John was walking down the street after having listened to a number of recent conversations and decided that he need to say his piece. Finding a tall stack of crates to stand on he cleared his throat and began to speak:

"Recently there was a meeting among the leaders of our community after which Don Spacepole took the time to address the masses to give us some insight into what was discussed. One of the things brought up was the idea of people being disrespected on the streets and what the consequences of that would be - whether it was a crew leader or simply a member of one of the families."

"A rather lively discussion took place with one person in particular stating that crew leaders didn't necessarily deserve respect just because of the position they hold."

John shook his head slightly at this and then lit a cigarette before continuing. 

"A number of other conversations were going on there so I felt it would be better for me to bring this up as a topic unto itself to be discussed. What is respect and why is it important to this thing of ours?"

"For my part I believe that there are two kinds of respect, and both are important. The first i the respect that we should show everyone, even our enemies, at all times. This is the simple respect that all people deserve and that makes us better than the scum of the earth thugs that will rob from their own mothers to get a fix."

"Now, this respect doesn't mean I am going to agree withe everyone, or even be nice all of the time. It does, however, mean that even as I may go to war with someone, even as I may pull the trigger that ends their life I will treat them as a human, not a piece of filth. Exactly were the line is drawn on this is a bit harder to say because I think it is a lot more about how we say and do things that even necessarily what we say and do - but I think the old adage - "do unto others as you would have done unto you" is a powerful statement. 

"For me this kind of respect is important because it keeps our society civil and allows us all to enjoy our lives even as we compete and even war with each other. There is no reason to allow society to become uncivilized simply because we accept that violence is at times part of our society - after all we are soldiers, not barbarians."

John took another long drag from his cigarette and took a long sip out of his hip flask

"The second kind of respect is even more important to me - that is the respect due to someone because of their standing in family and especially if they are in the upper structure of a family."

John's face hardened a bit as he continued speaking

"I find it outrageous that anyone would even consider disrespecting a crew leader - be it from their own city or another. Are we common criminals? Are we animals who will lash out at anyone without regard for their standing in society?"

"We are Mafioso and with that comes a degree of dignity and decorum. Our leaders - be they from a free city or not - have earned their place in our society and until such time as they are removed by another family they deserve to be treated with the respect that their position calls for."

"Hell, even those of rank deserve to be treated with respect by those below them in rank. Someone who has earned the title of Consigliere for example should certainly be shown a modicum of respect for that fact by a Wise Guy. I'm not saying that people should grovel at their feet, but they should certainly acknowledge the fact that the person they are speaking with has earned their title and that their words do in fact hold more weight that those who have not yet made it that far."

"The importance of this kind of respect is the very existence of this thing of ours and is what keeps us out of chaos. We live in a world in which death can come for any of us at any time and it is often the respect for our leaders and our elders that keeps death at bay. By respecting those who lead us we make ourselves better than the common thugs and street rats and allow our society to achieve great things don't you agree?"

Putting out his cigarette John leaned back against the wall to wait and see what reaction those around him might have.

Vito had been walking by the streets when he had heard someone he had seen around Detroit began to start speaking. The topic this man had begun to talk about had been about respect and the different kinds to him. Vito listened intently and soon suddenly found himself agreeing with many of the things the man was saying. As the man finished his speech he leaned against the wall and seemed to wait to see if there would be any responses. Vito looks around and sees if anybody is gonna step forward. And after not seeing anybody do so he decides to step forward himself.

"I agree with what you're saying John. Respect is a very key thing that makes this thing of ours more organized and different from the things that the common criminals do. This thing about rank respect and people not wanting to respect rank is a new thing to me. I feel like given the way things work in this time and era it's really not even necessary, for the simple fact that ranks are a lot harder to earn now. Most if not all of the current leaders tell you that they do not just hand out ranks.  So unless people don't believe the leaders then most of the people who have a rank have earned said rank. So I don't see the point in not respecting ranks unless they just throw it around when they speak but I myself haven't witnessed that."

Vito takes a breath and then continues.

