According to Leopoldo Franchetti, the acceptance of violence in Palermo is due, among other things, to the "large number of bravi [thugs] in the service of the lords residing in Palermo and whose descendants have preserved the family tradition" ( 1974: 94, 98). The ability to accept bloodshed, in other words, is not a subcultural characteristic but a specific skill which, like more pacific skills, can be transmitted from one generation to the next. In earliest childhood, then, we would have learned that trust is a scarce resource in our world, and that while this lack makes life difficult, it can also turn out to be profitable.

XREF: Connects to broader arguments about learned rather than innate violence, echoing ideas in criminology and cultural learning theory.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 90