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The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe

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Re: The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe

#21
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think mob stories tend to be gripping. We, especially now so many years removed from the heyday, have a romantic idea about mobsters, always living on the edge. Sure they're on the wrong side of the law, but just barely and they usually keep the violence away from civilians (this is the romantic bit). Some mobsters are bad dudes, yeah, but some are regular Tokyo Joes thrown into a bad situation. It's easy to take t…

>have a romantic idea about mobsters TV did that for you. This is another situation where you can prove anything if you ignore enough facts so they just gloss over or ignore all the things that don't fit the story they want to tell. This is also a classic example of how the "entertainment" industry has been used as a vehicle to shape public perception over the last few decades. When I was a kid the police shows were…

I hear you but X-Files is mad entertaining.

Every time Mulder enters a building without getting a warrant I just have to chuckle in admiration. I like how they self-decribed it, "you're like producers with guns!"

Re: The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>have a romantic idea about mobsters TV did that for you. This is another situation where you can prove anything if you ignore enough facts so they just gloss over or ignore all the things that don't fit the story they want to tell. This is also a classic example of how the "entertainment" industry has been used as a vehicle to shape public perception over the last few decades. When I was a kid the police shows were…

I have noticed that too! When I grew up, a show would end with the bad guy being arrested and handed over to the cops. Now the hero kills the bad guy with pleasure. I think this is more and more creeping into society. Following the rules is for suckers, you have to hustle, cheating is almost mandatory (just don't get caught), discussions need to be "won", loyalty can be exploited and faking honesty and values is a re…

It looks a lot like normalization of deviance accomplished over a couple of generations.

Political candidates use similar tactics in their campaigns nowadays where they make unsupportable accusations against opponents knowing that many people will remember the accusation but will not take the time to determine whether it is true. Sling enough mud and some of it will stick. Lying is normalized and rewarded. Unethical behavior gets you farther than being a person who has principles and adheres to those principles while holding those around them to the same high standards.

Society suffers and becomes more polarized when we don't call this out.

I agree about the alien thing too.

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