Comments on: The Business Of Street Peddling http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/ A Jordanian Blog Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:56:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: windcrest mortgage web current credit lines consolidation http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-129352 windcrest mortgage web current credit lines consolidation Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:04:47 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-129352 <strong>windcrest mortgage web current credit lines consolidation...</strong> conceits minnows?jug midway Cushing ... windcrest mortgage web current credit lines consolidation…

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]]> By: lifexhistory http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125616 lifexhistory Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:19:29 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125616 I can completely understand and sympathize with your perspective on the difference between the peddlers and the beggars. But I would throw in another factor that you may not have considered: that of gender. Most of the beggars I've seen are either very young children (who should not be running around in traffic selling anything) or women. The peddlers you are talking about on the street are never women. At least, I've certainly never seen female peddlers of the kind you are describing. And a question is, why not? Do you think there might be some social stigma attached to a woman on the street selling items in that way? And would she be able to defend herself physically against a man should there be a turf war of the kind you describe taking place between male peddlers? Granted, there are male beggars, of course. But most of these that I have seen appear to be sickly, mentally incompetent or very old and unlikely to be able to stand up in the sun at an intersection all day-- and as I've said, the vast majority appear to me to be women and their young children. Quite frankly, though, I think the traffic in Amman is entirely way too dangerous for anyone to be legally sanctioned to stand on corners of anywhere selling goods! I can completely understand and sympathize with your perspective on the difference between the peddlers and the beggars. But I would throw in another factor that you may not have considered: that of gender.

Most of the beggars I’ve seen are either very young children (who should not be running around in traffic selling anything) or women. The peddlers you are talking about on the street are never women. At least, I’ve certainly never seen female peddlers of the kind you are describing. And a question is, why not? Do you think there might be some social stigma attached to a woman on the street selling items in that way? And would she be able to defend herself physically against a man should there be a turf war of the kind you describe taking place between male peddlers? Granted, there are male beggars, of course. But most of these that I have seen appear to be sickly, mentally incompetent or very old and unlikely to be able to stand up in the sun at an intersection all day– and as I’ve said, the vast majority appear to me to be women and their young children.

Quite frankly, though, I think the traffic in Amman is entirely way too dangerous for anyone to be legally sanctioned to stand on corners of anywhere selling goods!

]]> By: Marwan http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125587 Marwan Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:18:37 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125587 Yeah, maybe they should take a test also before they get licensed to become a CSP (Certified Street Peddler) LoL! No, seriously I think it is a good idea to get them orgnized! I hope they won't make a big issue out of it though. I see them all over Chicago! Just yesterday I got stopped by a solicitor in Michigan avenue asking for donations (Begging in a professional way)! Yeah, maybe they should take a test also before they get licensed to become a CSP (Certified Street Peddler) LoL! No, seriously I think it is a good idea to get them orgnized!

I hope they won’t make a big issue out of it though. I see them all over Chicago! Just yesterday I got stopped by a solicitor in Michigan avenue asking for donations (Begging in a professional way)!

]]> By: Ibby http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125578 Ibby Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:54:10 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125578 Arabic Pride: "Did you ever ask yourself that perhaps she may have been referring to those who make “a business” falsifying themselves as being poor?" - Does this mean that only poor people should be allowed to sell things on the street? How do you define "poor"? - Does that mean that a successful "street salesman", for want of a better phrase, would be banned from selling things on the street because he is successful? - Would the ban be lifted once they slide back into poverty? Nas: You are right. My sarcasm is not the solution. Short of a real solution, one can only comment and point out weaknesses in proposed fixes. That may take the form of sarcasm - especially since you sometimes take yourself too seriously. And sarcasm is fun. Arabic Pride: “Did you ever ask yourself that perhaps she may have been referring to those who make “a business” falsifying themselves as being poor?”
- Does this mean that only poor people should be allowed to sell things on the street? How do you define “poor”?
- Does that mean that a successful “street salesman”, for want of a better phrase, would be banned from selling things on the street because he is successful?
- Would the ban be lifted once they slide back into poverty?

Nas: You are right. My sarcasm is not the solution. Short of a real solution, one can only comment and point out weaknesses in proposed fixes. That may take the form of sarcasm – especially since you sometimes take yourself too seriously. And sarcasm is fun.

