Chapter 3: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS 

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

     This paper attempted to determined how the mafia movies affect the behavior of teenagers through media or social media. The media is a very powerful hand of communication and influence to teenagers. 

      This research design used in this study is the investigative method wherein data from articles on the internet were used to answer the research question posed. The research findings are the following:

1. Movies such as The Godfather, Scarface and Goodfellas are some of the most watch mafia movies that portray the kind of characteristic of what a mobster is.

2. It's true that many gangs in the U.S. use teenagers for business, influence them on immoral things that a criminal would actually do.

3. Teenagers are the most easy to be influenced by any kind of things, that especially includes their behavior. 

CONCLUSIONS

      Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. Teenagers are vulnerable and are easily to be influenced on how they think and behave.

2. They draw their identity from people who are close to them and has authority over them.

3. Media provides information on how they pattern their lifestyle on people with power like mafia bosses, and their toughness. That being soft and emotional is a sign of weakness.

RECOMMENDATIONS

      After drawing the conclusions of the study, I hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations:

1. The media should have the sense of responsibility on the projection of violent movies such as movies that includes mafia and mobsters. They should know what the possible outcome of what they project on the movies.

2. The parents should choose an environment for their child to grow on, and develop a very good relationship to their children when they grow to be teenagers. So they could know when they are at the adolescent stage, those things they see at the movies, the violent scenes are not to be done in real life. 

References 

A. Electronic Media 

Mokeyane, Nola. Media's Positive & Negative Influence on Teenagers. Retrieved December 10, 2013 from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/medias-positive-negative-influence-teenagers-10506.html

Welsh, Moira (2004). Mafia Movies Influence Gang. Retrieved December 9, 2013 from http://www.thefreeradical.ca/copycatCrimes/mafiaMoviesInfluenceGang.html

Sorte, Mike La (2009). Analyze This: The Criminal Mentality. Retrieved October 13, 2013 from http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_433.html

Orlandini, Gino (May 2013).The Iceman Review – Infamous Mafia Hitman Struggles For Work-Life Balance. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/05/03/the-iceman-movie-review-james-franco/

Bradshaw, Peter (June 2013). The Iceman - review. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jun/06/the-iceman-review

"Mafia in the United States." Retrieved November 11, 2013 from http://www.history.com/topics/mafia-in-the-united-states

Walker, Clarence (Febuary 2005).Help Wanted... Who wants to Join the Mafia? Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.americanmafia.com/feature_articles_295.html

Sorte, Mike La (2009). The Rise and Fall of Omerta. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_440.html

Moody, Barry (November 2012). Gay anti-mafia politician breaks mold in Sicily. Retrieved October 22, 2013 from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-12/features/sns-rt-us-italy-sicilybre8ab0po-20121112_1_mafia-boss-anti-mafia-giovanni-falcone/2

Mulkerrins, Jane (September 2013). My father, New York's most feared mafia boss. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10304254/My-father-New-Yorks-most-feared-mafia-boss.html

Crace, John (Febuary 2013). Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano: my dad, the mafia underboss. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/15/sammy-gravano-mafia-dad-karen-gravano

Chapter 1: Introduction

THE MAFIA










A Research Paper Presented to
The English Resource Center
Asia Pacific College
3 Humabon Place, Magallanes
Makati City







In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
Research Writing











James Levi More

December 2013

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

     Numerous corruption and killings in the world of civilization are caused by the mobster works. The process of gaining power over the city merge the interpretation of the spectators and the mafia itself. Most mobsters are psychopaths, they gain it for pleasure, they feel no conscience, while others do it with honor for their family. Mafia mobsters has proven to be one of the most common criminal in the world.

     Corruption provides mobsters or mafia families with more power and money in order to control the city. According to the article entitled, "Analyze This: The Criminal Mentality" by Mike La Sorte, Professor Emeritus in the website americanmafia.com, he said that a  psychopath is someone alienated, aggressive and highly impulsive. It's a person who feels no kind of guilt or conscience, and commits crimes like its a normal thing (http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_433.html).

