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Stormbringer wrote:

Squeegee men and panhandlers accost you. You do not go out of your way to ask a squeegee man or panhandler to talk to you.

Some guys do accost you. I can't speak for Einhander's friend but some of them are damn obnoxious. They're every bit as pushy as the sqeeegeee men or panhandlers.

You mean they're like the salesmen at a furniture store?

If they want to require them to get a lincense instead then it's fine. The problem is anyone is allowed to now and they get people that are no better than squeegee men and panhandlers. Obnoxius guys hounding you aren't really a tourist attraction.

If the artists in the square are selling their wares, then it's zoned as a place of commerce and I don't see why he can't ply his wares there. It's not as if he's blocking a sidewalk somewhere or walking into intersections where no such commerce is supposed to be taking place.

If I were walking downtown and I saw some tarot card guy (which has happened), I would just smile and walk on (which I have). Squeegee guys and panhandlers are FAR, FAR more obnoxious and intrusive in my experience than these mystics.

You mean they're like the salesmen at a furniture store?

Pretty much.

If the artists in the square are selling their wares, then it's zoned as a place of commerce and I don't see why he can't ply his wares there. It's not as if he's blocking a sidewalk somewhere or walking into intersections where no such commerce is supposed to be taking place.

I think it has to do with the vendor. A legitimate businessmen has rules and is expected to behave themselves or face consequences. A tarot card reader is little better than "real rolex" hawkers or squeegeee men.

If they actually set themselves up legitimately as a business (as some of the vooodoo practicioners there have) I don't think there would be the problem. The problem is they are acting like street peddlers, if less intrusive ones. I think the idea is to establish legitmate business there as a oppossed to just any guy with a deck of cards.

If I were walking downtown and I saw some tarot card guy (which has happened), I would just smile and walk on (which I have). Squeegee guys and panhandlers are FAR, FAR more obnoxious and intrusive in my experience than these mystics.

Depends on the mystic. There are some unobtrusive panhandlers that a pretty unobtrusive. The problem is some of those mystics are damn pushy (ever been to New Orleans?) and they aren't any sort of organized business. I think the idea is to get legitimate business in.

What people don't seem to realize is that tarot readers have been a staple of New Orleans for near centuries. Voodoo and wicca and paganism are part of the society. What's wrong with that?

verilon wrote:ggs - and what happens when someone attacks your personal beliefs and calls them a hoax? You'd try to defend them, no matter how much against the norm they are. Right?

But defending them doesn't mean that you should immediately engage in insults and ad-hominems. If there are points to refute, then refute the points, don't go on an all-out flame assault.

Actually, if a Tarot reader gets pushy, the other Tarot readers tell them to go to hell in short order. Because they know if someone is gonna be stupid, they need to be stupid Somewhere Else or the city'll give all of them the Smackdown.

Kelly Antilles wrote:What people don't seem to realize is that tarot readers have been a staple of New Orleans for near centuries. Voodoo and wicca and paganism are part of the society. What's wrong with that?

Nothing, but you dont realise that this is NOT forcing them out of buisness, but forcing them to get licences, which should alreasdy be required as they are a buisness.

Personally, I don't have any problem with people giving tarot readings. Who cares if they believe they're real or not. They only add to the atmosphere. C'mon, when was the last time you got your palm read? When was the last time you sat in a room with someone reading your future from a 'crystal ball'? They can be fun, even if you think they're faking it, and thats the whole point of it. I don't see what the big deal is. If you don't want a card reading, you don't have to. Nobody is forcing you. They aren't jumping infront of you demanding your attention and your money. You have every opportunity to say 'no thank you' and to keep on walking. Some of you make it sound like its prostitution or something.

Superman: Since you seem so hellbent on stuff like this being banned because its fake, why not ban video games? After all, they're all fake too. Oooh, why not TV shows while you're at it? Not many of them are real, are they?

Vertigo1 wrote: Superman: Since you seem so hellbent on stuff like this being banned because its fake, why not ban video games? After all, they're all fake too. Oooh, why not TV shows while you're at it? Not many of them are real, are they?

