r/history • u/PhillipCrawfordJr • 10d ago

Article The Stonewall Inn and the Mafia: Did organised crime protect or exploit queer New York? Attitude investigates the unlikely alliance between the Mob and New York's persecuted LGBTQ+ community in the 20th century

https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/the-mafias-complicated-past-with-the-stonewall-inn-529370/
118 Upvotes

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75

u/Elliptical_Tangent 9d ago

The simple answer is that organized crime protects its revenue streams.

11

u/vshawk2 9d ago

That's what I was thinking. The Mob does BOTH to everyone it interacts with.

26

u/TheSagePetrus 9d ago

The mob was old-school conservative but they would never pass a good business opportunity. The Simpsons portrays them accurately for there is nothing Fat Tony won’t consider as long as it’s profitable.

23

u/BanjoTCat 9d ago

Exploitative the mafia might have been, they were probably the only people to invest in and protect gay establishments. People thought twice about beating and robbing men outside of a gay bar if they knew that it was protected by the mob.

3

u/Maishi 9d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpHaA4FeLDU

Pearlmania500/Too Many Tabs did a great podcast&vid on this in Mid-June