     General sources of money and power are the different types of businesses (protection racketeering, money laundry, stealing banks, drug trafficking) or the traditional ways where you only want to have a good life for your family. Some of the most influential elements that contribute to mobsters are historical events of murder in the mafia life. This things are somehow exalted in movies and in games. One of the best personality of a mobster in most of these movies is the toughness. Some of the best movies that shows this kind of characteristic are Scarface, The Godfather, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and many more. 

     In spite of all the government authorities chasing and arresting the mafia organization, there is still a bigger problem in terms of looking into the society. Among these are the teenagers, some of them fantasize the life of being a mobster. Living dangerously, being rich, having political power, and the pleasure of all things he could possibly get by being a mobster. Although at present, the mafia is being manifested at computer games, online games and many other types of games to be displayed at. This is where the violence come at most, it displays the most common way of showing that you are tough and unafraid to die. 

    
    There is a perception on some teenagers that the enjoyment of a teenager in watching mafia films will be liberated in having to see the violence and the influence of the mafia organization on the society. Without the guidance of a parent on their teenager son or daughter, what would be the effect on them psychologically? What if many of the teenagers fantasizing the world of mafia get deeply interested and decides to join mafia gang, how would it affect today's generation, if a large group of teenagers wants to join the mafia or be a criminal. Therefore, having background knowledge in mafia will add to the viewers' awareness on why a mobster is does it and taught that way. 

     In similar to what kinds of businesses the mafia does, in the Philippines there are only syndicates, drug trafficking, buying political power and forming different kind of gangs and fraternities. The difference is that, in the Philippines they consider it a brotherhood, while in the U.S. they call it family.  

     Instead of dealing with a mobster, why not block that idea of being tough in a way where you can have a peace of mind, this paper focuses on what the mafia brought into this world, how will it affect the young teenagers who fantasize the mafia and what solution is there to stop the mafia from being a psychopath. 

B. Statement of the Problem    

    This study aims to answer this question:

    1. How will the mafia mobsters movies affect the behavior of an individual teenager?

  

C. Significance of the study

High school and college students. This research paper would be able to help students in high school or college students who are interested in the mafia and their culture. This would help them to open their eyes to what is really happening in this type of organization, its not just the toughness or the violence, it is also about what would it contribute to helping the world stop any kinds of worldly problems. 

Future Researchers. This study is essential for future researchers to make similar studies since there is a need for psychological studies in the minds of criminals. For the future studies to be made, exploiting this paper as a source of valuable data, there might be an improvement in looking more deeply into what the mafia is really all about.

D. Scope and Delimitation

    This study focuses on what the mafia brought into this world and how it operates in a country. Mobsters have been considered since this topic is widely accepted as a topic for toughness and violence. 

    This study does not discuss other topics for politics, poverty and global problems the mafia caused. This is also to give attention to the mobsters way of living and making business. Moreover, some articles say that most of the mobsters nowadays are psychopaths. Therefore, the study would be most suitable to the continuing reports on mafia cases. 


E.   Materials and Methods

      This research employs investigative method, this research aims to find and to discuss how would the Mafia in social media affect the behavior of an individual teenager. This method is defined as a process of gathering, analyzing, and classifying how the media is the bridge of communication to influencing millions of people including young teenagers.

      Information relevant to the study was gathered from various references in the internet such as news articles and other articles from online sources. 

F.   Definition of Terms

Psychopath  
Someone who is alienated, aggressive and highly impulsive. It is a person who feels no kind of guilt or conscience, and commits crimes like it’s a normal thing.

Mobster
A gangster of the mafia family, a person who follows orders from the mafia boss and can be ranked in a highly according to his performance.

Underboss 
A member of the gang second to the boss. He takes orders and delivers the orders to the lower rank the soldiers and associates.

Chapter 2: Discussion

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

How will the mafia mobster movies affect the behavior of an individual teenager?

Media or social media is a powerful hand in terms of communication to millions of people around the world, specially to the adolescents. Teenagers are the most curious and adventure looking people we could ever hoped for. Teenagers spend their days online visiting sites like facebook, twitter, myspace, as well as playing video games, watching tv, and even reading books that send them confused messages.

