u/Glittering-Clock-884

currently visiting new orleans with my boyfriend who grew up here. we were hanging out in congo square earlier and this guy introduced himself to us as "creole boogie" and talked to us for a few mins. he was super nice, but then he offered to give us a "tour" of the park for twenty mins. he said it would be free and we could give a small donation at the end if we liked.

i heard a lot about the amount of hustlers/scammers down here before i visited so i was on edge and assumed it was probably some kind of scam and he would get pushy at the end for the money. i lied and told him we'd come back later and that worked. but my boyfriend said he didn't think it was anything malicious. is anyone familiar with this guy or this trick?

i've been pondering the pros and cons of the rise of reselling - specifically secondhand clothing - the past few days.

on one hand, it drives up thrift store prices, it takes clothes from actual low-income shoppers, etc. many resellers significantly overcharge. it's condemned by most leftists i know.

on the other hand, there is no shortage of secondhand clothing in the world, to the extent that roughly 80% ends up in a landfill. when you consider these factors, doesn't reselling prevent more clothes from ending up as environmental waste? and isn't it better to create a secondhand clothing ecosystem in which you can keep recycling items and buy things that put money into another working class human's pocket for rent and groceries rather than a corporation's?

just wondering what others think about it.