I saw this shit in Candelaria, Bogota. I was super annoyed that some fellow gringos with tie-dye shirts and filthy dreadlocks were begging for money in the street. Just two blocks away there's an elderly little blind Colombian lady begging for money to pay for her next meal, and these jerkoff Gringo hippies are trying to scam free hostel and beer money from other travelers. They were playing "music" but didn't even have the decency to play a real instrument. They were humming on kazoos and beating a five gallon bucket. I was with a Colombian girl and she said, "Hey, there's some of your Paisanos." I think that shit is embarrassing to see your countrymen acting like dipshits in another country.
Quote:Shameless rise of the 'beg-packers': Astonishing phenomenon of Western backpackers who beg for money to fund their travelling as they journey through some of the world's poorest regions
-Backpackers in southeast Asia have started begging to fund their trip through the continent
-A woman from Singapore posted images of 'beg-packers' online and said they are taking money off the needy
-Many questioned why people with expensive travel equipment and cameras needed to beg for money
-Move follows from internet trend which saw people using crowdfunding websites to finance their travels
11 April, 2017
Poverty, sickness and pure survival - just a few reasons why genuinely needy people beg on the streets for money.
But as these images show, the poor in southeast Asia are increasingly being joined by wealthy Western backpackers who are begging simply to fund their trips.
The trend has caused outrage among locals, who say the tourists are taking money from the truly needy in order to finance lifestyle choices many consider a luxury.
Western backpackers are increasingly taking to begging on the streets of southeast Asia in order to fund their trips across the continent, causing outrage among locals.
Maisarah Abu Samah, from Singapore, questioned why people who could afford expensive equipment such as amplifiers (pictured) would need to take handouts. Others said tourists are taking money away from the truly needy in order to fund lifestyle choices many consider a luxury.
Westerns begging for travel money has become a common sight across Asia, including in Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand (pictured, people beg on the streets of Bangkok). Travellers also appear to be openly flouting strict laws on street begging in many of the countries they visit. For example, in Singapore, only visitors with a work visa are allowed to busk.
'First of all, you don't see many people selling knick-knacks or playing music in the street in Singapore because there are strict rules governing these activities.
While some people play instruments for cash, another common tactic is to sell postcards with travel photos printed on them
Ms Samah questioned why tourists sitting at the side of the road, often with expensive travel equipment, needed to be begging for money. 'And, if you do happen to see street vendors or street performers, they are usually in the town centre and not near a bus stop in a relatively middle class neighbourbood like this. I've also never seen white people doing that.
'We find it extremely strange to ask other people for money to help you travel. Selling things in the street or begging isn't considered respectable.
'People who do so are really in need: they beg in order to buy food, pay their children's school fees or pay off debts. 'But not in order to do something seen as a luxury.'
Part of the outrage comes from a perceived unfairness between locals and tourists.
Louisa, a Malaysian woman who studied political economics, told France 24 that tourists are often feel they can behave however they want while travelling in an 'exotic' place.A Malaysian woman attributed the begging to the fact that people are travelling in an 'exotic' place and feel able to behave in ways they wouldn't at home (pictured, a man begs in Bangkok). A Western traveller sitting with bags of fast food begs for money on a street corner in Bangkok as part of a 'beg-packer' trend.
She said: 'I want to ask these tourists: what makes you think that this kind of behaviour is normal in Asia? Why don't you do the same thing at home?'
The same trend has also taken hold online, where people use crowdfunding or charitable giving websites to ask for donations for them to go on voyages. There is even a dedicated website, fundmytravel, which allows people to appeal for donations to 'fund meaningful travel experiences.'
While many projects on the site seem to be linked to worthy causes - such as humanitarian work in impoverished countries - others seem to be less deserving.
One recent appeal, entitled 'David and Bash extreme budget backpackers take on SE Asia!', seeks funding for David and partner Sebastian to enjoy 'outrageous adventure, eating bugs, cliff diving, scuba and jungle trekking.' Created two days ago, the pair are asking for $2,850 - $1,000 for airfare, $850 for accommodation, and another $1,000 to spend. So far they have received $20.
