CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. ORGANIZED CRIME- WHAT IS IT, AND CAN IT BE STOPPED? PT 3.

ORGANIZED CRIME and CRIMINAL GANGS are often placed Together in the Same Category, and are Often used Interchangeably as being Identical Terms that Refer to the same thing.

However, that is not really True.  There are Real Differences that can Include 

such Things as:

 -  Goals that are Important to Each.

-  Methodology in How Criminal Acts are Planned and Carried out.

-  The Recruitment of New Members.

-  Rules that are put in place to Resolve Internal Problems.

-  The Degree to which Media Exposure Affects Policy Decisions.

-  The Use of Ritualistic Ceremonies to Bind All Members Together.

These Differences, Historically, are Sometimes Indicative of the Relative 

Success of Each.

GANGS are Traditionally a much Looser Collection of Individuals, who Team Up to Commit Criminal Acts, but usually don't have any formal Allegiance to one another.

Members come and go, so Most Criminal Acts are Those of Opportunity, or Extorting Local Small Businesses who cannot reasonably put up a Successful Defense.

In the U.S. Criminal Gangs have been around since its Inception.  In the Early Days of the Republic, the Size and Type was usually Orientated Towards the Geography and Relative Isolation of the Area of Operations.  Most Successful Gangs Operated on the Frontiers of the New Country, Where Law and Order were in Their Infancy.

The Dawn of the Formation of Larger Gangs, with a Membership that was Drawn from an Identifiable Section of the Population, came with the Onset of a Large Wave of Immigration starting in the Early 1800s.  From this Initial Period of American History, we see the Beginning of Social Factors that led to the Formation of the First Organized Criminal Gangs that would have a Lasting and Direct Influence on Major Population Centers.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. PORTRAITS OF EVIL- THE MYTH OF THE "WISE GUY."

Movies are Entertainment.  Television is Entertainment.  That is Their #1 Function, not Portraying Historical Events in a Truly Realistic Manner.  Too Many Viewers Forget this, and get Their Knowledge of History from Producers, Directors and Writers, People who are NOT HISTORIANS.

Unfortunately, that often Means Glorifying Groups and Individuals in ways that are not True to Life, and Creates a Mythology that has little to do with Reality.

I am covering Organized Crime in another section on this page, so this Article will Deal with how such Activities are Portrayed in the Entertainment Media, now and in the past.

THE "GODFATHER" MOVIES-  FACT AND FICTION.

That there Exists a Criminal Enterprise, made up of Italian and Sicilian Mobsters who are Formed into Individual Gangs/Groups Called FAMILIES, is Absolutely True.

Conceived of and Implemented in the 1930s, it was done to create a Truce with other Organized Criminal Groups. Other Ethnic Gangs;  Irish, Jewish, Polish etc., cooperated with Their Italian Counterparts, so that everyone could make Money. (This was a Problem in Chicago, where Gang Wars Continued Until Al Capone Emerged Victorious. This was just before he was Shipped off to Federal Prison for Income Tax Evasion.)

Because of Racial Stereotyping, Chinese - American Gangs, or "TONGS", and African- American Gangs, were Treated differently.  However, They have also Developed and Grown into more Sophisticated Enterprises, Brokering "DEALS" with other Criminal Elements.

The Idea of a Benevolent Father Figure looking out for those less Fortunate is Pure Fiction.  The Only Reason such a Thing Ever Happened, in Real Life, was to keep other Criminal Groups from Moving in and Victimizing Those that the Resident/Ethnic Crime Leaders considered Their Own Source of Illegal Income. Your "PROTECTION," as a Business Owner, was the amount of Money you Paid to Operate within the Borders of a Given Families Jurisdiction.  IT'S CALLED "EXTORTION."

The Idea that some "Bosses" were against some Criminal Activities, Like Dealing Drugs, and wouldn't allow Family members to Participate in such Activities was Extremely Rare.  When it did happen, it was because of the Notoriety and Publicity that such Crimes would bring from the Authorities and the Public.  Eventually, this objection was pushed aside, there was to much Money to be made.

The Idea that Leadership is passed Down From Father to Son is Nonsense.  You Rise to Power by:  Making the Most Money for Everyone, Being Utterly Ruthless or Gathering Powerful Allies, Showing the Degree of Influence you have on the Legal System, and the Friendship of Political Figures who may owe Their position to your  "Assistance."

