FTT Off-Topic: Does Being Manly Mean You Have To Be An Idiot?

In his Facebook thread today, longtime FTT contributor and good friend Tracer Bullet cited a recent story about how La Cosa Nostra initiates are now wearing bathrobes to their swearing in ceremonies, since this means they can't be wearing wires. The writer of the article then takes the Mob to task for becoming feminized or fruity in their modern ways. You see, in old times, made guys would never disrobe in front of other guys.

No, seriously.

Now, I'm no expert on organized crime (or, alas, playing for the other team in matters of sexuality; a damn shame, considering that I could use the added income from not having kids). Other than occasionally playing at shady joints in my band days where the paydays were a little too good and the owners a little too odd, I don't think I've ever met a connected guy, though maybe there's been a player or two at a poker game with alternative revenue ideas.

But if failing to want to put their operations at risk due to security measures is a feminizing influence, then the Mob really should have frilled things up years ago. If feminization means doing things with an eye towards the reality of their professional existence, then honestly... manly men must be the easiest guys in the world to stop, in terms of foiling their crimes.

Because then you could just announce through the media that you are really going to protect an awful lot of loose and unmarked cash in one place, and dare the manliest of the manly criminals to come and get it.

Then, put glue on the ground, or a big net.

I think I saw this on TV once.

Anyway... a few points in summation.

1) Being masculine does not, alas, mean that you just do stuff without any sense of consequence

2) Expecting criminals to do dumb things because It's Tradition shows a general contempt for your opponent that doesn't speak well to your future success in catching them, and

3) There may not be a better place to be a professional idiot than the media

Or, perhaps, Blogfrica. But at least here, you can work in a bathrobe without anyone thinking that a *GURL* made ya do it.

Moving on...