Fire Jugglers

At traffic lights in Rio, the cars come to a halt and the entertainment begins. Every busy intersection in the city has a small population of beggars who have over the years realised that their chances of getting handouts greatly increase if they perform a little trick in front of the cars. This marketplace lasts for 30 seconds, in which they must convince the drivers they deserve paying, and then collect the money before the lights change and the cars drive off. Some balance things, some juggle tennis balls, some do handstands. The jugglers are very good. Last night I saw one juggling flaming rods. He had fireproof mitts.

The first troubling thing about these displays is that they're mostly done by children, who are very likely being sent out to do it for a job, and bring the money home for their parents. We used to give them money, but now we have packs of biscuits in the car to give out instead. The kids need to eat more than their parents need the money. It wouldn't work if everyone gave them food, but we appear to be the only ones doing it.

The second troubling thing is that fireproof gloves and flaming rods must cost quite a bit of money. It's certainly interesting to watch, rather than piteous, which upgrades the guy's job from begging to busking, but if he has the money to invest in the equipment, he probably doesn't need the drivers' donations as much as a guy in a wheelchair, whose only trick is being disabled. The fire juggler is filling a place that could be occupied by someone more genuinely in need.

Of course, entrepreneurial creativity like that is the only way people are going to drag themselves up out of poverty, so maybe it should be rewarded. My suspicion is that the same gangsters who take children out of school and send them off to beg are the ones investing in this new 'upmarket' entertainment.