I’m not particularly cheering on the Mafia here, but these ignoramuses SO need a history lesson.
The Mafia was not particularly “racist.” It usually left you alone if you left it alone. But it stood for a code of honor when nobody else seemed to be doing so (and when the church was wimpy).
I’m not a big Mafia fan either. But they are more law now than anyone in NYC.
The US Government used the Mafia during WWII to protect the Eastern ports from Nazi sabotage.