Again, here in Miami, a majority of the people begging at the off ramps and intersections with signs seem not to be White or Black Americans, judging by the way they dress, the spelling on their signs, their gestures and so forth. I don't interview them, and neither do you. A lot of beggars here seem to be alcoholics or druggies, more so in the winter than in the summer. They look like they had slept in the gutter, wearing the same clothes for a week or so.
If you go to the flea markets and yard sales, there are a lot of Haitians that buy stuff cheap and sell it high. Luckily, for those seeking bargains, they do not understand how to use a GPS and therefore don't tend to go to the parts of town with named, rather than numbered, streets, like Miami Springs and Coral Gables. Bargaining in Haiti is a cutthroat sort of thing: the buyer acts like the seller is a heartless miser, and when they are the seller, they treat the prospective buyer like a thief. Apparently this works in Haiti, but doing business with Haitians for most Anglos and Hispanics, who generally have a sense of humor, is unpleasant.
Once there was this guy who wanted to get rid of a gas clothes dryer. He put a sign on it $10, you take it away. A Haitian woman offered him $5 and expected him to deliver it. He told her no, and she kept insisting loudly until he threatened to call the cops. Not typical at all, but unforgettable.
