September 01, 2025 • Melike Balkın Karakaya

Where the Code Ends: Dishonor in the Guise of Mafia, Murder for the Sake of “Influence”

“There was once a rule—even in the underworld: Weapons are not spoken of in the presence of women and children.”

What we witness today shows that even this code has been discarded. Lives are not the only targets anymore; the spouses and children left behind are also dragged into the crosshairs. Worse still, this brutality is displayed on social media as a badge of honor in the pursuit of becoming an “influencer.”

This is not merely a murder;
this is the showcase of social decay.

1. Unemployed Youth and the Fake “Mafia” Culture

Many young people, unemployed and stripped of hope, are drawn into a counterfeit mafia culture. What is sold to them as “manhood” or “power” is, in truth, dishonor and crime. For the sake of a few street videos, they do not hesitate to commit murder.

2. Social Media and the Exhibition of Violence

Today’s notion of “influence” has turned violence into content. A generation that once looked up to scientists now takes as role models criminals brandishing guns on TikTok. This is the moment a generation’s tether snaps.

3. Erosion of Trust in the Justice System

Crimes that go unpunished and performative trials push people toward taking justice into their own hands. If this course is not reversed, we will be dragged into a society where chaos becomes the rule.

4. A Scientific Reading of Society

The collapse of a society begins at the point where the safety of women and children disappears. This is the most visible sign of moral ground loss. Unemployed young men acting as hitmen is the normalization of lawlessness.

If we remain silent today, tomorrow—in the world our own children inhabit—conscience will be the exception, and violence the norm.

Note: This article does not target individuals; it is a social-scientific commentary that analyzes societal dynamics through a current event.