One of Serotonin's bodyguards is thrust up onto a soap box. He clutches a shabby sheet of paper, looks out across the streets, and begins to read.

Bloodlines. Ancestors. Lineage.
These words have cropped up in the streets recently, and opinion remains divided. There are those that put a great weight on the abilities on one's father, and there are others who believe each man should be treated as himself and no more. Today, without needing to address the question of which belief is right, i wish to address whose choice this is.

And the answer is: it is the choice of the son whether his father's abilities should be added to his own worth. Certainly each man raises their son - or daughter, but let us continue with son for simplicities sake - in their own likeness. They will teach him the skills he needs to make it in this world, they will teach him how to act and how to take onresponsibilities, where possible they will teach him the skills required for running a family. If the son accepts these teachings and starts his life in his father's likeness, then i see no reason why another should consider lineage or ancestry as part of this one man.

However, it is not up to other to ask the son what his lineage is. If the son wishes to be considered in this manner, it is up to him to make it clear who his father was, and how he will follow in his footsteps. If a man wishes to make his way on his own, he should be free to do so without being pestered by questions such as 'Who was your father?', 'What's your bloodline?', 'Where any of your ancestors ever a member of family X or city Y?'

Why is this the case? Because not every man is a copy of those before him. Certainly the ability to act as his father is there, but it is a choice that needs to be made and the son's unique character may well defy his father's teachings and set out to carve a new life. Where this is the case, he should not be burdened by the actions of those before him - for good or for bad.

And there is of course another reason. Some men do not wish to have favours, they do need wish to be copies of their father even if they hold the same beliefs. They wish to make it on their own merits, they want to raise themselves through the ranks and feel proud of their work, and not thankful for their fathers efforts. Once again, it is hard for a man to do this when constantly asked to divulge his bloodline.

And so, as far as i'm concerned you may place weight on your bloodline as you choose, but i ask that you do not demand the information without good reason, and allow each man - or woman - the choice: they may be their father's son, or they may be their own man.

Personally I agree that bloodlines are important in this thing of ours. One bloodline may be known to revolt or cause problems, so to prevent them from tarnishing your crew name you ask them for their heritage. Crew Leaders have the right to ask one for his/her bloodline, but you should be allowed to respectfully decline the question with repercussions. 

Don_G

Crewleaders who ask for lineage should not be crewleaders.  This practice shows that they have no understanding of the way things work in our society.  It takes away a person's right to be their own person, and not someone else.

Even asking the question, as Don G says they have the right to do, creates an awkward relationship from the beginning.  No matter how the question is answered, if the person wishes to be judged on their own merits, they are damned from the beginning.  Either they breed a relationship of mistrust from the beginning, or they give up their right to be who they are and not their ancestors.  Either way, they are fucked.

(OOC: There are no "rules" that say one account has to be the son/daughter of a previous account.  This whole practice is completely OOC.  What is essentially being asked is "what is your OOC identity, because I'm going to judge you based on that".  So, quite simply, stop doing this you fucking mongs.)

How does it take away their right to individuality. Just because your parents are ____, does not mean you have to follow their footsteps. I don't see how everybody has such drastic problems with others knowing their heritage.

My fatehr was _____, people mocked him alot.

If I were to ask those in my family who their parents were I'd probably be shocked, amazed, and move on. It rarely changes my outlook in regards to their current incarnations and the success they may or may not achieve. It's about the here and now, not about years prior. There have been many generations of my bloodline that have been 'outed' and treated far differently because of who they were not what they had done... They were punished in some way for the sins of their ancestors. It happens to most of us after a while.. You just have to get up, brush your knees off, and hope that the people who cannot let go will one day realize you are not your great grandfather reincarnated.

However, some people just can't move past wrongs done to them by some family trees and will go out of their way to make those descendants' lives difficult. Although, there are times when someone does not want special treatment because of who their predecessors were.. You will hear rumours of the famed "bloodline hunting" activities taken on by some families against others... Therefore they do not advertise their super hero identity and do anything they can to avoid that... After the life of your ancestor is sold to the highest bidder it becomes redundant.

You obviously have not been on our beaches and in our cities long enough to realize why some choose anonymity and why a good leader doesn't care who someone's parents, sperm donor, grandparents, vet, etc were. If a person chooses to share that information after becoming a member of the family then that's cool.

