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Reminds me of the relationship between the Mafia and the homosexual community of the early-mid 20th century. The Mafia didn’t particularly like gays, but they r

Reminds me of the relationship between the Mafia and the homosexual community of the early-mid 20th century. The Mafia didn’t particularly like gays, but they ran all of the gay bars because it gave them the opportunity to blackmail their patrons.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> The Mafia didn’t particularly like gays, but they ran all of the gay bars because it gave them the opportunity to blackmail their patrons Source? Curious to read more about this.
- DoreenMichele 9y ago
  The Mafia controlled most gay bars due to their illegal status, and extracted a monetary premium from the gay community. This recognized both the legal risk the Mob was taking and the near-monopoly status it enjoyed. After all, where else were gay folks going to meet? There were often high cover charges and minimum drink requirements. Moreover, gay men were at risk of blackmail from their Mob overlords https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqmym3/how-the-mafia-once-controlled-the-new-york-gay-scene-616 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqmym3/how-the-mafia-once... I had never heard this before, but it is easy enough to find it. There are at least a couple of other articles that readily came up.
- paulie_a 9y ago
  The "Stuff you should know" podcast discussed that on the stonewall uprising episode. Blackmail probably existed but it was just a great opportunity to sell drugs and booze in illegal bars.
  - Spooky23 9y ago
    More than that... Bars are great targets for mafia types. My grandfather ran a bar in NYC in the 40s-70s... Any business concession other than the phone company was mob controlled. The cigarette machine, jukebox, tap cleaner, pinball, ice was mob controlled. When you hit the nadir of NYC in the 70s, it was difficult to make sales tax payments with all of the leeches attached to the business.
- DarkIye 9y ago
  "At the time of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, the Greenwich Village bar Stonewall Inn was owned and operated by the New York Mafia." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewall-why-did-mafia-own-bar/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewal...
lopmotr 9y ago
The fact they could be blackmailed means the rest of the society didn't like them either. If a minority is doing something today that the rest of society thinks is wrong but actually isn't, then don't we have a more serious problem already by persecuting whoever is the modern equivalent of early 1900's gays?
- exelius 9y ago
  Totally different things and it’s almost an offensive comparison. Someone’s HIV status, for example, could definitely expose them to social stigma. Is that a problem? Yeah; but it doesn’t change human behavior — there are some things we would prefer to keep private.
DataWorker 9y ago
Wasn’t that the case with Jack Ruby?

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

> The Mafia didn’t particularly like gays, but they ran all of the gay bars because it gave them the opportunity to blackmail their patrons Source? Curious to read more about this.

DoreenMichele 9y ago
The Mafia controlled most gay bars due to their illegal status, and extracted a monetary premium from the gay community. This recognized both the legal risk the Mob was taking and the near-monopoly status it enjoyed. After all, where else were gay folks going to meet? There were often high cover charges and minimum drink requirements. Moreover, gay men were at risk of blackmail from their Mob overlords https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqmym3/how-the-mafia-once-controlled-the-new-york-gay-scene-616 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqmym3/how-the-mafia-once... I had never heard this before, but it is easy enough to find it. There are at least a couple of other articles that readily came up.
paulie_a 9y ago
The "Stuff you should know" podcast discussed that on the stonewall uprising episode. Blackmail probably existed but it was just a great opportunity to sell drugs and booze in illegal bars.
- Spooky23 9y ago
  More than that... Bars are great targets for mafia types. My grandfather ran a bar in NYC in the 40s-70s... Any business concession other than the phone company was mob controlled. The cigarette machine, jukebox, tap cleaner, pinball, ice was mob controlled. When you hit the nadir of NYC in the 70s, it was difficult to make sales tax payments with all of the leeches attached to the business.
DarkIye 9y ago
"At the time of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, the Greenwich Village bar Stonewall Inn was owned and operated by the New York Mafia." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewall-why-did-mafia-own-bar/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewal...

lopmotr 9y ago

The fact they could be blackmailed means the rest of the society didn't like them either. If a minority is doing something today that the rest of society thinks is wrong but actually isn't, then don't we have a more serious problem already by persecuting whoever is the modern equivalent of early 1900's gays?

exelius 9y ago
Totally different things and it’s almost an offensive comparison. Someone’s HIV status, for example, could definitely expose them to social stigma. Is that a problem? Yeah; but it doesn’t change human behavior — there are some things we would prefer to keep private.

DataWorker 9y ago

Wasn’t that the case with Jack Ruby?