By the way, i read somewhere that a big reason why the Mafia existed in southern italy for so long is largely to keep foreign investors out. No foreign investor would invest in a place where he might be gunned down. That is why the Mafia saw itself as a “protector of the local culture”. They tried to keep American influence out of their country.

I’m just saying it because it just randomly came to my mind, not because it’s relevant here.