subjects like this in his ancestor's journals.  He decided to give his piece on the matter.

People of the crime world here me now!  Don't fret over crums on the butter.  Don't worry over another day passing with out you getting your chance.  My ancestors that walked this world have been many and only but one have had his chance but that was because he was in the right place at the right time.   However there were many many many other relatives of mine that did not get their chance.  Some deserved it some didn't.  They used to fret over it constantly, silently.  Keeping hatred bottled up inside until they either rogue'd or killed themselves.

Now people, this is absolutely no way to live this life.  This life is fun, if you let it be...I guess all I'm trying to say is...

Sal lights his pipe.  You can only see his eyes when he takes a puff.

Don't sweat the little stuff.  If it's going to happen its going to happen.  If it doesnt well, fuck it.  Who care? eh?  Keep working, keep your nose down.  See if you can't be the oldest mafioso in history or whatever your thing is.  It's not worth it if it's not fun.

Johnny may have done well for that person in the past and Johnny's kid could do just the same. But that's it. Johnny's son will do the exact same thing his father did because that's what he has always done. No fresh material to bring to the weaving table.

So if Johnny was in line to get auth and then he popped his clogs, his son or daughter return and act as Johnny did then surely they will get auth based on the standard the leader had set for Johnny? Again people seem to think that working hard and being worthy to lead correlates with earning a shit load of money for your family. Quite simply, it doesn't. Sure, your leader will look more favourably toward you, but we shouldn't feel a sense of entitlement because we're earning money for our family, it is our duty to work our hardest for our family, it is our duty to earn for our family. When I started out I wasn't thinking I'll work hard then I'll get a crew because of all my hard work, I was thinking I'll work hard and see what comes my way.

As I said just because someone earns it doesn't mean they are worthy to lead. There's a lot more to leading than being able to provide big sums of money and sometimes there are people whose abilities outshine your own. If you think that auth is handed to people because of their name you are wrong, it will be because of who they are and what they're capable of that they will often be set up.

"I was hoping you'd be able to clarify something that you said for me."

' Surely once they have made their bones all are worthy? '

"By that, are you trying to say that everyone of the rank Made Man or above should be worthy to run their own crew??"

In an ideal world? Yes. In this one, probably not, so in that instance I will retract that statement as it is irrelevant to our current period. Given that Made Men are in abundance and most don't value the true meaning of the rank let alone understand it.

Mack listens to Chade's statements toward what he had said. Setting down his new found beer bottle he chuckles slightly. 

"I see you merely highlighted on the money aspect. If you bit into my little speech you would have seen that I stated aside from making money the respect factor would come into play. Just because Johnny worked so hard in the past and died, doesn't mean Jimmy didn't work hard just the same as Johnny. Jimmy may not be in the circle that Johnny was in and his son would soon follow, but he sure as hell busts his ass. Makes a presence in the platform of public speaking, taught new bloods how to make money effectively and efficiently, also to boot; bring in money. My ancestors have written from long ago the going on's of the crime families he has associated with and been a member of. Either your family has history or it doesn't receive the ability to make history. In a blue moon will your bloodline be given the opportunity. Either you refuse to see what the point of this public speaking was made for, or you just will go about your merry way. Also, as I stated was the factor that Johnny will continue to do the same. He wont shine in that particular way that Jimmy, who mind you is well capable of achieving the tasks that Johnny can, can and will do in his own way. Bringing fresh thoughts, fresh ideas, fresh leading forces. Alas generally, he is not given the proper platform to give these ideals. Instead it is Johnny's bloodline whose tried and true, but frankly bore take on this life is lead towards. My bloodline has held positions and it has been a lowly plebe. Your bloodline has too many strikes, your cast back out. However,  I applaud you for your opinion as I am simply giving my own. In a well dictated and I hopeful tactful manner. 

Mack picks up his beer happily and drinks it as he moves to a seat. Waiting for the next speaker to compound their ideas together in a sentence of their own particularity.

Senka had noticed Deja among a crowd. She stepped easily into the crowd as she listened intently. Her own family journals had mentioned observations on this and so had she. As she listened she began to gather her thoughts while others spoke around her.