]]> By: Arabic Pride http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125574 Arabic Pride Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:47:02 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125574 I want to also add that the title of this blog's subject clearly states it all. I want to also add that the title of this blog’s subject clearly states it all.

]]> By: Arabic Pride http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125573 Arabic Pride Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:39:04 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125573 To Alurdunialhurr: Did you ever ask yourself that perhaps Mammabean helped the poor who are legitimately poor? Did you ever ask yourself that perhaps she may have been referring to those who make "a business" falsifying themselves as being poor? I believe it is you that have a lot to learn about what is really happening over there. Btw, I read her blog about poverty. It did not appear that she was out to impress us but merely letting us be aware of how she was impacted by this critical issue. To Alurdunialhurr: Did you ever ask yourself that perhaps Mammabean helped the poor who are legitimately poor? Did you ever ask yourself that perhaps she may have been referring to those who make “a business” falsifying themselves as being poor? I believe it is you that have a lot to learn about what is really happening over there. Btw, I read her blog about poverty. It did not appear that she was out to impress us but merely letting us be aware of how she was impacted by this critical issue.

]]> By: Alurdunialhurr http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125568 Alurdunialhurr Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:17:42 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125568 "To some extent I fault Safeway and such places for the beggars who harass their customers. Especially since it’s always the same ones. They need to be actively engaging the authorities to root them out." Mammabeans,,Did you ever ask yourself why those" beggars" became beggars and desperate? in your blog ,just a week ago,you were bragging about helping "the poor" and now you want to criminalize them because of their desperate situation Did it accure to you that poverty is rich man creation ?and that the "Rich" became wealthy because they constantly steal from the poor,did you really think that by writing in your blog about poverty ,you are going impress people like me?you really have a lot to learn from the "poor".. “To some extent I fault Safeway and such places for the beggars who harass their customers. Especially since it’s always the same ones. They need to be actively engaging the authorities to root them out.”
Mammabeans,,Did you ever ask yourself why those” beggars” became beggars and desperate?
in your blog ,just a week ago,you were bragging about helping “the poor” and now you want to criminalize them because of their desperate situation
Did it accure to you that poverty is rich man creation ?and that the “Rich” became wealthy because they constantly steal from the poor,did you really think that by writing in your blog about poverty ,you are going impress people like me?you really have a lot to learn from the “poor”..

]]> By: Nas http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125533 Nas Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:12:55 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125533 <b>ibby:</b> which is why i said it should be subsidized, in other words, untaxed. but your sarcasm is also a valid solution. <b>nadine and dave:</b> true, it does take work. but it takes just as much work sending out fleets of police cars to round these people up when i'm sure the police have better things to do. it takes just as much time to build and run recreational centers, i.e. temporary holding facilities. and i agree, capacity-building, or lack there of, is at the root of the problem when it comes to public policy in Jordan <b>mommabean:</b><b> that's true, they do sometimes rip off foreigners. and i actually thought about that. but like i said, they are businessmen and there are many of those in the "legitimate" category that do the same. to say nothing of taxi drivers who are also legit. human beings will always attempt to rip off human beings. at least giving these people some legitimacy might help regulate that.</b> ibby: which is why i said it should be subsidized, in other words, untaxed. but your sarcasm is also a valid solution.

nadine and dave: true, it does take work. but it takes just as much work sending out fleets of police cars to round these people up when i’m sure the police have better things to do. it takes just as much time to build and run recreational centers, i.e. temporary holding facilities.

and i agree, capacity-building, or lack there of, is at the root of the problem when it comes to public policy in Jordan

mommabean: that’s true, they do sometimes rip off foreigners. and i actually thought about that. but like i said, they are businessmen and there are many of those in the “legitimate” category that do the same. to say nothing of taxi drivers who are also legit. human beings will always attempt to rip off human beings. at least giving these people some legitimacy might help regulate that.