Violence in media often conveys a conflict of knowing who has the authority to do violence. Young people such as children and teenagers often view the "bad guys" in the movies as the violent ones, and the "good guys" use the same, they fight violence with violence. Heroes are violent, and, as such, they are rewarded for their behavior. It is just like the usual scenario of using violence for a righteous cause to defend the weak. In the daily life, it may translate as a justification for using violence to perceive victimizers. 

The mafia use violence to protect their families and their illegal businesses, they use violence to gain power, wealth and influence. The adolescent age is the most important stage of development, according to Erik Erikson's "development depends on what is done to a person.  At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does.  An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and “fitting in”, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong." Teens are the most curious people, as Erikson said that at the adolescent age there is role confusion, when the mafia comes in to a life of a teenager, you could expect the worst consequences on young people to joining and be influenced by mafia gangsters.      


According to the article entitled Media's Positive & Negative Influence on Teenagers written by Nola Mokeyane, that at a developmental stage when teens seek greater freedom and independence, the glorification of drugs, alcohol, risky sexual and violent behaviors in the media make it challenging for teens to make responsible behavioral choices. With regarding to this, teenagers are confused because of the dirty and tempting movies and shows that the media portrays. A confused teenager with no guidance and good relationship with a parent might actually be a victim of this kinds of behavior.

After looking for many information, an article entitled Mafia movies influence gang an article written by Moira Welsh on the site www.thefreeradical.ca, gangs often do the usual criminal life, but here they copied the mafia way. According to this there are many teenagers involved in this gang called Malvern Crew.  There are jealousies between the leaders and the younger "soldiers", mostly teenagers, who are required to prove themselves by doing street crimes, the officer said. It's no surprise then, that teenagers are taking a piece of the drug trade for themselves — especially at high school. 

Characteristics of a Mobster

According to the site americanmafia.com these are some of the usual characteristics shown on movies and different books I've read about the mafia. 

A. Fearless

Showing no sign of fear by not creating any face expression.

B. Short Tempered

Easily angered, they tend to scare people by showing unusual types of displaying their emotions. It's either hurting them or destroying things around them.

C. Guilt Free or Conscience Free

They are trained to feel guilt free, by allowing them to do their jobs without letting them feel unhappy that what they are doing is something morally bad.

D. Aggressive

Behaving angry and violent in doing their job and to the enemy.

Aside from these characteristics, a change in a teenager is heavily highlighted. The fact that they fantasize the stereotyped character of a mobster, the toughness, fearless and aggressive faces they display at the movies they watch, they still don't know what is the consequence on having that kind of character. In my own observation, the mafia bosses and other higher ranked gangsters do love their families, regardless of who they are with.

Since these are the stereotyped characteristics of an individual mobster, lets now look on how would it affect the young mind of a single teenager. In watching those kind of movies, action movies, any type of movies that includes killing, violent actions, aggressive display of angry emotions, a teenager tends to watch it a lot more. By watching it, the mind memorizes the characteristics without the teenager being aware of it.

Consequences that may happen

With an individual teenager happen to be on an environment where he could be influenced by those kind of things, he or she might suffer the consequence. When they tend to be obsessive on things like this, especially the mafia life, they tend treat it as if it is their goal in life.

According to the article I found entitled "Help Wanted... Who wants to Join the Mafia?" an article written by  Clarence Walker, an Investigative Reporter & Crime Story Producer (Houston, Texas). A true life story of initiation ritual with a fictional character to cover the real identity of the real life person. According to his article the fictional character named as Carmine De'Angelo is a straight-A student and an outstanding high school football player. The teenager idolized his grandfather's mob connections and wants to enter their world. 

To become a mafia, violence is where you start. They pick a guy for you to kill, and you do it. Through this, they are trying to see if you are weak and soft, brutal killing would be the best way to show and prove to them that you are tough. But during this kind of initiation the consequences may be death and sadness to your relatives.

