Having heard the speach of his crew leader Rufio seated in his chair ponders for a moment to come up with the proper phrasing of his statement

I have always followed the code of that the HANDS of the leaders are to be treated with the utmost respect regardless of their rank. Obviously they have proven themselves to the leader and God Father that they have been given the responsibilities of the mundane family tasks.

Pausing for just a moment to light a cigarette

Also they are called HANDS because they are to carry out the dirty work of the leader so they can remain safe and plan for the safety of the rest of the family. The HANDS of the leaders have been given an abundance of responsibilities that it almost seems silly that they would be treated like dirt. If you are a consig and your leader has determined that they want their hands to be made men then they are your superior. Simply put in my book title trumps rank.

-Lana- comes home from a very long flight and hears, not all, of the conversation on the street. She sets her bottom on DLSs soapbox, giving her feet much needed relief.

I can't believe this has to be a conversation. RESPECT!! That is a priority in a family. The RHM and the LHM do have the "priority" in respect, aside from myself, of course. I chose them, I trust them more than anybody, and let me tell you a secret...I trust no one, so finding a RHM and LHM that I do trust...I was lucky. The position does trump rank, I don't care what anyone says. To you all out there, who have never been given the honor, and think its an easy job, you have no idea what it entails.

Hmmm, many good points have been made here. It is heartwarming to see that the value of the hands is still high with most of the population. I decided to touch upon this topic to remind people how important the hands are. It has nothing to do with rank. It has everything to do with trust. Obviously if your leader trusts them to be their back-up, then there's probably good enough reason for their members to as well.

I appreciate your views. They have been a real eye opener. Both the positive and negative points you have made.

She hands out party bags full of cheap plastic gifts and cookies.

Thank you for coming and making this "petting zoo" such a great event.

Marley tosses the roach of his joint to the street, feels the munchies so he grabs a cookie.

You Dons and Consigs better respect those gangster and goomba right hands. Afterall, you don't have to so much worry about the low rank RH themselves, but the person they work for.

Marley pulls another joint from behind his ear, lites it, and grabs a handful of cookies before heading up the alley.

I just recently had an unpleasant exchange in the streets with another leader's hand. Or maybe I should say it could have turned unpleasant. As a mob associate, I know my place in our hierarchy, and when the conversation took a turn for the worse, I decided it would be for the best to not fan the flames. Could I have successfully matched wits with this individual in an argument? Absolutely. He wasn't even a direct superior to me, as we pledge our alligiences to different cities. But a heated argument would have achieved nothing other than to serve as a poor example of how a respectable mob associate should conduct themselves. To echo the sentiments presented by our Friend of Swine Descent, what it comes down to is showing respect. Sincerity is secondary, if even a factor at all.

Showing respect for a Leader's Hand or ANY fully initiated member of La Cosa Nostra, especially as an associate should go without saying. But being that people seem to be unable to grasp even the most basic principles of The Mafia, I suppose it was neccesary for Godfather DirtyLittleSekrit to bring this topic to the streets, albiet disheartneing that she felt the need to. Thank you for reminding us that without our principles, everything turns to shit, Godfather.

Anselmo exits the scene, picking the pocket of some earner on his way out. The earner stands there looking around like a dope, without a clue as to who just stole his wallet. That's stealth, people. Hardcore stealth.

Took a turn for the worse? Unpleasant exchange? I was talking to you, nothing more. If you actually believed I was being anything other than polite to you, you are well mistaken.

The fact that you assume you could match me in wits when you don't actually know me is perplexing, at best.

I do agree with what you said though. People should always show respect to those above them. Nobody ever heard of shit rolling uphill right? It is a little upsetting that this topic ever had to be brought to the streets, in the sense that it was disappointing to see the amount of disrespect shown towards a leaders hands from mere associates. But I am glad it was, as hopefully people will learn from others mistakes and people will be shown the correct amount of respect due to them.

In that case, I beg your pardon. It was unpleasant for me, if I may rephrase.

But it appears that we are in agreement on the topic at hand, so perhaps we do indeed share some common ground, even if we are vastly separated by our positions and stations in La Cosa Nostra.