"Personally, I would like to see others that have worked just as hard to get the chance. If Johnny died in this scenario, then no he should not be given a silver platter, so to speak. He should work for it just as his father had done before him. Just as most leaders will tell you that people should do. I honestly believe that all this waiting for certain lines to grow up, is a bit of a cop out. Surely a leader has ranks that have been working hard, that should be learning the ropes of this community and can ultimately with some teaching take on that role.

Don't get me wrong of course, I don't think everyone has leadership skills. So no I would not assume that everyone should be lined up for auth constantly. However, I do think if there is a want to learn and a leader willing to teach that maybe there should be a chance given. Honestly, people talk about experience like it is the easiest thing in the world to get but how does one get experience if they aren't sticking their toes in the water? It speaks to a possibly laziness that people aren't being given the chance to even try. Don't toss them out and expect they know it all. That will never happen. There is a learning curve and some will struggle while others excel but you won't know until you stop the cycle, will you?

Now here is where things get murky to me. A leader expects complete loyalty and hard work, right? If it's expected of all members then those who go above and beyond, they reach outside of their comfort zones and make a name for themselves. They should be the ones we are looking at for role models. At least for me, that would be the case. It may not be the best hitter in the world or the best earner. Maybe they are the best speaker. Maybe they are a jack of all trades. But if you want loyalty and hard work, you need to reward based on those. Not based on lines. At least not lines strictly. Sure if they earn it I could see it. But there are some that get lazy and expectations begin to pop up for their children. They will begin to expect things handed to them and that can only go badly.

So while we stand here and talk about how its one or the other, I propose we look at a few other things. What do leaders expect of their members? When they get ready for authing people are they holding a double standard or are they authing based on their expectations and the work the person themselves have put in for them? Loyalty is great to expect but if you snub it, well problems occur during war times or rogues may become problematic.

We can look at one aspect, or we can look at a whole. I prefer to look at every faucet and see where each leads."

Senka took a bit of a breath as she realized she had chattered on quite a bit.

Part of me wonders if Jimmy's real name is FatherMacklePenny.

Your response is somewhat confusing. On one hand you seem to be saying that Jimmy and Johnny act differently and that Jimmy won't do as much as his father did but be rewarded with his own HQ, the next breath you say that Jimmy goes above and beyond and isn't given the chance.

If you could clarify what you're saying then I might be able to address it a little better, as it is though it seems you've gone into rambling a little bit and it appears your own experiences have spilled out in the middle of your point. I could be wrong of course but that is how it comes across.

For the most part I agree with what you're saying Senka, let me highlight something that stood out for me though:

Honestly, people talk about experience like it is the easiest thing in the world to get but how does one get experience if they aren't sticking their toes in the water?

This sums up for me why losing 200 men HQ's was such a big loss. You can't judge people on their leadership skills anymore unless you're giving them a platform. We have smaller crews of 40 and in a sense you could possibly set up sub crews for people to lead and then get an idea on how they managed leading a small group. Unfortunately, I doubt many can be bothered with this idea as it creates too much work but if people wanted to get an inkling as to how their guys could manage leading then this might be it. Another way to get yourself noted would be giving the right advice, if you seem to know what you're talking about and you've made it into the inner circle of trust and the leader calls upon you for advice then it can display your level of understanding around leadership, politics, diplomacy and all the other things that come with the job of being a crew leader. There are ways to prove you can lead without actually setting up, the problem is we don't seem to be engaging in many of them. 

Mack wakes from his drunken stupor. Having passed out from the mass amounts of alcohol he consumed the night before. Pushing the bottles of beer and the occasional pint of whisky he reads a piece of paper that was left for him by Chade. Searching around for a pencil in his pocket he retrieves a bit of cocaine where he snorts it greedily, hoping it wakes him up and clear his mind. Having done so he eases up into a nearby chair where a faded painted table resides. He flips the note over and begins to write slowly, his eyes a bit foggy from his coma. 