There is also the flip side... Those that expect special treatment because of who adorns the branches of their family tree.. These are the people that expect millions of dollars dropped on their laps for armies of bodyguards and their maintenance. I call these people name-dropping coat riders... They cannot claim glory of their own so cling desperately to things their great, great, great, great grandfather did... Always telling the story a little bit different... Always the hero.

My fatehr was _____, people mocked him alot.

I doubt it,______ was an excellent street speaker and would never have mispronounced 'father'..Or said his own name wrong.

Anyways,back to the topic...

I completely agree with FlyingPig.

Chaotic

Actually, if you look back at _____'s speeches he regulary made mistakes like that. Usually due to being Intoxicated in some way.

Yawn.

Ahh. I guess you never knew him much? I think you mispronounced his name. Oh well,no biggie.

Chaotic shrugs,lights a joint,and walks into a nearby alley.

Actually I think you did, It is 5 Characters, not 6.

No,it's actually six characters.
Nods,taking a hit

Eh, who cares? He was a No name C anyways! (Get the Pun?)

"they may be their father's son, or they may be their own man."

Why can't I be both.  I am my father's son.  That statement is true.  I cannot change the fact that I am who I am partly because of my father.  But that also doesn't change the fact that I choose to be my own man.  I make my own decisions, which may be very different than the decisions my father made. 

But I will say this - you are right.  Each individual must decide how they want to be known.  Do you want to be known as a descendent from A or as B, a completely different person with different ideals and ways of doing things.

A few things that I'd like to address.

Firstly, most of the people who hide their lineage do so because they don't want other people to know who they are. This sounds obvious, but think about it. The decision to hide mostly boils down to a whole host of nobodies convincing themselves that they are a lot more important than they actually are. How many of these people ever legitimately got threatened with extinction if they became known descendents of Billy the Moron? Less than 5% at most.

I know first hand that many people who claim to have been bloodline hunted actually happened to lose a relative because that relative was incredibly stupid and for no other reason. Sadly, some people have associated a prestige with being bloodline hunted as it creates the false perception that they posed some sort of threat to those in power and as a result they can convince themselves that they had some form of impact, when unfortunately for them, this wasn't the case.

I seriously can't think of anyone who would have to hide their lineage from me. The reason for this is primarily because I really just don't care, but also because the so-called greats are often spoken about by people who never worked with them and some of the so called idiots, with a little bit of guidance and faith can completely reinvent themselves into worthwhile members of Cosa Nostra. In my tenure here I've found that very few people are actually worth fueding with and fewer still are worth sweating over. I'm not going to start shooting people because of who they used to be, unless they show a distinct incapacity to move on and decide to continue as that person instead.

That leads me to the latter part of the problem. Those people who are repeatedly killed are usually removed for an inability to move on. Gwarble telling everyone how much he loves them, whilst over in Coffeeville Grin is plotting to overthrow Deimne and turn New York into mush, just isn't going to fly. The days of separation between the two have long since passed and you're 100% accountable for whatever you say, wherever you say it. In our society there are very few innocent men and a whole host of bitter losers.

(This is why everyone being the "son/daughter" of their previous account is flawed. Do you really think the Son of the Godfather of New York wouldn't be judged differently than Billy the Moron who nobody has ever heard of?)

~G~warble.

Knowing a person's bloodline can often give a leader an insight into what, exactly, that person could offer them. After all, many of our skills are hereditary. It's good business for a boss to know that so and so's father was a proficient hitter or a silver tongued negotiator. Not asking and willfully casting aside potential useful information hardly seems wise

That being said, each man or woman that steps onto these shores has the right to start from square one and make their own way without harassment from anyone to determine who got them their "in" to this thing. Whether someone chooses to publicly acknowledge their roots or or remain unique the are benefits, to be sure, of both paths. In the end, it's something that each man or woman must decide for themselves.

Great point Gwarble, a lot of lineages have the idea stuck in their head that they're despised when in fact they're not. Their pappy has done some stupid things and he got killed for it. End of story. Somehow though they get it into their heads that we're a bunch of vindictive bastards (wonder how they got there? :D) and we're going to kill generation after generation of their blood.

Again as Gwarble says, it takes WAY more than 1 member of your lineage to do things incorrectly for you truly despised simply because anyone who is so much of an idiot the 1st time usually starts to make threats on that other life and the Gods "remove" them. Also, the coffeeshops... we have always been dead against these becoming part of this world, we regularly fought for a distinct line between the 2, however I have opened my eyes (that's all that is needed) and realised that nowadays the coffeeshops are playing a very vital part of this world and keep my mouth generally shut when there.

