I WAS hanging out with a good friend of mine, Bambi, at her bar on Gorordo Ave. in Cebu City the other night.
Past midnight, a group of young children arrived and started serenading her customers.
It would have been a typical scene at this time of year except that they were singing at an ungodly hour. Come to think of it, they were not even caroling because their ditty was a recent Top 40s hit.
I ignored them because I am a law-abiding citizen and there is such a thing as an ordinance prohibiting and penalizing the giving to and soliciting by mendicants. Also, I did not have any change. Anyway, they did not look like street urchins to me. They looked well-fed. They had on decent clothes. They were not barefoot. In other words, they were clearly not starving. They were probably looking for extra money to buy, I don’t know, soda or candy.
So no, my heart didn’t go out to them.
When they finished, some of the customers gave them coins. What happened next must have shocked those who don’t know Bambi, but I do, so I wasn’t.
She stood up and started reminding her “generous” patrons that they were condoning an illegal activity. In typical Bambi fashion, with her raspy, heavily German-accented English, she approached the group of law school students, and asked them what kind of message they were sending the kids when they gave them money.
That it was alright for the kids to still be awake and to be out on the street at that hour? That it was okay for them to accost strangers for money?
First and foremost, she said, those kids should be at home. In bed.
Bambi, who could get very colorful when she’s defending one of her many causes, was clearly flummoxed. Of course, the people she was talking to looked like they were regulars, so they remained quiet and waited for the Bambi maelstrom to pass. Which, with Bambi, always does.
After a minute or so, it was as if nothing had happened and Bambi returned to her seat next to mine. She then leaned over and told me why she could not stand it when people gave to mendicants.
I told her, I understood. I was the same.
Of course, we both agreed that there were exceptions. After all, there always are.
Then she said some people give so they could feel good about themselves for having done a “good” deed.
I kind of agreed with her on that point. Or maybe I’m just a cynic. But as they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The people who give may not be expecting something in return, but, in a way, they are feeding their own ego. That’s still payment, I guess.
Wasn’t it Hannibal Lecter who gently reminded his interrogator, “Quid pro quo, Clarice?”
Anyway, if you still don’t know, the parents of those young singers could be held liable for violating the Anti-Child Labor Law and the Anti-Child Abuse Law. And there is City Ordinance 1931, also known as the Anti-Street Caroling Ordinance of Cebu City.
So it’s not as if Bambi and I are your neighborhood Scrooges.