My brother Gabriel Diani is working on a new Kickstarter project for his film Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse. This makes me think of only one thing: Nepotism.
Here is what the Supreme Court of the United States had to say about nepotism in Louisiana in selecting shipping pilots:
The practice of nepotism in appointing public servants has been a subject of controversy in this country throughout our history. Some states have adopted constitutional amendments or statutes to prohibit it. These have reflected state policies to wipe out the practice. But Louisiana and most other states have adopted no such general policy. We can only assume that the Louisiana legislature weighed the obvious possibility of evil against whatever useful function a closely knit pilotage system may serve. Thus the advantages of early experience under friendly supervision in the locality of the pilot’s training, the benefits to morale and esprit de corps which family and neighborly tradition might contribute, the close association in which pilots must work and live in their pilot communities and on the water, and the discipline and regulation which is imposed to assure the State competent pilot service after appointment, might have prompted the legislature to permit Louisiana pilot officers to select those with whom they would serve.
Kotch v. Board of River Port Pilot Comm’rs, 330 U.S. 552, 562-563 (U.S. 1947).
What can we learn from the Supreme Court and Louisiana? It is sometimes OK to have nepotism in certain professions. However, simply appointing family members to government posts after being elected is rarely publicly accepted. It is often illegal.
Which brings me to my brother. Check out his Kickstarter video and ask:
Why are lawyers killed off in all the end of the world movies?
Doesn’t that seem odd people would just live like animals instead of trying to rebuild the world? It certainly goes against the message from Akira or Star Trek First Contact.
We may never know the answer unless Gabe meets his Kickstarter fundraising goals. You can help at www.ddmta.com.