   "Dearest Chade or whoever your pretending to be,

                  "See sir, your getting lost in your own words. Johnny is the one who would be receiving the same position promised. Jimmy, is a well qualified and diligent mafioso but hasn't really gotten the platform he seeks. To hint that i am much like Jimmy is laughable. I don't seek the helm of a ship. I am not qualified nor do I have the time. As you may have seen by leaving your note here, I was a sloshed drunk passed out with the riff raff. What I stated was, through my semi drunken and drug fueled haze is, Johnny will be given the position he has always been given. His family has at most times been given the position they desire. As long as they keep their nose clean, stay on the up and up, bring in members" He coughs "Member whoring", and the number one reason why were here; money. Subject two; Jimmy, is the one who was written above, has the same qualifications, but has fresh ideas and wont be repeating the same drone like mantra that Johnny possess's. Because just like I am me, and you are you; the two can never be the same. Unless you wish to keep the two as one as you did above. And to your last point. My own experiences spilled out. Lets see here, my experience along with DejaVooDoo and others is similar to the same conclusion. Why do you think it took her bloodline so long to come out here and give her opinion on the matter? It's been discussed before many of times. Since my experience is spilling out I would say its a fact my bloodline has seen. Tell me, why nick pick other people's opinions when they have but looked at your own? Boredom, frustration, simple lack of filled up time? 

Mack coughs up blood as he signs the letter in a half assed gesture and takes the note, folding it calmly. He finds some random bum and waves him over. His hands shaking from the lack of alcohol and the want to get this letter sent so he can buy some booze. He pays the man who was ragged and smelly to deliver the letter to CHADE. Handing the man a hundred dollar bill, slapping him on the back in a good ol way and coughing up half a lung. He departs to seek more debauchery and stupidity that can only lead with more alcohol and cocaine. 

Chade, it is very much possible that Jr may not act entirely like Johnny. Maybe Jr feels that since his father worked so hard he deserves a break and doesn't put forth the effort? This does happen. There is nothing to say that they are the exact same or the effort was the exact same. However, if you have someone else that works hard and deserves the chance, it is a shame to pass them over just because people are waiting on Jr to come of age. I mean we live in a world where death is inevitable. Sometimes you are going to get those promises before your death, and sometimes maybe your next of kin will have to work just as hard to get the same chances that were promised.

At the end of the day, people should by all rights earn what they get.

After having heard a few speeches, some becoming more personal in nature whereas others have been more theoretical in nature K_W ponders on the subject standing in the back of the square where the original speeches began. As he puts his thoughts into a coherent order he scrapes his throat to make a small but hopefully sensible speech from his own perspective

As a relative new member of this society I have heard rumors that highly respected people have been disgruntled by some authorizations of new family heads which in their view had not shown the dedication or lifestyle choices to be a family head. As I was told as a lowly associate being a leader takes first and foremost hardship, efforts and absolute loyalty to the family you are part of prior to being allowed to have your own family. However if i have paid enough attention to the speeches before me they tend to centralize on 1 single aspect. The ancestry of a mobster and the subsequent efforts the mobster made to live up to the reputation of his ancestors and possible double standards if his lineages has been favorable or not.

Being unable to have a real opinion about the matter, seeing my lineage only included 1 very short journal, I wonder if that is the requirement for being allowed to start a family, what will happen to many highly skilled mobster i meet daily that do not support a lineage. Will they not be judged on their efforts and hard work in their current lives? It seems that from your discussion so far these would not even be considered. I would understand the need for them to understand the ways our society works and being able to navigate in this world. Wouldn't it be more reliable for a city leader to have a strong yet unspoiled leader under them that they can help and learn their first building blocks as a leader instead of having to justify whether any preferential treatment is given based on previous ancestries? 

Hey K_W, good to see you out here.

It's not necessarily more reliable to have a new, "unspoiled" leader as the next auth in a family, but for sure that can help. Any line that gets their first chance at running a crew is probably more focused on leading a proper family, than already thinking ahead about what their options are to take over a city. The mix of experience and youthful enthusiasm is probably very good for an operation, in contrast to just have a city with these over-experienced, over-qualified leaders. Like Senka said, it's even good to give someone a chance and teach them, so they get that experience. We all had to start at the bottom one day and we had people that taught us. The current leadership shouldn't forget that and do their part in training the next generation.

There are plenty of cases in which people get authed for what their line achieved in the past, but everyone agrees that shouldn't be the norm. Skill and dedication are, or at least should be, the most important reasons for a new auth. Trust and loyalty are important as well, but if someone trustworthy will be a shitty leader, it's best not to auth them as it's bad for the community.

Unicorn walks by wearing an elegant suit, with a body guard on each side of her. She waits patiently for a chance to speak.

