Getting Trapped in the Ugliness

Suppose a crime boss builds his reputation on brutality. With his reputation built on brutality, he attracts the sorts of men who feed off brutality, off the sorts of men who respect brutality.

If the crime boss does not ramp up his brutality over time, if he does not overreact to mistakes with brutality, if every little push against him does not induce overreaction of brutality, over time he loses respect, his gang begins to think ‘he’s beginning to lose it’, that he is beginning to get ‘soft’.

With his reputation built on brutality, for staying in control, the crime boss produces more and more of brutality over time. But brutality is the sort of thing that inherently has limits, a principle which cannot be pursued ‘ad infinitum’ (forever), for pursued ad infinitum even the closest aides begin to fear for their lives, as such are prone to become turncoats, a reaction that induces more of brutality.

So then, the crime boss gets trapped in the ugliness of brutality, such that barring abandonment of his kingdom, he no longer is able to arrive at reasoned choices, always is reacting, never really responding, all of this because he chose brutality as path to success.

The crime boss becomes trapped in the ugliness of brutality.