MovieChat Forums > Goodfellas (1990) Discussion > Would you stand up to Tommy or no?

Would you stand up to Tommy or no?


I would as Spider did. Spider had every right to stand his ground and tell Tommy to go f-ck himself. That psychotic piece of sh-t shot him in the foot and mocked him for his injury. Glad the real Thomas DeSimone went slow, as opposed to being shot in the back of the head like in the film.

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Yeah, that really helped Spider as he died shortly thereafter. Sometimes, even though somebody has it sorely coming to them it is not worth it for what it costs you. A guy used to bother me in high school and he was too connected to go after in terms of a fight. Instead, I got real good at weight training and running. It was not very long after my new 40 time that his buddies were dumping him in favor of me because I could help the football team. You have to think things through to know what the best approach will be.

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It's hard to say, since I can't imagine myself in a position where I'm acting as bartender and waiter for guys like that. Spider seemed like he was a bit off mentally, which makes Tommy's actions all the more despicable.

Considering that it was Tommy, it might have gone smoother if Spider had just gone and gotten his drink without arguing with him or babbling about "I thought you said I'm alright Spider."

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Spider was merely trying to tell Tommy that there was no disrespect and that he had misunderstood what he'd said. No question that is the wrong thing to do when dealing with a murderous nut job. Who knows, maybe the Spider thing was one of the reasons why Tommy was sent to his just reward.

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*beep* No! I would imagine if I had been shot in the foot by that man, I wouldnt go back to bartend again.

No power in the verse can stop me

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lol you guys are such cowards. No wonder America is going down hill.

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lol you guys are such cowards. No wonder America is going down hill.


I think it depends on the situation. In Spider's case, he had already agreed to be the wise guys' bartender and waiter. Or in the case of the guy that they threatened to throw to the lions - he was already compromised since he was already involved in the criminal underworld. They were already lost causes with no moral compass, so their lack of backbone is really the least of their problems.

But the people who really bugged me in this film and appeared as cowards were those like the mailman who gave in to intimidation. Or Janice's boss who let himself be pushed around by those guys. They could have gone to the police. They could have stood up for themselves, since they weren't criminals and hadn't done anything wrong. It's people like that who are the reason the Mob became so powerful (and why America is going downhill).

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It's easy to judge from the position of a spectator. Have you ever stood your ground against mob intimidation before?

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It's easy to judge from the position of a spectator. Have you ever stood your ground against mob intimidation before?


It's never come up. But if someone commits a crime against me, I report it to the police and press charges. I'm not saying they should have fought them off like Chuck Norris, but to just fold up, give in, and not do anything only contributes to the problem and only serves to embolden the mob to commit even more heinous crimes.

Look at how quickly they all went to jail when that guy's sister (who they were going to throw to the lions) reported it to the FBI. She certainly wasn't intimidated or afraid, so what was everyone else's problem?

The mailman didn't do anything wrong; all he did was deliver the mail. They could have just bribed one of the school secretaries to "lose" Henry's file so there would be no more letters about his truancy. But the mailman should have reported the assault upon him. There's got to be a Federal law somewhere against beating up mailmen, and this could have meant the FBI getting involved.

But the mailman was cowed, kept quiet, and stopped delivering mail to Henry's parents. If he was really that scared, he could have asked for a transfer to another district. Let Cliff Clavin take over that route.

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I'm a firm believer in the old saying " evil triumphs when good men do nothing".

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No way in hell would I stand up to Tommy. No good could come of it.

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The real life Tommy was a scary brute that no one would ever wanna face unarmed. The movie Tommy was a sniveling little punk that even Macaulay Culkin could put in his place. Big difference!

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My mother's friend was a waitress at the diner where they would eat and she said Tommy was crazy and everyone was afraid of him. He use to go into the parking lot and shoot out the windows of cars for no reason.

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"I'm a firm believer in the old saying " evil triumphs when good men do nothing"."

Easy to type that on your keyboard. Oversimplistic, a general comment typed from a place where you are safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBg06uSVq60

"Would you stand up to Tommy or no?"

It would depend on circumstances. This is not a yes or no question.

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There is a difference though between the sister and the mailman. the sister knew people in the FBI, knew who she could trust there. The mailman didn't know who he could trust. Lots of the cops were working for the mob and the mailman probably knew that. So he had nowhere to go.

"I will not be strong armed by threats against my laundry"

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The mailman didn't know who he could trust. Lots of the cops were working for the mob and the mailman probably knew that. So he had nowhere to go.

