There are Chinatowns in most large cities. Growing up I visited the famous district in San Francisco which is certainly impressive. But I was really struck by the Chinatown in Lower Manhattan - so proximate to the old Five Points, the various courthouses, and even Ground Zero, and how it all but overlaps with Little Italy. It caused me to reflect on the nature of these ethnic enclaves and the immigrant experience.
For a few of them America was something close to bliss. For others it was characterized by great hardship which paid off a generation or two later with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren reaping the benefits and becoming fully assimilated in American society. Of course, I have also long reflected on how much was given up and for some, there had to be doubts. They found prosperity but lost their culture in the process as their grandchildren were fully Americanised. This was championed for a long time by American conservatives and yet the kind of assimilation they celebrate - the leave behind the old mother-tongue and customs was often wed to a somewhat deceptive narrative. For some immigrants this was done willingly, but for others it was driven by angst and outright fear of Nativist elements. This is especially true in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and of course is becoming prevalent once again under the fascistic Trumpite movement.
For some immigrants, they found that the promised land of America was a lie and but another form of corruption and domination. They simply had new masters and the much trumpeted concepts of American justice and the land of opportunity were revealed to be slippery, somewhat deceptive, if not outright fraudulent.
As such, some immigrants realized the only way to survive and flourish was turn to crime and to form what is effectively a shadow or parallel government. And we see this with the rise of the various mafias - the Italian being the most famous for its prevalence, power, structure, and traditions, but of course there were other groups such as the Irish, Chinese, and even Jewish mafias. And as their power was almost broken in the 1980's, the 1990's saw an influx of new mafia groups flowing out of places like Russia and Albania, and because of America's policies and proxy wars in Latin America, the United States has also seen the rise of new, powerful, and even terrifying gangs - these gangs operate on a different level than actual mafia but there's some overlap and sometimes coordination, cooperation, and even subordination. The intelligence agencies have also long been involved in working with these groups - sometimes against rivals, and sometimes contracting with them. It's a long, complicated, but utterly fascinating history.
I was not surprised to read of a growing sense of organized criminal activity in the Chinese community - in this case, in Italy. I certainly remember the Chinese districts in Milan and a small (and apparently growing) presence in places like Rome.
The story of mafias rising is always connected to questions of under-class, injustice, a functional parallel government, and of course money and corruption. But then comes the ugly side the mainstream doesn't want to see - the connections to law enforcement and business. The latter circles back to the question of law enforcement as the police tread carefully when it comes to big business interests - and they take their orders from public officials who also have their connections to the business world.
As an aside, it's noteworthy that mafias were unable to rise in the context of communism - they only appeared during the late stages as the system was beginning to collapse and society was forced to functionally turn to a black market.
Additionally, fascism with its authoritarianism was largely able to curtail the mafia. By means of violence and ruthless prosecution, the Mafia was certainly curtailed under Mussolini's rule in Italy - only to be given a rebirth with the arrival of the Americans in 1943.
The fact that the Chinese mafia has formed a base in industrial Tuscany is no surprise. It's also critical to understand the context of its rise - during the economic and globalist boom of the 1990's. With new markets opening up at a rapid clip and with investment and rampant market speculation, money was being made hand over first - but at the expense of the sweatshop workers upon which it relied. In this case the industry in question is textiles, clothing manufacture, and fashion. It was (and is) cut-throat and so it's not hard to imagine organized crime rising in this context and in turn alliances being formed with and against corporate interests - who pursued their own agenda. This scenario would quickly spiral - tying in law enforcement, business interests back in China, which in turn would grab the attention of the CCP in Beijing, Italian federal authorities, intelligence agencies, and even (I'm sure) elements such as the CIA.
The fact that Chinese individuals are being gunned down is no surprise and it's also to be expected that these labyrinths are found to be impenetrable by investigators.
I would also argue that the primary drive behind this reporting is to stir up anti-Chinese sentiment and to generate fear of their growing presence - an agenda connected to larger geopolitical concerns.
It's also interesting to note how the Chinese have grown powerful enough to hire and exploit other immigrant communities. While one abused group can generate sympathy, all too often the corrupt and evil aspects of human nature come to the fore. Once the situation is reversed, the persecuted and exploited are wont to turn around and engage in the same kind of behaviour when given the chance. The story of Zionist Israel is a living parable or lesson to this end.
The union activist Gambassi finds it absurd that such scenes of poverty and exploitation take place adjacent to world-renowned tourist hot-spots. He shouldn't. We see this everywhere. It's inherent to both human nature and especially the capitalist system which simply justifies and reinforces these base impulses toward greed, exploitation and the law of the jungle-ethic. It's not just Florence. You see this watching business people step over passed out homeless people on London side-walks, in the poverty just a few minutes walk from the US Capitol, and among the immigrant workers in Mid-town Manhattan - who can't even dream of living in the city where they work. If you ride the Staten Island Ferry out of the city during the afternoon/evening, you can get a sense of the working poor on their way out, returning to their homes at the end of the day. For many the ferry is but the first phase of a multi-stage commute involving buses and trains.
The story in Italy (including dead factory workers perishing in flames) has been oft-repeated with many similar episodes from the early days of industrialisation - the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 being one of the most famous, with numerous 21st century examples taking place in Southeast Asia. The setting and the players change over time as do the particulars of industry and technology but the overall tale is very familiar. But since no one will address the root causes, it just keeps repeating itself. Organizing unions isn't going to change anything as they are simply corrupted over time (as in the United States) and investigators will tell you that as they pursue the big players involved in all this criminality, they run into dead ends and brick walls erected by the state, global finance, and intelligence agencies.
It's a terribly sad story but what leaves me mystified is how many Christians have participated in different aspects of this larger history and how many others are willing to cash in on these arrangements - even today. By means of many intermediaries (some of whom also profess to be Christians) they insulate themselves from these events and yet are invested in and profit from the players involved.
It's an ugly process but as long as it continues there will be organised crime.
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