Whitey Bulger rose to prominence in South Boston’s criminal underworld, at least in part, by providing the FBI with information it used to dismantle his competition--Boston’s faction of the Patriarca crime family. Since crime abhors a vacuum, this created an opportunity for him to expand his illegal activities--what a coinkydink.
In the movie “Black Mass” Whitey is portrayed as a sort of disciple of the famed philosopher Bishop Berkeley. Berkeley proposed that objects of sense exist only when perceived. He is credited, some say erroneously, with posing the question, “If a tree gets whacked in the forest for talking to the feds, but nobody sees it, did it really happen?” When asked, the oak trees said they didn’t know anything while the pines, predictably, said yes and asked for part of the dead tree’s bookmaking territory.
Martha Davis, the singer for The Motels, once said, “If you’re gonna sell out, make sure they’re buying.” In Bulger’s case the FBI bought every bit of what he had to offer. However, as far as Whitey was concerned, he wasn’t selling anyone out. He was just sharing information. In fact, in an act of intellectual gymnastics that would make a Jesuit proud, Whitey claimed that since no one witnessed his information sharing, it never happened.
It’s long been said our character is revealed by what we do when nobody's watching. In Bulger’s case, by discouraging anyone from watching what he was doing he was able to become Boston’s most infamous desperado--and stay out of prison for a very long time.
And, for the record, he didn’t know anything about any dead tree. Really.
Wiseguy Wisdom is a guide to personal growth based on books, movies and government tapes.
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