It's been a couple months since this first happened, but I have seen the phenomenon repeated. If you are in the fundraising business, take note. This is a Malawian special I call the "Bumper to Bumper Wallet Dumper"™. Here's how it works:
1. Gather a small group of people
2. Make a sign on an old sheet
3. Hire one or two police officers
4. Walk down the middle of a major road, grinding traffic to a near halt
5. Infuriate drivers in said traffic
6. Ask drivers for money
And that's that! Easy peasy pumpkin peasy. Except not. Gasoline costs an arm and a leg, so traffic jams are very expensive. Plus, no one likes to be stuck creeping along. We not-so-kindly declined to give.
Maybe, though, they are on to something. By doing this in traffic they are--perhaps knowingly--targeting the wealthiest Malawians who are the only ones with vehicles. It's like direct mail guided by advanced demographic algorithms... minus the mail and algorithms and plus a ton of anger.
Am impressed by your clever name for this infuriating thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's trademarked. I'll expect royalties.
ReplyDeleteAre you allowed to comment to each other on a blog you both write? In Washington, DC, you could just head out to the beltway around 8am and 4:30pm each day and have a walk amongst the cars and no one could even blame you for causing the fracas. That would be "Bumper to Bumper Wallet Dumper Lite™" Also, you'd be targeting people from the wealthiest county in America!
ReplyDelete