and we were afraid of the mafia, these guys target other races, the mafia targeted their enemies.
You are right. Generally the mob won’t bother you unless you make a bad deal with them. And they usually respected women and children (not all, but most). These gangs just enjoy the violence.
That being said; when I was a single mother of two toddlers and I was ‘protected’ in the projects. As a white woman with babies, they did stop a few predators (who would comment as I walked to the “you living up there alone now ain’t ya”. I was seriously terrified most of the time.
Proud to say that I only lived there a year until I saved enough for a duplex and then bought a home a year after that. It’s a tiny home, but it’s mine and I’m not on government support anymore.