The coffee at the local cart costs 75 cents, so if I'm not engrossed in a book, I'll sometimes take the extra two bits and buy The Post. Tuesday, I was expecting a good headline on Jose Padilla ("Dirty Bum"?) but the front page was devoted to the Dapper Don's demise. And inside? Gotti's death got a twelve page spread, not to mention laudatory blurbs from Liz Smith ("he always sent me white roses") et al. Gotti and Padilla were both thugs from Brooklyn. One killed a bunch of people; he gets the celebrity treatment. The other was planning to kill a lot more people. Somehow I doubt we'll be hearing Liz Smith wax eloquent when Padilla dies in prison. I admit, though, I really like the Sopranos. Why are some criminals turned into celebrities? What makes Gotti fascinating and Padilla revolting?
| Terrorism | Jose Padilla | Mafia | Crime | Celebrity |
These guys have a theory about Gotti, at least. Maybe if Padillo had had the chance to "taunt the authorities."
Comment #1 :: link :: June 13, 2002 09:00 AMI also wonder about the romanticization of thuggery - one argument is that life is thuggish anyway, these guys simply live it out honestly. I dunno. Never been attracted to real thuggishness - it's deadly dull even if one is amoral there have to be more lucrative and entertaining ways to spend your time (like white collar crime :))
Comment #2 :: link :: June 14, 2002 09:00 AMno, the mob and some gang stuff finds favor in that they're generally trying to live along the fine edge of functioning societies. As opposed to thugs that seek to destroy the societies outright. It has more to do with being different enough to stand out while not being so different and to want to destroy those that oppose you.
Comment #3 :: link :: June 14, 2002 09:00 AMThat's what punk rock was about. Actually, mobsters usually embrace the dominant ethic, that's why they make such a big deal about being businessmen just like everyone else.
Comment #4 :: link :: June 17, 2002 09:00 AM