To make the long story short, the Fictional character Carmine got investigated and was put to court, charged with murders and racketeering, and went to jail. His dreams of being a football star was put to an end. With regards to this story, the Elements of the story about the fictional Carmine De'Angelo and His arrest at the wedding of the man whose brother was killed by De'Angelo is based on real-life mob associate John Pappas. 

blogpost 7:What the life of Mafia brought to the world

Mafia brought us a world with no fear, hope and freedom of will into this world. As of today, at this present time, in some part of the world, the mafia still dominates in different cimes. One of wich is that the mob create new ways to extort money. They have made connections on big banks, and different companies and industries. According to this article entitled: Italian Mafia Rakes in Billions as Global Economy Struggles at the website foxnews.com, the mafia never stop on growing, even as the global economy struggles, the mafia just sits and relax on their golden life. 

The crime syndicates are flush with billions of euros from extortion rackets, drug trafficking and booming sales in fake designer clothing made in China expressly for the Italian mob. While businesses around the world are struggling down for survival, the Italian mob is living a golden moment. The Mafia used brutal force and terror to make sure the peasants worked hard and didn't cause trouble. Revolts were repressed violently, often with the help of the army or more often the police. No wonder so many Sicilians left for America. “Coffee, water, fruit, bread, milk, meat, cheese, and even biscuits are all products of organized crime,” says author and journalist Roberto Saviano, who lives under police protection after receiving death threats from the Neapolitan Camorra, one of Italy's Naples-based organized-crime syndicates. 

Going back to the money, I found this article entitled:  Mafia now "Italy's No.1 bank" as crisis bites: report by James Mackenzie on the website reuters.com, extortionate lending by criminal groups had become a "national emergency," said the report by anti-crime group SOS Impresa. Organized crime now generated a turnover of about 140 billion euros ($178.89 billion) and profits of more than 100 billion euros. Until now, the mafia still controls the biggest companies and industries and is living in mansions. Taking a gold shower and is never stopping. In many ways the feds can find a way to stop this, but what if a member of the feds is a mobster, this madness won't ever stop.

blogpost 6: Mafia on Movies

Action movies are one the most watched genre in the film industry. No one seems to dislike it. There are many movies about the mafia mobsters, some in fictional characters, while some are true-to-life history. On these movies, they have portrayed what the mafia is like and it works. Lets try to look in deeper to the true mafia stories. One is about a contract killer of the mafia. There are many question that can be asked, but we should be careful, because we should not judge the book by its cover, nor judge it otherwise. In this blog, we will look into what the movie is sayin and what the real life mobster portrays. 

According to the article entitled: "The Iceman" Review – Infamous Mafia Hitman Struggles For Work-Life Balance by Gino Orlandini on the website hollywoodlife.com, he asked that is this man is an evil killer or a family man. Looking into this article, a man with a family to feed is a difficult job. In this story, we began to ask; Is this guy really evil? Or is it just a warface so that the enemies that he might face would be afraid of him?  It also paints Kuklinski as averse to killing women or children as a matter of principle – even going out of his way to save a young girl who witnesses him commit a murder. In his story, I saw a man with a good heart. A man pressured, assuming that he has no more job, he dicides to join the mob and work for them as an hitman. 

After looking into that, I found this review article entitled: The Iceman - review, written by Peter Bradshaw on the website theguardian.com, Kuklinski, a guy who runs a porn distribution business, kept secret from his respectable wife, Deborah. But then he is recruited as a chillingly calm assassin by local mobster Roy Demeo, whom he later enrages by going into business with another psychotic murderer and violence enthusiast, nicknamed Mr Freezy. Even though he runs a porn ditribution business, he respects his wife morally good. He is an assasin, but looking in deeper into him, he is a loving and caring family man who just wants a balanced life for his family. A family he loves so much, Kuklinski even mention that he never hurted his childrenn not even once in his life. This is a man who has two sides in his daily life, a man who is soft and jolly to his family, and on the other side, on his job, a mean scary assasin who does his job. His job to kill people was not personal to him, its just business.

