The disturbing/intriguing business of "Hawking".

The disturbing/intriguing business of "Hawking".

Today, whilst walking to a local shopping centre to have lunch after church, I was approached by a middle aged African man. He was obviously a "hawker", selling an assortment of straw brooms and ironing board accessories. (How many brooms does one need?) I decided to listen to what he had to say as his body language looked like that of a desperate man. I greeted him with a warm smile and shook his hand while watching his body language. I like to think of myself as someone who can read people very easily.

 Anyway, he asked me to buy his wares as he needed money to finish his final year of school. I do understand times are tough, but its no excuse to lie to someone. These "hawkers" and the ever increasing amount of beggars, actually have a very shrewd mindset. They play on our emotions in order to sell their goods. They use a principle of  guilt also known as the "guilt complex". You could even say that these "hawkers" learnt this technique from ANC politicians! As a person who is reasonably comfortable, there will always be some sort of guilt when dealing with poor people. These "hawkers" use this to their advantage to get us to buy goods that we don't actually need.

After listening to his long, sob story, I tried to walk away only to have him walk after me persisting that I purchase his wares. These "hawkers" are not licensed and should not be encouraged by people who feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. I had finally had enough of his pleading and turned around to face him. I asked him a very clever (possibly nasty) question. "How much do you earn a day?". His answer was that he had not sold a broom or ironing board cover for months. I then proceeded to ask him why he had not gotten work elsewhere as he should have a certificate stating that he has passed Grade 11. Most people in South Africa agree that they would be happy to employ someone for a low wage job if they at least had a grade 11 certificate. He then stated that he could not find another job because the rich people had all the jobs and that the ANC only gave jobs to those who had connections and money.

I now proceeded even further into the land of the "not politically correct" and told him that I would buy a broom if he told me which party he voted for in the recent elections (I swear this obsession with politics will be my downfall). He told me he couldn't vote because he wasn't able to get to a voting station.This was another blatant lie which was soon discovered as I was walking away and hid behind a wall. The "hawker" got into an old car and drove away. I was so shocked that I actually laughed!

The moral of this article is to not be emotionally bullied by "hawkers" as most of them are actually predators who are disguised as innocents. It is truly a sad state of affairs as most of us cannot tell the difference between a genuine, poor "hawker" and a crooked predator that manipulates people to buy his wares.

Stay sharp.

Anonymous
NondePlume.