 I would first like to thank Deejavoo for an amazing opportunity to reflect on the structure of this thing of ours.

Is the crew a company or a family?

In the case of the crew structure being a company, the crew leader has the right to wack a member of their crew. Thus implies that the member is an employee or of expendable value, as it would be unnatural if a mother/father type crew leader would kill their own blood.As such, there is a disconnection of an emotional or genetic bond between leadership and lower ranks. This also shows the absolute power a crewleader has over their members. 

If the structure of the crew is of a family nature, then the laws of inheritance falling under Will Estates and Trust are applied. The definition of inheritance pertaining to this thing of ours is the physical headquarters, funding has been put forth through tributes, donations, and by the personal bank account(s) of the crewleader themselves. Therefore, it is their property and they can determine the inheritance to whom they choose. 

In the case of a company like structure, crew members who put forth the most tribute, donations, and taxes have the potential to be upper ranks as they contributed to the building of the HQ's fortification, and the overall success of the crew. A crewleader would not be as successful without the earnings of their members, unless they are entirely privately self funded. Crew members in such a structure must understand their monetary efforts may be going towards a HQ that they will not have a stakehold in as there are no stock options. Furthermore, many members can be inactive reflecting a large crew "for show and intimidation" to outsiders, but have a weak internal foundation within. What this means is this topic is giving crewleader a and their members a chance to reflect on their rights, improving the relationship and success of their cities economy as a whole. 

FatherMacklePenny, unfortunately your earlier ramblings had confused me with regards to who Jimmy was, I was under the assumption that Jimmy was Johnny's son. " Jimmy may not be in the circle that Johnny was in and his son would soon follow, but he sure as hell busts his ass" This comment threw me off the scent.

What you seem to be saying then is that Johnny and Jimmy are from 2 separate bloodlines. Johnny gets all the glory and Jimmy is shunned. However Jimmy is this amazing dude with all these fresh ideas, not like dull ol' boring Johnny. It still all comes down to bitterness for me. An ancestor not given the nod to set up and the following bloodline feeling slighted. If you're good enough you'll be authed. Sometimes it may be that there's no room to set up multiple auths but that's just shit luck, there's not much that can be done.

Should Johnny's son get auth once Johnny has died? It depends how desperate an auth is needed and it depends what type of auth is needed. Most likely, Johnny is being authed due to showing he is capable and his son will likely prove to be just as capable and thus will receive auth. It's not a matter of effort inputted by Johnny's son, it's a matter of being able to lead. DoctorBoom's bloodline is one we see regularly getting authed and people get pissy about it. The fact is though that the guy knows how to run a tight ship and when authed people know what they will get from him, similar to other repeatedly authed bloodlines. It doesn't matter that they may have not earned 2370270932 Million. Their leader knows what their capable of.

From time to time we'll see new auths set up, someone fresh faced and usually they need an experienced upper structure around them to help them along the way and this is all well and good as long as it's the right time to do so.

To answer Deja's question again, I'd want the leader to choose the best person for the job. Sometimes giving someone a chance to lead just because they haven't before isn't always the right choice, most of the time the sensible option is to put someone in power who has a relatively well known bloodline. They will tend to gain members quickly, will know their way around the headquarters and will often be able to handle situations when they arise. Surely then, a crew leader is more likely to go for the latter because of this? We are in an era where people invest a lot of time and their own personal money into their livelihoods, the last thing they want is to get shot because Jimmy the fresh faced, fresh ideas guy got auth and fucked up at the first hurdle. It's not always worth that gamble.

As stated in my first response, I will go in depth to what inheritance means.

Estate: Fortified Headquarters, plot of land (i.e. Location within a city)

Trademarked (Intellectual Property): Crew name/logo

Assets: Federal Bank Accounts, credits, gifts

If a crewleader passes away where the majority of the property ownership (HQ fortification, company name) was funded and established by the crewleader and their RHM, their offspring; if they so choose, has legal right by inheritance to lay claim to the property.

 

In other words no one would invest in buying a home or property if they knew once they would die someone would take it away from their offspring. 

It doesn't matter if the property was used to house hookers, make ice cream, or store heroin, whoever purchased or created the property belongs to them, their offspring or whoever they want to take over.

If the crewleader passes the RHM has legal right to take his place as he is appointed by the crewleader. Should a crewleader be alive yet his RHM has passed then the LHM or the RHM's offspring has right to the position.