"But the most important part is your first example of respect, and that's just common respect that you have for your fellow mobster, be they friend or enemy. If you give respect you will in most cases receive respect. Therefore if respect is given even in debates, things should run much smoother in the first place and the disrespect should become even less of an issue than it is. Nowadays a lot of the people think of respect based off of what one has said in the streets or how they contribute there, and that most certainly is a way to earn respect and deserves respect. But at the same time that is not the only thing that deserves respect. What people contribute to their family or their city is not always seen in the public eye, and those contributions can also be the things that have given the people the ranks or positions that they have now. In short what I'm saying is I believe everyone deserves respect until they show that they don't. And those who have a rank or a position of power like a Crew Leader has done something to deserve the position that they're in and they should be respected for that if not just respected as a person to begin with. And I believe that if this happens by those who are so worried about people claiming disrespect then they wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. That's what I believe."

MikhailKomarov listened to his two comrades speak about the concepts of respect. Interesting conversation since the latest crew leader meeting conversation had mentioned this a bit. While others showed their colors of giving people respect, the majority of people believe the structure of this thing, and how respect should be given.

"Interesting concepts John. I think you nailed it on the head with your remarks. You too Vito. 

The simple respect we show to each other really does go a far way. Like you said, we're not animals, we're businessmen. Why on earth should we treat each other like dogs while we're trying to earn our living? We should be working together, rather than living like scum."

Mikhail takes a second to take in the fresh cold air. Winter was settling in the Motor City...

"The other kind of respect is something that thing of ours has always had instilled. I think everyone who is in a position of leadership, should be owed the respect the title deserves. While I think they may be entitled that, I also think those same people should not parade like they are completely entitled to say or do whatever they please. Like you even said John, people shouldn't grovel at their feet nor should leaders be complete pridurki.

I hope others understand the concepts of respect because I think if you follow these, you shouldn't have any problems in our ways."

You know John, some people will just reply to you Respect is earned, not given. Now, my own answer to the question would be kinda different: If you show no respect, you won't be shown some.

Franky was walking by and heard speaking in response to a flyer that had the words of his father still posted on it. It had been some time since that discussion had taken place, however, someone had taken the time to put the words of those who had spoken into writing and now it seemed someone had decided to take up the topic again. 

"Don WoonDa, I am sorry to say that my father, John_Scalise_Jr, was killed a short while ago, however, I think that I can safely speak for him as we had several discussions on this matter. I would agree that in order to get respect you must give it, however, - especially on first contact - I believe their is an inherent respect that those who are in certain positions have earned. A respect to the position itself if not the person if you will. I would say that this respect is automatically granted but can be lost based on the person's actions."

"I would also contend that if you have two people are are both respectful overall that there is a difference in the level of respect that should be granted based on rank. That is to say, if you walked into a room and a Godfather and a Wise Guy were in the room and both were being polite and respectful you would still show a higher deference to the Godfather based on his or her position."

"You would be polite and respectful to both because that is the first kind of respect my father was talking about - that which you give to all people until they give you reason not too. The second type of respect he mentioned, however, is the way you would listen more to the Godfather, or temper your own words to them, based on their position and the knowledge and experience that they have in order to be in that position."

"I'm not sure that I am fully vocalizing my point correctly, but I hope it is coming across."

I got the meaning of what you meant Franky. At least I think I did. What I meant by leaving a written message there was not people think that I do appreciate tripping around while talking to some dead men I didn't know personally. What I did wish to do is saying my opinion on some topic someone living at some point left in a written form about some important subject.

Regardless of the respect I had or not for some persons, I was personally tired of seeing more than one person repeating a mantra with a meaning maybe they didn't understood well... And it has nothing to do with who you are or your father was.

For me earning respect may be related to something else than earning it by money... Also someone does not earn disrespect by pure lack of money, rank, or respect. But respect and money together can make someone go far. Also I seen people with respect go further than people with money in their career more often than the reverse situation. Then, having respect from someone, in the obits for example, or having more money than someone else, or not giving money to someone's leader someone would otherwise give because of a lack of respect, also ended some other careers. So things are never simple, but at least I understand what I meant. We are all different, and it's a thing to respect too.