]]> By: Dave http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125514 Dave Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:17:25 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125514 Very well written, and I like your thought process. But like Nadine said, all of it takes work, which means that some government official will have to actually put down his coffee and cigarette, lift up his hand and do something other than signing his signature. That may be too much to ask. :P Very well written, and I like your thought process. But like Nadine said, all of it takes work, which means that some government official will have to actually put down his coffee and cigarette, lift up his hand and do something other than signing his signature. That may be too much to ask. :P

]]> By: Nadine http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125513 Nadine Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:37:04 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125513 Authorities like to punish rather than change the game. It's easier. They are conditioned to believe that to penalize is their duty. They're in the business of taking away instead of recreating. That's part of what plagues workplace progress in some public sector orgs. I love the possibilities of what you're thinking here. What it requires from those concerned is to regroup and work on a whole new solution, try it, test it, revise it, monitor it, enforce it, evolve it, re-look at it when it's not as useful anymore.... That's a lot of new work. Similar to your post on the GAM limiting internet access, people using the internet is not their problem. The problem is bad management. And with that comes wrong hires, bad supervision, little accountability, room for abuse, and a system that believes to fix is to punish. Vicious cycle. There's a fundamental issue we're still generally overlooking... to fix/move forward/achieve is about people - everything else are mere tools. We really must bring capacity building to the forefront, otherwise we will continue to fumble, waste a lot of resources on very little output, and reach out desperately to foreign aid and borrowed consultants (window dressing) who make us more dependent on perishable resources. Building local capacities helps solve at the root, and is forever. It also puts people first and delivers on our aspirations. Authorities like to punish rather than change the game. It’s easier. They are conditioned to believe that to penalize is their duty. They’re in the business of taking away instead of recreating. That’s part of what plagues workplace progress in some public sector orgs.

I love the possibilities of what you’re thinking here. What it requires from those concerned is to regroup and work on a whole new solution, try it, test it, revise it, monitor it, enforce it, evolve it, re-look at it when it’s not as useful anymore…. That’s a lot of new work.

Similar to your post on the GAM limiting internet access, people using the internet is not their problem. The problem is bad management. And with that comes wrong hires, bad supervision, little accountability, room for abuse, and a system that believes to fix is to punish. Vicious cycle.

There’s a fundamental issue we’re still generally overlooking… to fix/move forward/achieve is about people – everything else are mere tools. We really must bring capacity building to the forefront, otherwise we will continue to fumble, waste a lot of resources on very little output, and reach out desperately to foreign aid and borrowed consultants (window dressing) who make us more dependent on perishable resources.

Building local capacities helps solve at the root, and is forever. It also puts people first and delivers on our aspirations.

]]> By: Ibby http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125511 Ibby Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:13:35 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125511 Great idea - license those wretched souls at the traffic lights! That way the government can tax what little money they make, forcing these budding businessmen go back to begging. I am sure the casinos in Monte Carlo will be most grateful Great idea – license those wretched souls at the traffic lights! That way the government can tax what little money they make, forcing these budding businessmen go back to begging.

I am sure the casinos in Monte Carlo will be most grateful

]]> By: MommaBean http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125481 MommaBean Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:12:46 +0000 http://www.black-iris.com/2008/10/29/the-business-of-street-peddling/#comment-125481 I totally agree on this one. Now, on the down side, some of the street vendors see the signature American blond hair and try to sell 1JD's worth of flowers for 5JDs... So, I buy from the guy on the other cross street. I don't give to beggars, but will buy from street vendors. And, I see no reason why street vendors shouldn't be allowed to ply their wares. After all, the only thing it typically requires to discourage them is not look at them. To some extent I fault Safeway and such places for the beggars who harass their customers. Especially since it's always the same ones. They need to be actively engaging the authorities to root them out. These folks don't take no for an answer and continue to annoy until either you nearly run over their feet or another potential target comes along. While I'm happy to give to charities that actully try to improve the lives of the poor, I refuse to help a family exploit their young chidren by keeping them out of school to beg... I totally agree on this one. Now, on the down side, some of the street vendors see the signature American blond hair and try to sell 1JD’s worth of flowers for 5JDs… So, I buy from the guy on the other cross street. I don’t give to beggars, but will buy from street vendors. And, I see no reason why street vendors shouldn’t be allowed to ply their wares. After all, the only thing it typically requires to discourage them is not look at them.

To some extent I fault Safeway and such places for the beggars who harass their customers. Especially since it’s always the same ones. They need to be actively engaging the authorities to root them out. These folks don’t take no for an answer and continue to annoy until either you nearly run over their feet or another potential target comes along. While I’m happy to give to charities that actully try to improve the lives of the poor, I refuse to help a family exploit their young chidren by keeping them out of school to beg…

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