27. The Mafia Were Not Champions of the Oppressed, they Were Tools for the Rich
The mafia were never champions of the weak who stuck it to the rich and powerful. Instead, Mafiosi were often hired as muscle by rich Sicilian landowners and magnates to intimidate or kill peasants who objected to their exploitation and de facto serfdom. In the New World, the mafia kept up the routine of being goons for hire by the rich to keep the working stiffs in their place. Mafiosi were routinely used as strikebreakers to intimidate or kill union organizers and cow those who sought better conditions or higher wages from their employers.
In short, the mafia was not some modern equivalents of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, who stole from the rich to give to the poor – or at least stole from the rich, rather than the poor. Instead, they were closer to the Sheriff of Nottingham’s goons. They helped further oppress the already oppressed, exploit the already exploited, and rob the already impoverished. Mafiosi money-making schemes and rackets seldom targeted the rich and powerful. Instead, mobsters got rich by sticking their hands into the pockets of the weak and poor.
