Social and Cultural Embeddedness – Mafia Murder
November 1st, 2009 by SocProf and tagged Mass Violence, Organized Crime, Sociology
At this point, many of you have probably seen this video of a murder committed by a member of the Camorra against Mariano Bacioterracino:
What I found shocking in this video (in addition to the murder itself but that is par for course for organized crime) was how casual the whole thing is including the murder itself. The voice-over you hear on the video is that of Roberto Saviano, journalist and author of Gomorrah, a devastating book on the Camorra which earned him death threats from the organized group last year. The movie based on the book will soon be out on DVD:
My Italian colleague, Agnese Vardanega was kind enough to provide a rough translation of what Saviano states on the video of the murder above:
In addition, Saviano published an angry column in La Reppublica:
Roberto Saviano | articoli | Il filmato-shock sconvolge il mondo i vicoli restano indifferenti via kwout
In this column, he deplores the indifference regarding this murder, arguing that only international reaction to the YouTube video forced the authorities to act. The widespread viewing of the video was also shaming for the locals. And finally, the killer is no longer anonymous. He might have thought he got away with murder, but now, he’s on the run. All of a sudden, the world seems shocked by something that is a relatively ordinary occurrence in Naples. How does organized crime like the new media? Probably not much. But apparently, according to Saviano, this indifference and resignation are Napolitan traits. It is self-preservation, which is why one does not see demands for change from the population of that region. After all, the Camorra has a very long memory and revenge may come 10 or 15 years after the facts. There is therefore no safety to be had. And as Bacioterracino’s wife stated, “”Uccidono tanta gente, hanno ucciso anche mio marito. Qual è il problema?” (”They kill so many people, now they’ve killed my husband. What is the problem?”).
Saviano also notes the different kinds of reaction to mafia death in Naples when one finds the corpse of a family member. For those who experience that for the first time, they do not know how to react. They are petrified in horror. For those who are more “used” to these murders happening to their family, the reaction is different: screaming, tearing one’s hair in agony as a way of letting those who commissioned to the murder know that that’s enough, there is no way more pain can be imposed. This is it, this is all they can take. And if the murder is “clean”, that is, no other relative or family member was killed, then one has to be almost thankful to the mafia for not imposing further pain. And then, for justification and resignation, well, that’s what religion is for. All these people are good Catholic.
For Saviano, the video has revealed all the contradictions of the country. But all the media attention has not provoked a political debate. As much as the murder made headlines and caused a scandal, the deeper aspects of all this will remain undiscussed, such as how one third of the country is held hostage to this. But then, how do you expect a cultural change when the South is politically neglected and those who confront organized crime are not supported enough? How does one eliminate the omertà – not just as code of silence but as code of “not wanting to know” when the national political attitude is similar?
But maybe the exposure had a shaming effect on the authorities after all:
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