Ah yes! Let's ban COMIC BOOKS as well!

Vertigo, what a stupid Red Herring. We are not talking about video games, we are talking about Tarot. I never said it should be banned, why don't you try reading what I wrote before you make these fallacious statements?

These tarot readers are basically carnies. I'm sure they even have their own codes of operation and what not. I don't care if they stay or not, and IF YOU READ WHAT I FUCKING WROTE I said that I personally cannot support it. Just like I personally would never give money to a church or a televangelist.

Kelly Antilles wrote:

Vertigo1 wrote: Superman: Since you seem so hellbent on stuff like this being banned because its fake, why not ban video games? After all, they're all fake too. Oooh, why not TV shows while you're at it? Not many of them are real, are they?

Ah yes! Let's ban COMIC BOOKS as well!

Yeah, we all know mutants don't exist.

Right. Mutants don't exist. Aliens from the planet Krypton, on the other hand...

Superman wrote:Vertigo, what a stupid Red Herring. We are not talking about video games, we are talking about Tarot. I never said it should be banned, why don't you try reading what I wrote before you make these fallacious statements?

Wow, how many braincells did you burn out writing up that piece of dren? Did I say we were talking about video games? No. Why don't you take your own advice dipshit. See, what I did was take your comments to the next level.

These tarot readers are basically carnies. I'm sure they even have their own codes of operation and what not. I don't care if they stay or not, and IF YOU READ WHAT I FUCKING WROTE I said that I personally cannot support it. Just like I personally would never give money to a church or a televangelist.

Who's being fallacious now? Code of operation? What the fuck do you think this is, organized crime or something? Are you being forced to get a reading? NO. Are you forced to even acknowlege their existance? NO. You aren't being forced to do a DAMN thing.

Kelly Antilles wrote:Ah yes! Let's ban COMIC BOOKS as well!

I would be one to support that.

Vertigo, like it or not, that was a Red Herring. And I believe it was Verilon who said that when one carnie, errr, tarot reader gets too pushy the others tell him to back off. Yep, sounds like some type of carnie code to me.

Call me a dipshit? You're a fucking asswipe. Go get a tarot reading or something.

Knock off the flames people or it'll be split and HoSed

Roger that...

Superman wrote:Vertigo, like it or not, that was a Red Herring. And I believe it was Verilon who said that when one carnie, errr, tarot reader gets too pushy the others tell him to back off. Yep, sounds like some type of carnie code to me.

No, its called being courtious to your customers you moron. Think about it for a second. If you were to walk in to say....CompUSA and one of the employees gave you a hard time, and a another told him to give it a rest, would that be considered 'code' or telling an asshole to give it a rest to keep customers from being driven away?

Call me a dipshit? You're a fucking asswipe. Go get a tarot reading or something.

Ohhh, I'm impressed. Maybe when you finish second grade you can step up to the plate with some bigger words.

"Superman: Since you seem so hellbent on stuff like this being banned because its fake, why not ban video games?"

That is called a RED HERRING, dipshit. When you fucking learn how to debate properly, why don't you come back... Do you realize that you were the one who started this pissing contest? You're the one who took what I said personally and decided to make stupid statements. Fuck you. I admit that I insulted you, but only after you through out the original ad hominem. Go fuck yourself.

Oops, I mean "threw" out. BTW, fuck you again.

Okay, so imagination is totally out?

Kelly Antilles wrote:Okay, so imagination is totally out?

Superman may not be a fundie, but he's guilty of one of their favourite offenses: defining victimless crimes.

Sorry, but if person A wants to pay money for a superstitious service from provider B, and both are consenting adults, what's the problem? Where's the harm? Who's being hurt? The guy paying for the bogus service? Sorry, but there's been no misrepresentation, therefore no fraud victim. The person paying for the service knows that he's getting a tarot card reading, and it is up to him to decide whether this service has any financial value.

Anyone wanna place bets on how long it is before Superman gets a VI or something of the like?

I don't know what a "VI" is...

I have an odd feeling you will find out soon enough.

How can someone who has been around 5 months NOT know what a VI is?