Keats, couldn't the leader in question just ask the person what skills they have rather than ask them what their father was good at and what his name was? If they weren't sure there are always ways of testing for the truth. I don't think my bosses knows my family lineage, they never but they know exactly what my skills are.

<em>Kuan-Ti tears up the first part of his speech and just scrolls in red crayon WHAT GWARBLE SAID!</em>

One of my ancestor's daughter was killed because of what that said ancestor had done... so it is not always paranoia, sometimes stupid things done in the past can result in a next-of-kin being chased. But it must be pretty rare, fortunately, and from what I have been told, as it was a very long time ago, it was really idiotic.
That said, I agree with Kuan-Ti. I understand that if someone wants to be known because of his/her ancestors, that is his/her entire right, but generally the recruiter (CL, RHM, LHM) doesn't even have to ask too many questions as that person's name says it all. But I'd rather be asked what my skills are instead of what my mother's skills were as we may not have exactly the same. I may benefit from her experience but not have the same desires for my life in this thing of ours. So it may help being recruited to say that you have prestigious ancestors (relatively speaking), but I don't see the point in telling their names, as what counts is not their actions, but mine.

You know, as far as I'm aware not one person in my family knows who my bloodline is - and I prefer it that way. They might have certain suspicions if they've bothered, but they've certainly never forced anything out of me. I'm quite appreciative of the fact that they don't care what my bloodline has done, what my bloodline hasn't done, and who my bloodline has slept with - but instead what I myself can bring to the family. It enables me to be my own person.

A lot of people have mentioned hiding one's history due to some fuckup way back when. What about hiding your history because you can? I choose to separate myself, and I don't believe I've any particularly shameful reason to hide my history. None of my ancestors have been killed due to a misdemeanor on their behalf thus far (let's hope I don't screw it all up). Indeed, if I may be so bold, I feel that certain aspects of my history may even be looked favourably upon.
It's all very nice and all to say that one person won't be judged on their bloodline, but let's face it - when they act "out of the ordinary" some can get a tad confused. I might love licorice, but my parents hated it. I might be partial to redheads, but my father certainly wasn't. This comment naturally doesn't apply to everyone, but some people can't see the distinction between myself and my ancestors. Sometimes, it's just far easier to hide my history, than to make it more widely known.

Sometimes, I want to interact with other people, not other people's bloodlines. From diaries I've read, I know some ancestors of mine have done it in the past. For me personally, I get a kick out of knowing I can do things, without needing to hold daddy's hand (he was always a cheap bastard, anyway).

There are always going to be differing views on this. Some are proud of their ancestors, other fear retribution based on what their ancestors had done. Ultimately its up to the individual to decide what, if anything, they disclose about their lineage.

I think in most cases you will find that the more experienced and mature members of the community will invariably adopt the attitude put forward by Godfather Sekrit. A new arrival will be taken at face value and judged on their individual merits. If the person in question wishes to disclose anything about their predecessors, fine, if not, fine. That's their prerogative and the more mature leaders around will invariably respect that. What would be frowned upon, would be the attempt to gain special treatment on the basis of what any ancestors may have done. That's a very bad way to embark on a new life.

Gwarble also has a good point. A new arrival could also have a terrible family history to live down. Whether that be one of treachery or simple stupidity and immaturity, it matters little. It does not rule out the possibility that this individual could turn a corner and learn, eventually develop into an outstanding mobster. I know that seeing someone learn and grow like this can be immensely rewarding for the leader or sponsor that invested the time and effort into their tutelage.

Looking around he lights a smoke before closing.

Ultimately I believe there is often a misconception about how an individual will be treated. People assume that a bad history will bring a bad future due to the perceptions of the community. If you actually take the time to dig below the surface and speak to any of the people that really matter, you will almost always encounter the attitudes put forward by the two leaders I mentioned. If you don't, then go look somewhere else.

Don't fear the past but don't try to live off the back of it either.

No one has ever asked me for my families bloodline, but if they did I would gladly share it. There were some minor and major mistakes made by my forefathers, but there were also good moments. If the crew judges because of your ancestors mistakes, then it wouldn't be the right crew for you anyway. 

Regarding special treatment for what you father has achieved, I believe it is righteous and deserved. If your father/mother has aided the crew greatly and was respected why shouldn't the son/daughter receive special treatment?