You are three times her size aren't you? What would happen if you simply steal all her roses and all her money? Who would she complain to?
You are three times her size aren't you? What would happen if you simply steal all her roses and all her money? Who would she complain to?
"Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense." -- John Adams
The triad gangsters who control her?
i'd give her the money, go somewhere nearby and call the authorities and tell them that there is a little girl scaming money infront of a nice establishment. then the authorities could take over from there.
Or better yet if she is clinging to your leg drag her all the way into your car and all the way home - then fix her a bite to eat. If the thugs who manage her run over to stop you then punch their lights out.Quote by: PatrickHenry
Or take a phone camera with you and have your other friends photograph the whole incident and any "out of place" adults near by. Give the photos to the police so they can make the proper arrests for panhandling. (if you have such laws?).
Anyway I would bet you 25 cents she will not get into the car and would let go of your leg before then. Here in the USA I see lots of spoiled brats at places like Walmart who do that screaming and tugging trick on their mothers to get mom to buy them something they want. And they are not poor kids. The mother keeps saying no but is not allowed under law to get tuff (no hitting kids here). We have self-help books that can teach mother's how to deal with that kind of problem. (firm no and no giving in).
The real shame here is about those adults who would make a small child beg for money late at night. That comes close to being child abuse and your country should create laws with stiff fines for those who conduct such a child labor force. Next they will make her into a positute and then your country will end up with more homeless kids. That is what happens in a country that does not have a decent welfare system. A country cannot just sweep poverty under the rug so the rich folks do not have to see it nor be effected by it. And blaming it on bad (past life) Karma is at best just poor excuse making.
Anyway she is not begging but working to earn her livelyhood selling flowers. Every business attempts to come up with a plan to motivate consumers to buy their wares, some of our used car dealers over here are almost as aggresssive. So what you do not like is aggressive sales people who know how to manipulate your emotions so that you will buy something. Over here that is called capitolism and "in capitalism we trust" (no matter what the coins say in contradiction of that fact). So us Americans should not object too loudly about agressive sales tactics because it is legal here - although we have laws about child labor and about grabbing hold of people - and you must have a "sidewalk vender permit". Here they sell flowers at freeway exit stops - only we gotta pay a buck for one rose. You guys are getting off cheap. At a fancy hollowood nightclub that flower might cost as much as $5.00. Men often will shell out the money to buy their lady a flower because it is the romanic thing to do on a date (for for the wife). Count your blessings.
This argument is irrelevent.
Hell I'd give her a fiver, take 20 roses, and tell her to go home for the night. :)
Last edited by brien; 4th January 2006 at 04:44 PM.
Brien the Iceberg
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. M.T.
This is what most Chinese say too - let the police handle it. Problem is, there aren't any police around and her parents or boss or whatever knows it.
New info - a friend told me the flower girl scam is making so much money there are now two more girls working the streets near my neighborhood. They all wear the exact same clothes and sell the exact same roses. One of them apparently has long nails and likes to scratch guys if they don't buy from her.
I'm just not going for this "just buy a rose and let her be, it's only 25 cents" stuff, fellas. The average hourly wage for a college graduate here is $1.25 - she and her friends are pulling in a good deal more than that.
Well then, if she is raking in more than a college graduate, perhaps the college grads ought "sell" flowers also. But this really isn't the case now, is it? If this were truly an "entepenurial" effort, then I would say bravo, but it sounds more like a "shakedown" to me.
I would be in favor of her selling her roses, but not forcing them upon people. This is where the effort crosses the line to a shakedown. It really is a matter for whomever regulates trade. If they continue to shakedown their prospects, they should be warned against it. If they don't heed the warning, they should be arrested.
If a potential "customer" were to beat one of these kids away and hurt them, it would probably get the attention of some authority who would look into the matter. The restaurantuer could hire some street thugs to eliminate the problem. Or he/she could call the authorities who regulate their trade and explain the situation and how it may be affecting their business.
The reasonable answer is to allow then to sell their flowers, but in a peaceful way that doesn't force themselves upon their buyers. Otherwise, there must be some civil authority that has to get involved here.
Barring this, the activity will probably continue until someone gets fed up and does something about it outside the law, like hire the street thugs and take back the turf around the restaurant.
Keep us posted.
Brien the Iceberg
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. M.T.
Why are you still continuing this thread?
I already told you the answer.
Your solution was to run away from a nine year-old girl. I have two major problems with that.
1. It's demeaning and uncivilized. Sting said, "a gentleman will walk but never run." I agree.
2. It's right after dinner. Your stomach's full of chinese dumplings and roast duck. The last thing you want to do is run.
I'm continuing this thread because I'm still not satisfied with these answers. And there's new info.
Turns out they're bribing the police to let them run their scam. They're cutting the local cops in, just like the old beggars nearby (there are four - it's always the same four - who run about a 2km radius near my university).
This adds a whole new problem that isn't moral but practical. If you can't turn to the cops, you have to solve the problem yourself. And so far I haven't seen an acceptable solution to this besides "avoid her entirely in the first place."
Well now if the cops are in on the cut, then I would suggest that you find a new restaurant and give up your crusade because you won't win this one. Who knows, maybe the restaurant is in on it also. And if they aren't, they better bribe the cops with more money to keep the beggars away if they lose business over it.
No matter what the case, you have two options:
1) Continue to patonize the restaurant and put up with the beggars.
2) Find a new restaurant, as there must be many more to chose from in Bejing.
Good luck
Brien the Iceberg
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. M.T.
Who said anything about running?
Walking is fine. Just walk away from her and if she trys any shit then use a stun gun.
Stop letting your damn pride get in the way. Who gives a shit?
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