blogpost 5: Why the Mafia was born in the world

One of the main objective of the mob is to gain money and power. To gain control of the city by money and by scaring the weak with its soldiers. On the recent blogs that I've posted,we already answered how they do it. Now in this particular blog, we are going to find out why do they do it. Going back to the year 1920's and 30's, the U.S. had an economic crisis, they called it the "Great Depression". In those times, there we're lots of citizens who did not have any jobs at all. Many of them lived in the streets, beside the dumpster and some of them steal for their daily meal, for them to eat and to survive the daily life. Looking deeper into this, some of the most wanted, rich and powerful mobsters grew up to this environment. 

 According to this article I found, entitled: Mafia in the United States, from the website history.com, the American mafia was composed of Italian-American organized-crime network with operations in cities across the United States, particularly New York and Chicago. During the 1920s Prohibition era, they  rose to power through its success in the illicit liquor trade. After the Prohibition era, they moved other operations on criminal ventures. This includes drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and even infiltrating labor unions and legitimate businesses such as construction and New York’s garment industry. 

  The Mafia’s violent crimes, secret rituals and notorious characters such as Al Capone and John Gotti have fascinated the public and become a part of popular culture. Trying weaken the Mafia, the government used anti-racketeering laws to convict high-ranking mobsters. However, it remains in business today.  In New York City alone, the number of Italians soared from 20,000 to 250,000 between 1880 and 1890, and by 1910, that number had jumped to 500,000 immigrants and first-generation Italian Americans, or one-tenth of the city’s population, according to historian Thomas Repetto.

 The majority of these immigrants were law-abiding, but, as with most large groups of people, some were criminals who formed neighborhood gangs, often preying on those in their own communities. 

blogpost 4: Are you tough enough to join the Mafia?

Seeing and knowing what the mafia mobster does, seems pretty easy in the movies. Lets try to look at a realistic observation of how the mafia recruits a single person. The things that we see in movies about the mafia, tells what is really implemented in the real life mobsters. A big pack of psychopaths who was trained to feel no conscience of what they do. Imagine that you are a part of the mafia family, your brother is killed by a mobster because of being a rat in the organization. The mobster who killed your brother is friend of yours, he can come whenever you invite them, the big thing is to ordinary person is to feel conscience of what he had done, but the reality is he does not feel anything.

According to the article that I found entitled Help Wanted... Who wants to Join the Mafia? written by Clarence Walker on the site americanmafia.com. "A lots of Mafia guys are psychopaths. "The Mafia isn't something to glamorize" told by retired FBI agent Bruce Mouw. From a moment there, I thought the same thing. I am a fan of mafia and their toughness through every situation, but not their crimes and killings. Many times I wonder, how and where do they get the strength and potential to do things like murder, robbing and visiting the relatives of the people they killed. Is it, desperation? hunger? or that craving mentality for money, power, fame, pleasure and a reputation of toughness. 

The article goes on telling a true example of initiation ritual with a fictional character. To become a mafia, violence is where you start. They pick a guy for you to kill, and you do it. Through this, they are trying to see if you are weak and soft, brutal killing would be the best way to show and prove to them that you are tough. After doing all the work they told you, the induction begins. Joining the mafia is the as same as selling your soul. 

 
On the operation of induction, the boss will test your heart. These are the example questions : 
1. If I told you---your brother was a rat, he's gonna harm us, you'd have to kill him. Would you do that for the family?

2.Your mother, child or wife, is dying in bed and you needed to leave either (one) because we called on you. Could you do that?

At these questions, they look inside you, and figure out if you are weak. Because I think that for the mobsters, caring is for the weak. If you get soft, you will be in a lot of trouble doing business in the organization. The only thing that I was frightened was a sentence on the last part of the oath. It say's: "I enter alive into this organization and can only leave dead." This is big, the only way out is death. That is why they kill, if you rat them out, you get killed by them. 

