...WW ...you feel better, just like people do after a trip to the water closet...........
- Thread starter drisforme
- Start date
Stopped this afternoon by 2 cops at Sosua for money
...WW ...you feel better, just like people do after a trip to the water closet...........
I dont think many people who read this grasped what it means .. and why you dont do this , ever ....
You only shake the hands of people who are your Friends, and people you trust ..
Shaking the hand of someone who is obviously shaking you down for money , be it only pocket change.. is the same as BEGGING FOR MERCY or the same as a Dog taking a submissive Position.
ie. you already LOST , before you even open your mouth ..
Best to keep the hands on the steering wheel... and let them guess who Who higher up you might know , and it therefore be would be best to wave you on...
do you know anything about caribbean culture? i mean it as a simple question.
when you say you only shake the hands of people who are your friends, that might apply in your country, in your culture. caribbean people are more open, and loose, and shaking hands is a part of that dynamic.
I respectfully disagree with this, but understand the author's position. When the PN stopped me last night and extended his hand, I shook it and smiled. He paused, and waved me through the checkpoint. While I only spoke English, he sensed that I was not a tourist. He was correct. I will shake hands with others, as I was taught to do so. This act does not make us friends, merely acquaintances. With respect to friends and people that I trust, they get to see the inside of my residence and eat at the dining room table. Very few people get here.
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shaking hands normally consummates a meeting process. if John says to me ''meet my friend, James'', i usually extend my hand, and we shake. i do not do that because we are friends, or because i trust him. heck..i don't even know him.
I don't care to formally " Meet" people especially in UNIFORM, who are about to Extort Money from me ... that is just me ..
Maybe some of you Expats who dont exude any hint of being an Alpha male NEED to pay them, or they will make trouble for you ..
Or maybe you really do enjoy buying Strange Police Officers DRINKS , so you can be on your way ..
To TOURISTS just going about their Holiday, this is FRIGHTENING.. and if you cant grasp this ..then keep doing what you doing and keep encouraging this kind of behavior ..
I wonder what the Ministers of Tourism think about this issue and how it affecting the Country and the IMAGE of the DR overall..
do what makes you feel comfortable ..
Maybe some of you Expats who dont exude any hint of being an Alpha male NEED to pay them, or they will make trouble for you ..
Or maybe you really do enjoy buying Strange Police Officers DRINKS , so you can be on your way ..
To TOURISTS just going about their Holiday, this is FRIGHTENING.. and if you cant grasp this ..then keep doing what you doing and keep encouraging this kind of behavior ..
I wonder what the Ministers of Tourism think about this issue and how it affecting the Country and the IMAGE of the DR overall..
do what makes you feel comfortable ..
...thats a good idea but..... the bidding is open on everyone here, all the time...that means if he is your friend today, maybe not tomorrow...if someone pays him more money......
i love it when guys who come to this neck of the woods a few times a year, and spend a few weeks in a tourist area, are suddenly authorities on the sociology of the place. i have gotten to the point i will not even bother to respond with any semblance of substance to these observations, because it would get us nowhere.
this nonsense about scaring tourists, and encouraging behaviors, is fatuous. this has been going on since the beginning of time. i remember my first visit to the DR involved a trip to Boca Chica. my taxi guy had an old Ford Maverick that could not get up to 30mph, but we got pulled over by a very pleasant pair of officers. we were speeding, said one. we had to pay a fine...there and then. 200 pesos. the cop told me i could pay 100 then, and bring the other 100 the next day. i did just that, just for laughs.
so, it is no new phenomenon, which is going to get out of hand, and terrify tourists, and sound the death knell of tourism. it has been the same since at least the 1980s, and tourism is bigger today than when i first came here.
A few years back I was shaken down by a gang of raggedy kids and an abuela, with a rope pulled across the street.
I said "why do you need the money!?" They were clueless as to the right answer. Then abuela starts whispering: "escuela"
And the kids all chimed in the same. As I was pulling out some pesos I quizzed them on school. Did they like it? Getting good grades? And I gave them my Why They Should Stay in School speech. They all agreed. Abuela beamed.
I like to think that they're all engineers, doctors and teachers now.
I said "why do you need the money!?" They were clueless as to the right answer. Then abuela starts whispering: "escuela"
And the kids all chimed in the same. As I was pulling out some pesos I quizzed them on school. Did they like it? Getting good grades? And I gave them my Why They Should Stay in School speech. They all agreed. Abuela beamed.
I like to think that they're all engineers, doctors and teachers now.
I am at times conflicted when a beggar/s ask for money. I know that sometimes it's a genuine need, and other times( most) it is a scam. Hard to tell the difference and if you give to everyone you will be bled dry.
I have told this before
My friend has a house here - visits for months a year (5?) and has done so for over 20 yrs
But he's a slow learner
A couple of Navidads ago, the police dropped by to make sure was being looked after & felt safe
Yes, Thank you - he said
I was incredulous on hearing this.
A few days later - I and the police get a distress call from him,
Solar panels and other stuff stolen....
He reports to the local station.
Sure enough, a couple of days later (with a sense of humor) he gets a midnight call
We have your panels....
By now, he's feeling so guilty he forks over a few thousand pesos in gratitude and Christmas cheer
DoDo - 500-1,000 - earlier and he would not have had grief
As we always say (in different ways)
It's their game, their ball, their rules
Learn to play or lose......
Something similar to the Anglo adage - Live & Learn
Nothing new - nowhere
My friend has a house here - visits for months a year (5?) and has done so for over 20 yrs
But he's a slow learner
A couple of Navidads ago, the police dropped by to make sure was being looked after & felt safe
Yes, Thank you - he said
I was incredulous on hearing this.
A few days later - I and the police get a distress call from him,
Solar panels and other stuff stolen....
He reports to the local station.
Sure enough, a couple of days later (with a sense of humor) he gets a midnight call
We have your panels....
By now, he's feeling so guilty he forks over a few thousand pesos in gratitude and Christmas cheer
DoDo - 500-1,000 - earlier and he would not have had grief
As we always say (in different ways)
It's their game, their ball, their rules
Learn to play or lose......
Something similar to the Anglo adage - Live & Learn
Nothing new - nowhere
I usually get waved by checkpoints for some reason(?), but the times I've been pulled over, the first thing I do when I put the window down is smile and say in Spanish - "Buenas tardes comandante(seems they like being addressed "comandante"), quiere ver los papeles?". Usually, I just get waved on at that point.
On the few occasions that I did show my papers, all they asked for was my license and registration - and just gave a cursory look at those. Never been asked for proof of insurance or how long I've been in the country. I always speak to them in Spanish. It's worked for me so far anyway.
On the few occasions that I did show my papers, all they asked for was my license and registration - and just gave a cursory look at those. Never been asked for proof of insurance or how long I've been in the country. I always speak to them in Spanish. It's worked for me so far anyway.
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I have been stopped many times and haven't paid any money. I gave some cops some bottles of water one stop near La Vega.
"I have no doubt that it has and does happen on a regular basis. I can honestly say it hasn't happen to me yet". Either you have or have not been stopped in shakedowns? One day no, the other day many times. Just asking which one is true?
Giving water is hardly a shakedown. I have been stopped at many police roadblocks and asked where I'm coming from and where I am going. Never been asked for papers , only cedula, and have a nice day sir. Never been threantened or asked for money. Hope I am clear enough for easily confused people.