Larger Than Life

Gentlemen: In countless movies we see the names of the noteworthy "Men of honor" portrayed as "larger than life" characters. Men that held honor, respect, loyalty, and a sense of manliness and toughness. Throughout history, gentlemen such as Capone, Colombo, Geneovese, Marcello, and Gambino (as many others) were known to be men that were widely respected and looked up to.

With this being said I have to pose the question: To where are the men of honor of our age? Have the times changed so drastically that everyone now believes a man of honor is a rap artist that rhymes about screwing white whores? What happened to the "keep your mouth shut to the grave" oath of Omerta?

It seems these days anyone who enters organized crime in our age has 2 cards to play. One being making money in the rackets successfully or number Two: To play mobster until caught then squeal and write a book in order to achieve money because option one fell through.

I simply pose this question to see other views on why the mighty "La Cosa Nostra" has fallen from its once great prestige around the nation. Loss of hunger to make money? Complacency in the name of the organization and its history? A shrinking pool of pure Italian blood to choose from? We all know RICO was a devastating factor with dire consequences, but I believe that there are other mitigating factors to as why there are no men of character, and rather brute thugs that make up what was once one of the most powerful forces in 'merica.

Thanks Chaps!

In my opinion, your fundamental position is flawed. From the beginning, they were only ever hooligans who masqueraded as men of honor. Sure, maybe they used to take themselves and their organization more seriously than they do now, but they were always procurers, thieves, and killers...nothing more.

Most of the old timers came from poor families and their fathers were hard working men who usually died at middle age cuz of the hard work.They all wanted good future for their kids.Thats why most of the old timers didnt want to be known as gangsters.They kept low profile.Plus the old timers knew what hunger really means.As for the new generation or the sons of the old mobsters,well they all grew up with tons of cash,among gangsters and idolized them.Like George Anastasia once said "Whats the point of being a gangster,if no one knows who you are",meaning the younger generation wanted to be recognized.They can do what ever they want,and in the end they all end up dead or squeal.They want the "fast life".I know some people my age that are livin the life and you can always hear them sayin "Its better to live one day as a king and die(or in some cases squeal),than to live 100 years as a peasant".Its evolution but backwards.If you ask me i blame the old timers who brought their kids into "the life".....or you can also blame the Godfather movie and dont ask why

I dont really belive in "keep your mouth shut to the grave" cuz sooner or later most of em break.Or at least they will write a book or somethin.Some of the so called "Men of Honour"(wich i belive its fake) wanted their story to be told,after their death ofcourse.

I'm sorry, let me clarify that a little more. The ones that have been glorified in history such as The original 5 Bosses are made out to be more significant than they were. While people like you and me know they were murderers and thieves, the rest of the world praises them.

And I do not praise or justify their existence, I do not wish to be classified as one of those people that worships the mob. I was just inferring to the rest of the world on why do they think there is no more big names, no more larger than life's that are being portrayed? Should it be that we have to wait 30 years for some young movie maker to write another goodfellas from our time to make the wiseguys of our generation look like they did fifty years ago? All fiction? Because we all know that the life portrayed by hollywood is far from the real thing, but will they continue to glorify it in the future when it is the exact opposite? Forgive me if I'm coming off as hard to understand, I'm not sure if my point is getting across.

In the old days, it seemed that the head of the families were proud to be the godfathers. Things were safer as Hoover looked the other way and RICO wasn't effectively used.

These days, the dons are more prudent. They go out of their way to disguise their position, even appointing front men to take the heat from the feds.