According to the article entitled, The Rise and Fall of Omerta written by Mike La Sorte still on the site americanmafia.com. A part of that oath is the Omerta code. It is a mafia code of silence. Omerta is a vow by wiseguys never to reveal Mafia secrets or reveal information to members under threat of torture or death. The code establishes as the first duty of a man is to seek justice (retribution or revenge) with his own hands when he perceives an injustice. Early Italian writer's prefer to it as the " spirit of the mafia". It is the code that provides you the law of not being a rat in the mafia organization. A thing that makes you tough against the police or higher authorities. On my conclusion on this blog, some mobsters are not psychopaths, others do it because they we're on the verge of desperation, that includes for example, you have no job, no more food to eat and a relative of yours is dying. In there state, this example is partially true, because it is just what I opinion on observing what the movie and the real life mafia does. In ending to this blog, I would like to share to a famous saying of a mafia mobster, John Dilinger, "I rob banks for a living, what do you do?"

blogpost 3: Mafia on Politics

Politics, especially on cities, has strong authority over the society. It has power to implement a strong movement for a change or for a beneficial and moral cause. In this topic, somehow the mafia or the mobsters we're threatened by these politicians. According to this article I found entitled Gay anti-mafia politician breaks mold in Sicily written by Barry Moody in the website articles.chicagotribune.com. The writer of this article talk about a politician who is against mafia or mobsters organized crimes. 

According to the article Rosario Crocetta is an openly gay, devoutly Catholic, left-wing and an enemy of the mafia. On the interview he quoted: "I will demonstrate that this region can be the most liberal in Europe. Certainly I will be exposed to opposition from the old political system, to layers of powerful mafia patronage, but I am ready for the battle". Crocetta, 61, who has escaped at least three mafia assassination plots and was elected to the European parliament in 2009. The article focuses on what Crocetta did and what he planned to do. He planned a raft of anti-mob measures as well as boosting gay and other civil rights. He was Italy's first openly gay mayor and is now its second declared homosexual governor after Nichi Vendola in Puglia. In Sicily, Crocetta was the only politician who was brave enough to pursue and stop the mafia from committing crimes.   

Through out reading this article, I realize that not all politician can be controlled or scared by the mafia. There are those who fight bravely like Crocetta, but there are some who have no choice but to get racked and controlled by the mafia. It all covers the concept of mafia racketing, which was pursued by Crocetta. He contributed to an "anti-racket" organization of  businessmen who refused to pay "pizzo" or extortion money - a leading source of revenue for a local mob known as the Stidda. 

 "During my time as mayor, 150 businessmen were reporting extortion attempts and 850 mafiosi and extortionists were arrested, which is an impressive figure," Crocetta said. Running this kind of project or organization is difficult and dangerous, so the writer of the article asked Crocetta if he is worried for his life, he replied: "I am very serene. I am a sunny person, I like life, I am happy or ... gay."  According to the article the mafia hates Crocetta because as mayor he robbed them of public work contracts, fired mafiosi including the wife of a leading boss and exposed businessmen implicated with the mob. "This attracted great unfriendliness towards me," he says. 

In my opinion on reading this article, mafia or mobster are just like anti-government rebels who refuse to be controlled by the government at certain points. Mobsters came from poor fellow who was desperate to do anything in order for him to survive the daily life. A mobster will start from the bottom, and will make his way to the top. A mafia can come from any person who is poor and has been offended by the government. 

On the other side of the politics, mafia gangs tend to control politicians and extort money for protection. The mafia racked and controlled the politicians again for the sake of profit. According to the article entitled: Italian police strike 'mortal blow' in battle against Mafia clans after 70 arrested in dawn raid including doctors and lawyers on the website www.dailymail.co.uk. Mafia gang leaders use insurance hoax, Boss Giuseppe Giampa, 32, extorted protection money from local businesses and sold the clan's votes to the highest bidder in a 2010 mayoral vote, police said. Giampa turned himself and became an informant, he was a member of the Calabrian mafia. 

In this particular article, the mafia extracted the politics in the section of election. They gained profit because of running an illegal movement on vote buying, which is literally illegal in every country in the world. In the article, Giampa is suspected of ordering about 20 murders in a mob war for control of the city between 2005 and 2011. 

