2023-10-29 14:24:34
One of the most famous novels from the organized crime milieu begins with the mafia boss promising to help a stranger, but rejecting the payment offered. The requested assistance is a gift, and accepting it obliges the recipient to be grateful. From now on he owes his godfather a favor, and at some point he will tell him exactly which one.
The difference between exchanging and giving as a gift is not that the gift in return is no longer necessary, but rather that it remains undetermined in terms of time and topic. It is precisely in this indeterminacy that the obligations of gratitude offer something like security in the face of an unknown future. Whatever the generous person lacks, whether in advice or deeds and whether in what is permitted or forbidden, the recipients will not be able to refuse his request. Giving is also more blessed than receiving because the giver can postpone determining their own wishes.
The godfather collects gratitude like other people collect securities
But obligations of gratitude are also indefinite in social terms. Although one always owes one’s own courtesy only to one’s former benefactor, the benefactor can also request it in the interests of a third party. He can mobilize the gratitude of one person in favor of another – and thus also oblige him. The greater the capital of non-topic helpfulness that one accumulates in this way, the greater and more effective the services that he can offer to each individual, and the higher the esteem that he enjoys because of this. It is not without reason that the godfather of the novel is said to collect debts of gratitude like other securities. The morality of organized crime is therefore a morality of reciprocity, albeit with the special feature that the gift can consist of protection from police persecution – and the return gift can be murder and manslaughter.
Two Israeli sociologists have now tried to shed more light on this world. Twenty former criminals, some of whom now enjoy government protection as key witnesses, as well as some police officers were interviewed about their experiences. Almost all alumni describe the first encounter with their respective patron as fateful. He suddenly granted them everything they had previously been deprived of: a permanent place in a social order, combined with respect and respect in everyday interactions, but also the door-opening function of his name in the underworld and competent criminal defense in court. For some, this was a change in status that took them from social nothingness to a somewhat honorable existence.
Almost family loyalty
The immeasurable value of this gift is reflected in the fact that gratitude knows no bounds. Far from paying off one’s own guilt and thus breaking the bond, every gift in return only serves to strengthen it. The seriousness of the crime is a measure of one’s willingness to make sacrifices and dedication, but the willingness to serve prison sentences for others also seals the blood brotherhood. One of the interviewees explains the indissolubility of these quasi-familial loyalties based on his experiences in prison. It was only because his godfather watched over him there that he escaped being raped by fellow prisoners, and as a result he couldn’t simply send his patron away when he asked him to break into the next bank immediately after his release.
David Klaubert Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 24 Tjerk Brühwiller Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 13 Helena Raspe Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 20
In view of such consequences, the question of the beginning of this brotherhood in breaking the law deserves special attention. Contrary to popular belief, the godfather’s first gift is apparently anything but “an offer you can’t refuse.” Some forego his assistance because they prefer to remain independent. Others reject him because they are already committed to one of his competitors and do not want to antagonize him. Each of these rejections gets around, and each damages the godfather’s reputation for being irresistible. So it takes good knowledge of people to find a willing victim.
The study, which is worth reading, raises the question of what right one has to describe this form of crime as “organized”. The right organizations are by no means dependent on thanks as a motive. Doing what you are asked to do by colleagues or superiors is rather the fulfillment of an official duty that has always been paid for, for which the recipient does not owe any personal thanks. And those who hope for the gratitude of the organization itself are often disappointed.
#sociologists #examine #gratitude #social #glue