Lower ranking members are not permanently forced to remain in the crew. A crewleader, RHM, Sponsor can crewwack an associate at any given time. Upon achieving higher ranks if they choose, can aspire to create their own companies or families. If they choose to remain they must understand the crewleader and upper ranks are in no way under any shape or form obligated to promote them no matter how much work or funding they have produced or contributed. 

If you are a crewleader or head of household in need of a will created in the event of your death to pass you estates and assets to your next of kin, feel free to mob mail me, or stop by my office in Los Angeles. I charge by the hour. 

Unicorn walks off with her bodyguards back to her vehicle and drives off.

Although you make sense, Chade, it's a bit off-putting for youngsters hoping to get their chance at auth one day. I'm not sure if it's fair towards the newer lines either. Perhaps it's because me and my ancestors have been blind to what really happened, but they saw more families, districts and cities fall due to the fuckups off experienced lines, instead of the errors of a rookie. Being inexperienced seldom leads to the death of whole families.

Families do get taken down  because of the provoking attitude of experienced lines. Districts crumble because of leaks of experienced people who were trusted with vital info. Cities get demolished because of the paranoia, justified or not, of experienced competitors.

If a rookie crewleader gets the chance to mess things up so bad that they endanger their family or the district, I seriously question the guidance their authing leader gave them. If a crime-organisation gets endangered by a simple slip up of a rookie crewleader, I question the diplomacy skills of their authing crewleader. If despite the awesome diplomacy skills and the dedication in teaching a rookie crewleader, they still fuck up this bad that they endanger their business... I question the leader who authed an idiot ignorant to teachings and who failed to come to their GF to help out in a difficult situation.

My ancestors have had a diverse bunch of people to give them chances and to guide them in this world. I am grateful for what they taught my line. They haven't been perfect and my line hasn't been perfect, but together they ventured and that's a good thing. They believed in their shared capabilities, because there was reason too. And that should count for today as well.

It's for a member to show true potential. It's for a leader to recognize that and build on it. Age in itself has little to do with it. Experience is a big plus, but obviously doesn't warrant for a flawless ride. Inexperience is something that can be overcome with proper guidance over time. This community deserves the best. We should recognize and enable people, whether they are experienced or new, so they can show what they've got.

Apathy listens intently to all these people giving their views. Some can trace their bloodlines for yrs and yrs as his own. Others are new to these shores, but all bring valid points to the table so to speak. Taking a nice healthy shot from the bar and slapping the barmaid on the ass to remind her to be in his room later Apathy walks out unto the streets.

Looking around and clearing his throat, Apathy speaks.

Well Well!! Yes again, a real topic we  all can gather and talk about with real substance. Kinda shocking to be honest, given the currrent state of the world, that within a week or 2, we get 2 topics worth a fuck in the strreets. And many many people bring good points out on the topic. This is rare indeed.

Lighting a cig and taking a few puffs, Apathy looks and and exhauls his last puff.

So the topic at hand as we see it? Senior is in line to take a Crewleader spot and is killed or dies. Junior, rises up and seems to be worthy since his father was in Line. The question? Do we or do we not?

Apathy laughs a bit and orders a shot as his fav barmaid wanders out to see what the hell he is yammering about.

Well, to me that all depends. First it depends on the crew. Did your family have a "backup plan"? Was a it a close vote or a runaway? If no one can fill those shoes, then did we have anyone within the district, hell fuck it, within the city to fill those shoes? If so, then it gets touchy, if not then its simple. But lets say we did, who is more worthy. If "Junior" is just as worthy as Senior. Thats up to the leaders. MY bloodline has seen both as many of your alls have. Just depends on the current state I think. To me, thats a Godfather call. And then we supporrt it the best we can.

Apathy takes a deep breathe and puffs on his cig.

To be fair, there is no right answer here. Its a cases by cases basis for the leader selecting. But its a imporrtant one, when you have to. Fuck it up, and you could just end up in the morgue or you could be the one to raise your city to new heights. Tough choice, tough sell either way. All depends on who what where when and why. Since I know that cleared so much up. Now you have to excuse me, I have a barmaid to make yell for more!

Apathy puts of his cig and runs to his barwinch, scoopes her up and runs up the stairs at the tavern.