When I lived in New York, I used to notice with amusement the double standard applied by the tabloids when it came to crime.
All non-Mafia criminals, especially racial minorities, were regularly referred to as "vermin," "animals," "thugs" and other such epithets. The mob though? Despite committing all the same crimes, they were "gentlemen," "men of honor" who lived by a strict code. Mob trials, always, were the result of overzealous prosecutors working with dishonorable snitches to snuff out admirable, well-dressed dons. When John Gotti passed away the New York Post treated it as though a president or pope had died.
I was reminded of this by an extremely silly op-ed that ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday. In it George Parry, a former prosecutor who did battle in court with the mob in the '70s and '80s, laments how today's mob has changed from the good old days:
For example, it was clear to me that my generation of mobsters was completely indifferent to the subtleties of political correctness, especially when it came to the exquisite sensitivities of the feminist and gay communities. The old Mafiosi had real trouble getting in touch with their metrosexuality because, if it had existed, they would have blindfolded and strangled it.Too bad, huh? If only they'd get back to putting gays and women in their place like the old days.
Parry goes on to complain about how today's mobsters conduct "making" ceremonies while wearing bathrobes because, as Parry writes, they want to make sure the new made men aren't wearing a wire. But is that really the reason why?:
But today's made man swears to slit throats on command while wearing a bathrobe like some kind of mincing buffoon... Personally, I find the idea of naked hit men silly, depressing, and a sure sign the mob is succumbing to modern society's feminist-spawned male squishiness, which abjures the unapologetic masculinity that made this country great. And don't think for a second that the nightmare of a politically correct, feminist-compliant Mafia can't happen.Seriously. What a bunch of FAGS.
Parry himself wrote that the reason for the robe thing is that they want to prevent wires. But then he goes on to assume, with no evidence, that the mobsters really like being naked, are suddenly heavily influenced by feminism, or perhaps they're GAY or something.
The old Mafia was unapologetically sexist and homophobic, and they also killed people, frequently, and committed crimes with impunity. The new mob isn't quite so sexist or homophobic, they kill people far less often, and they have much less power in general. I'm willing to accept a little bit more "squishiness" from today's mob if that means fewer people get killed, and I would expect a former prosecutor of the mob to agree.
Parry:
Today's mobsters need to realize that there are worse things than being caught on a body wire. One of them is getting the reputation of a bunch of clothes-shedding, scrotum-gazing, bathrobe-wearing girlie men.Actually, no. People thinking you're a "girlie man"- gay, in other words- is NOT worse than being caught on a wire committing a crime. For one thing, you don't go to prison for being gay. Besides, it doesn't seem like anyone but Parry is worried about the homosexual implications of the robe thing.
Maybe the mob should shoot a gay guy or two every so often, just to give Parry a nostalgia kick.
Posted by Stephen Silver at April 3, 2011 08:36 PMI assume his favorite Sopranos episode was where Gay Vito got whacked.
Posted by: LilB at April 4, 2011 12:45 PM