In conclusion to this, the mafia controls the politicians in a way of vote buying or another, like buying candidates to run and threatening anyone who oppress. They tend to gain profit from the budget and from racketing protection money on politicians. They use people who is poor and bribe them with a large cash or threaten them to do what they told them to do.

blogpost 2: Mobsters, how do they think?

Mafia works is such a way that no ordinary person can describe. The stereotype view of the mafia is that they kill and steal for money and power only, without adding any kind of other reason or what so ever. For instance, if you we're an owner of a business in a mafia zone, you are most likely to be taken over and be forced to sell your business to them. They will take profit from your business but protect at the same time.

This kind of things nowadays are obviously illustrated and played in computer games, which is I think is not healthy for the minds of young teens playing mafia games. Looking for articles on how mobsters think, I happen to find an article entitled, "Analyze This: The Criminal Mentality" by Mike La Sorte, Professor Emeritus in the website americanmafia.com. This article talks about the psychological thinking of a mobster criminal. It connects on the idea of being a psychopath. 

According to the article, a psychopath is someone alienated, aggressive and highly impulsive. It's a person who feels no kind of guilt or conscience, and commits crimes like its a normal thing.  Retired FBI agent Bruce Mouw stated: "A lot of these guys are psychopaths. It is not like the mobsters of the twenties and thirties. There is no honor among these guys." Howard Abadinsky agreed: "The New York mobsters are much more psychopathic than their predecessors. They lack loyalty and love violence." In both of this statement, they explained that the mobsters on the time of 1920's and 30's. The mobsters on the 20's and 30's we're only forced to do those necessary and extreme measures for their family, to deliver them from poverty.  

I found the article very interesting because I was getting a peek of how the mafia gangsters was able to pass through generation to generation. There are points that may be very dangerous, however there are common ways to prevent them. The way they train mobsters are through actual real places, real people to kill, and real things to steal, if you fail, you're weak. 

While searching for other articles to relate it with, I found an article entitled Murder, Mafia-Style by Colin Allen in the website psychologytoday.com. I find the article one of the worst way of killing a human being. In this article, there we're two brothers. Jason Bautista, 20, and his 15-year-old half brother confessed to strangling their mother, Jane Bautista, then chopping off her hands and head. The brothers mimicked an episode of "The Sopranos," hoping to elude authorities. Later on, the two brothers we're arrested on January 24, 2003. Mafia killing destroys the mind of a teenager, the very brutal aspects and personalities of a mobster we're copied by youngster like Jason Bautista with his half brother. This is worst than it gets, because that is just one of the most inhumane killing in the history. 

1979 the murder of Carmine Galante

"['The Sopranos'] might have acted like a road map, but it is not the cause," says Harvey Schlossberg, Ph.D., a forensic psychologist based in New York. "To avoid guilt, they [may] say that the TV talked them into it." Schlossberg is certain that even if the brothers did not watch "the Sopranos"; they would have still killed their mother. In this statement, there is some kind of deep emotional stress, where one theory is because of money. The mother may have refused to give money, and the boys expressed their anger in extreme measure of anxiety. 

An addition to the meaning of the word psychopath is that was  used to be defined as a "moral imbecile", someone without conscience, free of all moral constraints. The psychological reaction of civilized culture toward a murderer is a mixture of fear and the respect. We feel contempt, anger, and disgust for the maniacal madman who hysterically kills humans out of sadism, perversion, or just lunacy, and we feel equal contempt for the person who kills in anger or by accident. Yet, perversely, our society stands in awe of those who have the ability to kill while coolly in control of themselves. 

In conclusion, we hate killers, but we like watch them in the movies, and illustrate them in computer games to be played by teenagers. Its okay for us to see action movies, but there's a time that, too much action and violence can affect the mind of a young child, specially at the early ages of childhood.

blogpost 1 : Life of being a Mafia sibling

When I hear the word: mafia, I start to remember the greatest mob gangsters of the past, like Al Capone, John Gotti, Sammy Gravano, Vincent Gigante and a whole lot more. These are mobsters known to be the most feared people in the mafia industry. Although there are a lot of obvious meanings to what a mafia can be, why do these people come into mind? They are atrocious and tremendous mobsters who have dreadfully mind-blowing operations that a normal person can't take. Some mobsters chose to be in the mafia because of their financial status. You can't judge the book by its cover. Although, how does their business affect their family lifestyle? Is what they portray in the mobster movies true? 

