by PolackTony » Thu Dec 22, 2022 7:45 pm
Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Thu Dec 22, 2022 1:49 pm
Yeah didn't Calabro immigrate here as a little kid? Little more than a toddler if I'm not mistaken.
Pogo
Yeah, Chicago boss Johnny Apes Monteleone was born in Sambuca and immigrated to Chicago as a little kid. No sense in describing a guy like that as a “zip”, though it’s historically interesting to note his birth, as well as keep in mind that it could have put him in a position to have closer personal contacts via relatives to people back in Sicily than a guy who was third gen American.
The latter point also relates to the notion of “zip factions” in the NYC Families. As people point out, some of these guys immigrated while young (or were even US born), and certainly weren’t “zips” themselves in the sense of guys who came to the US with pre-existing affiliations to the mafia in Sicily. But, the notion of “Sicilian” or “zip” factions points more toward identity and social networks, and thus guys who came as kids or were born here to parents who were first gen immigrants are still positioned within those immigrant-centered social and community networks in a different way than more Americanized guys.
[quote="Pogo The Clown" post_id=246717 time=1671742167 user_id=53]
Yeah didn't Calabro immigrate here as a little kid? Little more than a toddler if I'm not mistaken.
Pogo
[/quote]
Yeah, Chicago boss Johnny Apes Monteleone was born in Sambuca and immigrated to Chicago as a little kid. No sense in describing a guy like that as a “zip”, though it’s historically interesting to note his birth, as well as keep in mind that it could have put him in a position to have closer personal contacts via relatives to people back in Sicily than a guy who was third gen American.
The latter point also relates to the notion of “zip factions” in the NYC Families. As people point out, some of these guys immigrated while young (or were even US born), and certainly weren’t “zips” themselves in the sense of guys who came to the US with pre-existing affiliations to the mafia in Sicily. But, the notion of “Sicilian” or “zip” factions points more toward identity and social networks, and thus guys who came as kids or were born here to parents who were first gen immigrants are still positioned within those immigrant-centered social and community networks in a different way than more Americanized guys.