Maisarah Abu Samah, from Singapore, questioned why people who could afford expensive equipment such as amplifiers (pictured) would need to take handouts
Others said tourists are taking money away from the truly needy in order to fund lifestyle choices many consider a luxury
A Western traveller sitting with bags of fast food begs for money on a street corner in Bangkok as part of a 'beg-packer' trend
These pieces of shit really live an alternative universe. It's obvious that they have never faced any hardship in their privileged lives and the fact that they have the audacity to beg in the third world where many people actually live in abject poverty and beg to survive. The fact that these westerners beg despite their comparatively luxurious background is frankly highly insulting to the country that they are begging in.
It's also symbolic of them as people. They lack the maturity and intelligence to budget properly, they live in a world where everything will just magically work out. That sort of bullshit is for children, not for fully grown adults.
I really feel a kind of anger to these kind of people. They really ruin it for others foreigners by this way.
I mean if you don't have enough money to continue your travel , just head back home or plan your trip better. I noticed this in China as well, where some dreadlocked foreigner came beg for some money on the subway, it pissed me off straightaway.
There should be wall of shame for these people in their homecountry.
Complete and utter egotism. To imagine that your trip, for no other purpose than your own enjoyment, would garner financial support from others can only show that you are a complete egotist.
I see this regularly in Bangkok. These beg packers have such gall and a complete lack of shame. Its always a few hundred feet from them you might see the local beggars, who could be a man crawling with no legs along the dirty sidewalk, a blind man singing with a change jar around his neck, or another man sitting on the road with his face burned off whose hands are stubs.
They obviously think that crowdfunding is some kind of begging, so why not begging right away?
The difference of course is that crowdfunding is just online financing by moderately well-off Westerners who fund crap for a giggle or on a whim. Begging in a 3rd world country creates competition to the local true beggars.
But I don't expect anything else from the Millennials.
(04-11-2017 09:25 AM)Zelcorpion Wrote: They obviously think that crowdfunding is some kind of begging, so why not begging right away?
The difference of course is that crowdfunding is just online financing by moderately well-off Westerners who fund crap for a giggle or on a whim. Begging in a 3rd world country creates competition to the local true beggars.
But I don't expect anything else from the Millennials.
This lol.
They don't have the online marketing prowess to hand.out their virtual begging bowl on Patreon so they just do it in real life.
Honestly though, there has to be some horror stories. You'd think the local government/mob would be pretty upset by this. How are they not deported?
04-11-2017 09:37 AM
Leonard D Neubache
Innovative Casanova
Posts: 10,561
Joined: Mar 2016
Reputation: 201
In Vietnam, a local girl was begging me to buy some of her useless shit. Not so much after I said "no" the first time, three local cops homed in on her, telling her to scram.
She just stood there, ignoring the cops, insisting I buy something from her. Cops kept waving her off, and she actually gave him a playful punch on his shoulder!
I was amazed at the gall on that girl.
And now I see this thread. I cannot help but think if these beg-packers tried to pull the same stunt as this girl did, they would be arrested right on the spot and dumped into a sun-less prison for as long as they felt like it. Possibly deported, too.
These beg-packers need their asses deported. Get them out of here. Scram! And good riddance.
These same people will go into hostels and try negotiate a free bed for washing up dishes or something, then they'll try bum cigarettes or booze off guests. Next day they go back out into the street and beg for money and act like they deserve it because they hitch-hiked through "insert middle eastern country" and you should be so impressed by their exciting life of travel that you would want to contribute to funding it.
(This post was last modified: 04-11-2017 09:53 AM by malakaix.)
04-11-2017 09:50 AM
The following 2 users Like malakaix's post:2 users Like malakaix's post ElFlaco, Dusty
This has been going on for decades. "Gutter punks" are in every major city, typically middle class and above kids that go live on the streets because its cool. They quit taking showers, have pet rats and invent horridly tragic fake news stories about their cushy lily white lives. One of my best friends growing up became one, and lived in squats all over the world, rode trains across the US. I would hang out with them sometimes to day drink. Not an enviable life, but fun to hang out with them as a kid. These preppy hippie d bags above look like the worst.
(This post was last modified: 04-11-2017 09:55 AM by Vaun.)
