There is a level of sentimental affection for the Krays - even amongst some of the most law abiding. Why could this be?

Hola Foxy Genius! Very happy to have your first answer. If you keep answering the way you did just now, then its clear that you're going to be a very valued member! Great answer, very interesting, and thanks =)

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

Agreed +6

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by Piggle on November 30th, 2009

Myth? =( That's a shame! It is a nice romantic myth! Thanks Sid!

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

They demanded protection money from hard-working non-crims who ran their own businesses, and threatened violence if they didn't pay up, and young men were often forced with violence to sleep with Ronnie whether they wanted to or not, and whether they were gay or not.

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by Sid on November 29th, 2009

I have heard that last part actually... I did have a book, I might get it out again and give it a second read but it is a memoir by a drug addict who had interactions with the Krays. It may have been written there.

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

Actually, my ex-boyfriend's family used to do business (not that kind of business!) with them, I had completely forgotten about that.. they had no bad words to say.
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Great point on your last comment. I had not thought of it at all, but that does make a lot of sense!
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Thanks =)

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

My neighbour said it was good to live near them because they never let business spill over onto "their patch".
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YOu're very welcome.

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by Piggle on November 30th, 2009

I bet living near the Krays meant nobody else would bother conducting crime in that area too!

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 30th, 2009

Thanks Scooby! I definitely will do =) The Krays are very interesting!

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

Ya welcome! :-)They were considered to be local hero's to many people!! all area's have them!! enjoy the read! ;-)
& thank you!!

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by Scooby on November 29th, 2009

Oh so The Sopranos TV is based on a real family?! It seems that many people look at the Krays and laugh with affection the way you would laugh at a cheeky child! Yeah, I guess that makes sense! Thanks Tom =)

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

I could tell some long stories about how some "wise guys" from "up north", sort of like the Soprano boys, or the Corleones, came to mysterious ends when they tried to muscle into the whiskey making business in my area during the thirties. They seemed to just disappear. They came, they threatened, they vanished. (lol!) These old Ouachita Mountains and Cookson Hills have lots of hidey holes. And this was Outlaw country since the James Gang, Sundance and Butch, the Daltons, Belle Starr, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Those yankee boys were wa-a-a-ay out of their element.

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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on November 29th, 2009

There's a story in there that someone should make into a film!

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

Indeed. Maybe I will write a script someday. I certainly know the history as well as anyone.

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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on November 29th, 2009

Do it Tom!

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

I am going to write one for sure, someday, about how the KKK got run out of Oklahoma in the twenties. I definitely know about that story. My grandaddy and a few great uncles were very instrumental in it.

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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on November 29th, 2009

Oh wow! That's interesting!

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

It was tough times, Jadey. But there were some pretty tough old men around then. Old WWI vets. They weren't going to take no crap from nobody! It was still "separate but equal" in those days, but black people and whites and Indians all got along. The KKK tried to move into Oklahoma, but they were met with a surprising resistence. There were some "disappearances" at that time, too. (wink) It got pretty rough, Jadey. There was "gunplay". Jadey, even in the twenties and thirties, my area was still pretty much "frontier territory". That element is still around. People are mostly solid and hardworking folks. But, they don't take being messed with easlly. That is one reason the crime rate is so much lower here than in many other places in the country. Everybody knows it is dangerous to mess with somebody else. They don't call 911. They just blow your head off. When the sheriff comes, he asks a few questions and says, "Looks like a clear case of self defense to me"....(lol)

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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on November 29th, 2009

So interesting! I am surprised that the KKK would have been resisted in twenties Oklahoma - shows what I know (clearly, absolutely nothing).

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

A lot of people have mistakenly associated Oklahoma with the southern U.S. Not accurate. We are western. Even more "western" than Texas. The history of the state is very unique. There was one big problem in the twenties. It occurred in Tulsa in 1922. It was a crazy thing, really. It started over a freak accident in a department store. A black man tripped and fell against a white woman in an elevator. She was an idiot, evidently, and started screaming "rape"! Some chaos followed with white men running around like idiots and setting fire to black neighborhoods. The thing was shown in court to be an over-reaction by a very freaky upperclass white woman. But not until much damage was done in the city. That is the only incident I know of any racial problem in the state. I am from the eastern part of the state and nothing of the kind ever happened that I am aware of. I grew up with black kids and we played sports and did everything together as well as with Choctaw and Cherokee kids. I had certainly heard the word "nigger" but it was never used in my community. My old man would have warped my butt if he ever heard me call someone that.

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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on November 29th, 2009

Well, I mean, I just assumed that the US all over was still incredibly racist then - never mind just the South (or West).

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by Jadey - Vive la difference on November 29th, 2009

Well, much was, but not as much as is generally perceived. It was pretty bad in many parts of the south. It is hard to explain. It was complicated. Even in my area, in the fifties, there was still some. It was the "separate but equal" thing. Also known as "Jim Crow". It was not universal. Counties varied. In my county, schools were integrated...since right after WWII. In some parts of the state their were still black and white school systems, but that ended before 1960. Eisenhower ended it. Many don't know this. Ike started the desegregation of schools in 1954. And he also desegregted the military in 1953. Ike's admin has been given a bad rap. The old boy had balls...and a heart. Many pretty great things were done under his "reign". Things the Democrats would never have done.

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by Tom 47 is back in his bear COAT on November 29th, 2009

Neither of you have been on recently, so you probably won't read this, but thank you Tom. That's one of the most interesting and enjoyable set of posts I've read on AB.

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by MrWitch on April 22nd, 2011