I finally understand how people get in deep with the mafia
I've been discussing a book with political machinations on a forum. It's not a book with political machinations as the subject matter, but it's included in there. A particularly controversial deal has been made with one of the characters to protect her - with her boyfriend acting as a buffer so that she won't get used as a tool for his bosses' ends.
So, the people who read this aren't political gurus, and seem to believe if she breaks up with her boyfriend, and ignores the deal, all will be well. She can go and date someone else, and the deal doesn't matter and her ex-boyfriends' bosses will leave her alone. This clearly isn't possible - the bosses want her as an asset to their company, and only her current boyfriend as a buffer is protecting her. The bosses, like the mafia, aren't opposed to killing and torture to get what they want either - so they're not "nice guys". They're ruthless and cutthroat, and they'll get what they want through political machinations.
But I can't tell you how often I've read a poster suggesting she should just break up with the boyfriend and she'll be free. Like that will work. The bosses know where she lives, where she works, and the only reason they don't summarily abduct her is because of the deal that her current boyfriend made with them. Now she can break up with her boyfriend, and the deal might still stand (if he's willing to do it) but there's no way she can just ignore the whole thing, go home and put her pillow over her head, and act like the bosses don't exist.
I now understand why people get in so deep with the mafia, end up dead in a ditch somewhere, end up an indentured servant somewhere. They're stupid.
So, the people who read this aren't political gurus, and seem to believe if she breaks up with her boyfriend, and ignores the deal, all will be well. She can go and date someone else, and the deal doesn't matter and her ex-boyfriends' bosses will leave her alone. This clearly isn't possible - the bosses want her as an asset to their company, and only her current boyfriend as a buffer is protecting her. The bosses, like the mafia, aren't opposed to killing and torture to get what they want either - so they're not "nice guys". They're ruthless and cutthroat, and they'll get what they want through political machinations.
But I can't tell you how often I've read a poster suggesting she should just break up with the boyfriend and she'll be free. Like that will work. The bosses know where she lives, where she works, and the only reason they don't summarily abduct her is because of the deal that her current boyfriend made with them. Now she can break up with her boyfriend, and the deal might still stand (if he's willing to do it) but there's no way she can just ignore the whole thing, go home and put her pillow over her head, and act like the bosses don't exist.
I now understand why people get in so deep with the mafia, end up dead in a ditch somewhere, end up an indentured servant somewhere. They're stupid.