Cartels, Mafias, and Mobs
by slac-in-the-box from LinuxQuestions.org on (#6QRFY)
Irregardless of its Sicilian roots, mafia is deployed more losely these days, and basically describes, according to Webster, "a secret criminal society".
Could we not say any group who keeps each other's secrets about rule breaking is a mafia?
Have any of you ever not reported and kept secret a crime you witnessed? I have. Our "neighborhood" of about 1 home every half mile, pretty much knew that there was a crazy war veteran who lived by the bridge, who shoots everything that moves on his land--bears, cubs, cougars, cubs, deer, fawns, elk, etc., and he didn't have hunting tags for any of them. I can tell on him now because he's passed away, and a family with kids live by the bridge now. I, who did not have to experience the trauma of Vietnam, cannot know what the PTSD that guy had was like. Everybody just thanked him his service and left him alone. But the entire neighborhood is complicit in not reporting all his poached game. Does that make us a mafia?
Or all those cops who keep each others secrets about illegal searches, seizures, arrests, and murders: does that not make them a mafia?
Or all those who don't report when the corporation they work for dumps toxins into the environment, or does something known to be potentially harmful to somebody somewhere--does not such collusion make even these corporations a mafia?
Once, last year, I left my portfolio at home, containing my cdl, first aid certifications, and notices from the state that I am an active school bus driver--technically I was not supposed to drive at all that day without it--but, there was no other drivers to call upon, so I drove anyways, and another driver knew about this and did not report me--so now I'm part of the school bus driver mob.
And some of the school staff stole school supplies for their own use, and sometimes forms get filled out with whatever they need to get more funding, and we look the other way. Even our elementary school staff is a mafia.
When these mafias get really big they get called cartels.
Now this is not really an election thread, but a mafia thread. Nevertheless some of it does pertain to the election. Isn't this 2024 USA presidential election, really just a choice of which Cartel we want stacking the legal deck to its advantage for the next 4 years?
Do we want the oil cartel, or the science cartel?
That's why, to these candidates, responding to the actual question did not seem on their agenda; the questions just give them two minutes to get the most sensational smears in as they can. A logical debate about the issues was actually irrelevant--we shouldn't even call that debating.
Officals take bribes. I overheard a pot tycoon at a rock concert talking about how it took $20k to get the feds off his back. People wonder how that house of known criminal activity stays in business year after year--because of underground mafia deals between the dealer mafias and the cop mafias.
I purport that the above ground picture of government, jurisprudence, justice, the constitution, our rights, etc., is all just subterfuge concealing the activities of our cartels.
So instead of arguing about the surface subterfuge, and rejoicing when the side with the lies that comfort you the most wins, why not wake up and live like Forest Gump.
Cartels do not like Forest Gump, because he lacks candor, and so can't keep anybody's secrets at all. "Simple is as simple does". We need more people like that.
Could we not say any group who keeps each other's secrets about rule breaking is a mafia?
Have any of you ever not reported and kept secret a crime you witnessed? I have. Our "neighborhood" of about 1 home every half mile, pretty much knew that there was a crazy war veteran who lived by the bridge, who shoots everything that moves on his land--bears, cubs, cougars, cubs, deer, fawns, elk, etc., and he didn't have hunting tags for any of them. I can tell on him now because he's passed away, and a family with kids live by the bridge now. I, who did not have to experience the trauma of Vietnam, cannot know what the PTSD that guy had was like. Everybody just thanked him his service and left him alone. But the entire neighborhood is complicit in not reporting all his poached game. Does that make us a mafia?
Or all those cops who keep each others secrets about illegal searches, seizures, arrests, and murders: does that not make them a mafia?
Or all those who don't report when the corporation they work for dumps toxins into the environment, or does something known to be potentially harmful to somebody somewhere--does not such collusion make even these corporations a mafia?
Once, last year, I left my portfolio at home, containing my cdl, first aid certifications, and notices from the state that I am an active school bus driver--technically I was not supposed to drive at all that day without it--but, there was no other drivers to call upon, so I drove anyways, and another driver knew about this and did not report me--so now I'm part of the school bus driver mob.
And some of the school staff stole school supplies for their own use, and sometimes forms get filled out with whatever they need to get more funding, and we look the other way. Even our elementary school staff is a mafia.
When these mafias get really big they get called cartels.
Now this is not really an election thread, but a mafia thread. Nevertheless some of it does pertain to the election. Isn't this 2024 USA presidential election, really just a choice of which Cartel we want stacking the legal deck to its advantage for the next 4 years?
Do we want the oil cartel, or the science cartel?
That's why, to these candidates, responding to the actual question did not seem on their agenda; the questions just give them two minutes to get the most sensational smears in as they can. A logical debate about the issues was actually irrelevant--we shouldn't even call that debating.
Officals take bribes. I overheard a pot tycoon at a rock concert talking about how it took $20k to get the feds off his back. People wonder how that house of known criminal activity stays in business year after year--because of underground mafia deals between the dealer mafias and the cop mafias.
I purport that the above ground picture of government, jurisprudence, justice, the constitution, our rights, etc., is all just subterfuge concealing the activities of our cartels.
So instead of arguing about the surface subterfuge, and rejoicing when the side with the lies that comfort you the most wins, why not wake up and live like Forest Gump.
Cartels do not like Forest Gump, because he lacks candor, and so can't keep anybody's secrets at all. "Simple is as simple does". We need more people like that.