  I found the article entitled "My father, New York's most feared mafia boss" story of Rita Gigante, article written by Jane Mulkerrins in the website "www.telegraph.co.uk". I was very interested in this topic because I had the opportunity to find out more of what the mafia business is about. It interested me to find out what is it like to be a sibling of a mafia boss. 

According to the article, Rita is the daughter of the mafia boss. She has seen many different things in her early life and is still remembered until this present time. However, Jane Mulkerrins points out that the life of being a sibling of a mafia boss in the 1970's, had come to reflect what a mafia sibling in today's society. 

It is stated that Rita at age five has seen her father beat up a guy with his hands and feet. Rita was just a little kid that time, she was still on the verge of childhood. She was very confused of seeing what her father did not understand it, but she was traumatized and shocked. Although after seeing those things, her father was able to make Rita feel that she is still in normal family. The business matters of her father was kept in secret, so it won't affect her childhood. 

The article stated that Rita finally knew that her father was in the mafia business when she was 16 years old. Her father's business was still segregated from her seeing it. “I didn’t even know how to begin to deal with the fact that he was a murderer, and all the horrifying, illegal things that he was involved with to gain money and the power,” she says. “It took me an awfully long time to really work all that out.”  Years and years of having her father's identity, it manifested real physical and psychological symptoms like: crippling stomach conditions, anxiety, panic attacks, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It is mentioned how Rita's father came from the bottom unto the top. Both of her parents came from poor Italian-immigrant families. They we're very conscious and careful with money. According to Rita, her upbringing was comfortable, Rita was far from being the Mob princess of legend, club-hopping across the city, dripping in diamonds and wrapped in furs. There were no large cars, exotic holidays or other gaudy symbols of wealth. 

It is amazing how she was able to live and got separated from the mob life, she is now a spiritual healer after her father's death in the year 2007. “It was a huge adjustment, but it was a shift that my mother needed, the whole family needed, because they didn’t know how to say no to him, they didn’t know how to be their own person,” she says. 

Rita Gigante at age 46.

We obviously know what mafia mobsters do in particular. In today's society, there are a lot of games that portray the story and what mobsters really do. But in this particular blog, we heard about what it's like to be a daughter or a son of a mafia boss. But there is one more article that says the same. This article I found was entitled "Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano: my dad, the mafia underboss" story of Karen Gravano, article written by John Grace in the website theguardian.com.

 In this authentic article, Karen knew everything her father does. Including her father putting a gun into his pants. It is really hard for people to understand what it's really like to have a father who was a mafia and had illegal and organized crime. However, her father's image of being a mafia underboss affected her regularly. She even got on television for it, the reality show called "Mob Wives". the reality TV show Mob Wives says more about the current status of the mafia in New York as it does about the public's enthusiasm for scripted reality shows. 

In the article, Karen tells that she saw her father putting a gun to his belt, and even the safe of her father which has 2 million dollars inside. When her father got jailed, she struggled and tried to do the things her father had done. She was lurching from one bad relationship to another, dealing drugs and winding up on probation after a police operation that also saw her father, brother and husband jailed. She tried to apply a negative perspective in order to get what she thought she wanted. 

Karen Gravano at age 40, present time. 

All through out this stories we learn to avoid on growing and learning what are the things that are morally right to the eyes of the people. Is knowing your father as a mafia mobster and having your family name in jeopardy an easy thing to handle? Its easy to judge people with their outside appearance, but knowing them is the hardest part. You get to know the idea of extreme and mind-blowing adventure on what is it like to be a daughter or a son of a mafia mobster, or a  mafia boss. All I can think of now is, how do mafia mobsters think?