We should form a Bogota Gringo vigilante squad to patrol La Candelaria and beat the shit out of these beg packer dirt bags, similar to the paramilitary death squads that kill vagrants in the city. They give the rest of us bad names and take money from the genuinly needy so fuck them, the local cops won't give a shit. I think it would be a lot of fun.
God damned them all, I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold, we'd fire no guns-shed no tears, now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier, the last of Barrett's privateers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwzRkjn86w
(04-11-2017 09:50 AM)malakaix Wrote: These same people will go into hostels and try negotiate a free bed for washing up dishes or something, then they'll try bum cigarettes or booze off guests.
There was an Argentinian guy at a hostel in Mexico City who refused to bathe. The hostel got so tired of complaints about his odor from the other guests who shared his room that they ended up giving him his own private room at the shared-room rate. Went on for months.
04-11-2017 12:50 PM
The following 1 user Likes ElFlaco's post:1 user Likes ElFlaco's post Suits
(04-11-2017 10:12 AM)scotian Wrote: We should form a Bogota Gringo vigilante squad to patrol La Candelaria and beat the shit out of these beg packer dirt bags, similar to the paramilitary death squads that kill vagrants in the city. They give the rest of us bad names and take money from the genuinly needy so fuck them, the local cops won't give a shit. I think it would be a lot of fun.
I am in.
Noticed one faggot hippie around La 70 and Laureles in Medellin doing the same stuff as locals, he had blonder dreadlocks, kind of whiter but dirty as hell and sometimes with his Gollumish bitch, I wondered if he is local or not, it was strange but this scenario never got in my mind. Guess that I will ask him if he is local next time, proceed with spit in the face, couple of kicks in the stomach and punches, should be fun.
(This post was last modified: 04-11-2017 01:01 PM by Uruz.)
These people are in the states too. When the grateful dead did a concert in Chicago the entire downtown area was flooded with them. When I'm out of the country I always try to dress as nice as possible whenever I go anywhere aside from wearing gym clothes to avoid being mistaken for one of them.
It amazes me how cheap these people are. I went to an event on couchsurfing (for the last time ever) and shared a taxi with 4 other people on the way back and when we stopped the fare was about $2 usd and everyone jumped out as quick as they could like someone just pulled the pin on a grenade in the taxi. If you notice every one of them has man buns and dreadlocks, literally too cheap to pay $2-3 for a haircut. That about sums up their life. But they are traveling for the cultural experience and giving back to the world.
This applies to all of them aside from that homeless guy in NYC who was a stone cold player and begging for $ / banging chicks for a place to stay. We can all learn a thing or two from that guy.
(This post was last modified: 04-11-2017 01:02 PM by Shimmy.)
(04-11-2017 10:16 AM)whiteknightrises Wrote: To anyone who actually cares and isn't an internet-only thug
Please teach anyone you see doing this a real lesson and give them a proper beatdown
You don't teach dogs lessons.by trying to talk or reason with them. This is the same thing
Take their money and give it to the local disabled beggars who actually need it. Seriously, if you just walked right up to those douchebags, looked them in the eye, bent down, picked up their change cup, and walked off, what the fuck would they do about it?
This is god damned embarrassing for western people. Just a handful of these fucks in every city would shatter the god like aura we should be striving to cultivate among foreigners.
These people need to be identified, named and shamed. The only reason they'd even think about attempting it is cause they know their fathers, who probably still provide intermittent cash, won't find out.
Bring the probabilty that their father or ex girlfriend and social circle will find out up to 20% and this behaviour would vanish.
Do you think the women amomgst these degenerates are whoring themselves out for free accommodation to other, slightly more monied western men?
If any of you have ever been to Waikiki beach, you probably have seen this guy:
He was out there when I was 15, but his reign ended about two years ago.
Now, I swear up and down but no one believed me, I saw him walking just fine when I was in jail once. He was in there for trespassing. A guard told me he could see just fine.
Well, he actually panhandled enough to buy himself a cheap condo in Waikiki. One night, about two years ago, the floor he lived on caught fire in the middle of the night, and he had to flee without his costume. Hes not blind at all. People recognized him and called the news. He disappeared.
Remember, the saddest looking ones might not actually be in as bad of shape as you think.