ETHICS AND MORALITY. PERSONAL ETHICS VS INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS, OR FINDING GOD VS FORCING GOD. PT 4.

From the Two Examples, we get the Basic Controversy that exists in the U.S. Today, as well as many Nations around the World that try to separate Religious Belief, Tradition, and Form of Worship outside the Realm of Government Control;

To what Degree does Legal and Lawful Authority have over the Religious Lives of Those who live within its Borders.  What is Permissible, and free from Government Intervention, and what Constitutes Criminal or Undesirable Activity that must be Controlled or Stopped.

Remember, in part Two we had a New Government that wanted to leave as many Personal Moral Decisions as possible in the hands of the Individual, Free of Possible Intervention or Sanction.  In part Three we had just the opposite, a New Government that wanted to control the Religious and Spiritual Lives of Those within its Borders, to the Point of Punishing those who will not follow a Specific Mandate about correct Moral Behavior.

However, within the U.S., THERE IS A PROBLEM THAT TAKES THESE TYPES OF SCENARIOS, AND REVERSES THEM;  INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS THAT BELIEVE THAT THEIR RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ENTITLES THEM NOT ONLY TO WORSHIP AND BELIEVE AS THEY SO CHOSE, BUT THAT THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS MUST LEGISLATE THESE DOCTRINES INTO LAW, MAKING IT ILLEGAL NOT TO FOLLOW A SPECIFIC CODE OF ETHICAL OR MORAL CONDUCT.

It often Amazes me the number of people who claim to follow "THE PATH OF GOD", OR "FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE LORD", who will scream the loudest if they believe that Their Rights are being violated, YET SEEK TO FORCE EVERYONE TO OBEY THEIR OWN PERSONAL FORM OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF. TO THEM THE "PATH" OR "FOLLOW", IS NOT TO BE LEFT TO INDIVIDUAL CHOICE.

Now, in the U.S., this wouldn't be a Problem if Elected and/or Appointed Officials Actually Understood or Believed in the CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.

UNFORTUNATELY, TO ACHIEVE THE POWER AND PRESTIGE THAT COMES WITH HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICE, MANY AMERICANS ARE WILLING TO TOSS OUT THE CONCEPT OF "FREEDOM OF RELIGION", TO APPEASE THOSE WHO WANT TO LIVE IN A THEOCRACY OF THEIR OWN CREATION.

ETHICS AND MORALITY. PERSONAL ETHICS VS INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS, OR FINDING GOD VS FORCING GOD. PT 3.

In Part Two, we examined a Government that allows those living within its Boundaries, the opportunity to Worship Freely, and in the Manner they choose, free of Official Interference.  This Policy is Subject to Obeying Civil Laws, designed to preserve the Safety and Stability of the Standing Government.

The Moral Standard that this Type of Government Policy is Endorsing, regarding the extent of Permissible Religious Behavior and Activities to be left undisturbed, can be related as:

The Concept that Ethical and Moral Behavior, in how one chooses to live Their Life, is Meaningless if one is not free to select an Alternative without outside Intervention.  In Other Words, Coming to God and Obeying Specific Doctrines, cannot be Truly an Act of Devotion and Belief, if FORCE OR THE THREAT OF PUNISHMENT COMES FROM GOVERNMENT SOURCES.

The Government in example #1 is Defining GOD on a Very Personal Level, leaving as much as possible to Individual Interpretation, only Intervening when the Safety of All is at Risk.

NOW, let us create a second example.

The Scenario:  After an Extensive Conflict, a Peace Treaty is Drawn up between Two Countries.  In the Treaty, a Community that Lies within the Physical Boundaries of Nation A, is now to come under the Rule of Nation B, due to the Physical Borders being Altered.

This Community had been living under the Laws of Nation A, which has a Policy regarding Religious Freedom similar to that of the Country described in the First Example.

However, in this Second Example, the New Government believes that GOD GUIDES THEM DIRECTLY, AND THIS IS EXEMPLIFIED IN THEIR CODE OF LAW,  WHICH ALLOWS DIRECT INTERVENTION AGAINST ANYONE WHO DOES NOT OBEY RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE SET BY "DIVINE INSPIRATION", AS INTERPRETED BY RELIGIOUS HIERARCHY.