Yup.
Plus they made him fear for his life and using the very powerful emotion of fear like that will keep him from going to the police.
If the does then someone will get him.
Either a buddy who didn't like his friends being ratted on or else any of the mobsters themselves if the charges are dropped or when they get out of jail.

Let me know if I'm on your ignore list.
Thanx!

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There is a difference though between the sister and the mailman. the sister knew people in the FBI, knew who she could trust there. The mailman didn't know who he could trust. Lots of the cops were working for the mob and the mailman probably knew that. So he had nowhere to go.


Yes, that may be true. He might have gone to the US Postal Inspection Service, which has law enforcement powers. Of course, they could have been bought off too, and it's possible the Mob had connections to the Postal Workers Union as well.

But a lot of times, the Mob had the kind of hold they had since most of those they were dealing with were just as dirty and wouldn't rat anyone out because they'd get caught too. (Just like the guy who was going to be thrown to the lions; he didn't talk because he was committing crimes as well. His sister, though, was clean, so she had nothing to worry about.)

The mailman was totally clean, and he was just performing his duties. At the very least, you'd think they would have offered him a bribe or something to keep him from delivering mail from the school to Henry's house. Or, if they had connections to the Union, handle it that way. There were probably other ways it could have been handled other than going off and beating up the mailman.

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The mailman was totally clean, and he was just performing his duties. At the very least, you'd think they would have offered him a bribe or something to keep him from delivering mail from the school to Henry's house. Or, if they had connections to the Union, handle it that way. There were probably other ways it could have been handled other than going off and beating up the mailman.

I agree with you there. Why not try reasoning with him, maybe he would have been ok with being paid a little every month or something. But maybe they were being cheap, this was Pauly doing this, not Jimmy who was more loose with his money and more into paying people instead of threatening them. Maybe Pauly was more into using violence.

"I will not be strong armed by threats against my laundry"

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[deleted]

You realize the mob isn't present in every area in the U.S? I live in Southern Illinois and there are no mafia guys causing problems here. I do agree my countries going down but it's because of liberals voting for people who are okay with an open boarder, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, being against freedom of religion by saying nobody has the right to think abortion, transgenderism, and homosexuality are wrong, shutting down all drilling of oil in the U.S, and making tons of other decisions that are bad for the economy. But, nothing most of us can do about that since conservatives have been made into the minority.

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A book on assertiveness training that I read stated that while dealing with normal, average people you do indeed want to be assertive, when it comes to dangerous, aggressive people you are probably better off not being assertive with them ONE-ON-ONE.

It's up to you decide when you should be assertive and when you should not.

Most or practically all the time you are going to be dealing with normal people.

in the movie " Casino " when Nicky threatens that accountant, Sam says to him something along the lines of " What are you doing?!! That guy is a square, you threaten him and he is going to go to the FBI !!!!".

So even non-criminal squares who wouldn't hurt a fly can scare mobsters by whom they would probably run to if they ever felt threatened.

Having just watched the movie " Heat ", when a security guard keeps staring at Waingro like he is letting him know that he is not afraid of him and it seems like he is almost challenging him, Waingro opens up on him with his gun.

Waingro explained it at that meeting as " I had to get it on. He was making a move. " " I had to get it on.*

If you do feel threatened by a Tommy or a Waingro, you probably shouldn't try to go one-on-one with them, you do go to the FBI or cooperate with the police because that is where your power resides.

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No, it would mean certain death.

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Spider was so dumb the first time. Couldn't he have said this, "Yeah, I'm going to get you your drink. You asked for it as I was coming here with the finished drinks. Yours is next."

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Spider should have kept a gun there and serve tommy that instead.

Spoiler alert for them spoil sports out there! Y'all like spoiled milk, stop crying over it!

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I mean, I would have because there was no reason for anyone to suspect Tommy to have retaliated the way he did. But knowing I just got shot in the foot for even just joking around with the guy, I wouldn't have tried to get bold again. My life is more important than pride.

I get high on hydroponic weed

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Maybe... if I can do it politely (although I doubt someone of Tommy's character would have comprehended the concept of courtesy).

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Looking back maybe spider should have poisoned tommys drink and if that didn't work, shoot him dead.

Spoiler alert for them spoil sports out there! Y'all like spoiled milk, stop crying over it!

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While they appear as buddies in the film, in real life Henry Hill stated that Tommy was a psychopath and that he was terrified of him. The movie was changed in the book in this regard. Many of the scenes that showed Henry and Tommy hanging out together actually took place with Henry and Paulie Jr, who was basically written out of the movie.

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