Is it just a global chiche that security guards desperately want to have real authority and given any opportunity to try to tell people off they will do so? I have encountered this with shopping mall security both in USA and abroad, hotel security guards, and as of today, with parking lot attendants at the beach.
What is it with these professions and their desperate need to try to push people around even when it has nothing to do with their job or the property they are charged with protecting.
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There's a pretty funny movie out there called "Observe and Report" where Seth Rogan's character fantasizes about being a real police officer and behaves in his shopping mall that he works at, as if he was. Nobody observes his perceived power, but that doesn't stop him from pursuing it....and he looks like a real dickhead in the process.
Well today I experienced this with a Vietnamese parking lot attendant that is on the beach as I tried (and succeeded, mind you) to take Nadi to the sand this morning before it go too hot.
I saw him as I approached, I was not dodging him. he sits in a little plastic chair to collect money for people wanting to park motorbikes in the municipal parking lot right there on the beach. Next to this lot is a public beach access footpath and this is where I walk me and Nadi to the beach, it is where I have always walked her to the beach.
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The above is not him, I have no beef with whoever this is.
Anyway, he was sat in his chair as I walked by and I saw him wave his arms in a "no" sort of way, I ignored him and kept going. This fat lump followed me all the way to the sand and kept saying "no" while pointing at the dog. Knowing that I am in the right and he has no real authority, I gave him the "ok" sign with my hand and then just kept moving. Eventually he gave up following me because the fat lump probably did 2x the amount of exercise he normally does in a day just by following me.
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sure thing buddy, now back to your chair you go!
if dogs truly were not allowed on the beach I wouldn't bring a dog here. I am not one to fuck around with police or rules of a country that I have no legal claim to live in. Don't rock the boat if you don't want to sink is what they say. However, in this situation that fat wannabe cop was sitting about 100 meters from a sign that is in Vietnamese and English where it explicitly states that dogs are allowed as long as they are on a leash. She was on a leash. We were in violation of zero rules. He just felt like being a dick and thought he could get away with it.
Normally, I comply with things like this just to keep the peace but I wasn't having it in relation to Nadi. You have probably seen me post frequently about how I worry about her getting older and how I want to give her all the joy she can get before the end date comes. So when someone tries to get in the way of that, I am not going to comply unless they have real authority. Despite his almost clean uniform I could tell he was not a police officer and here's why.
- Police in Vietnam will almost never be seen sitting down in public. They are required to keep an alert position at all times to maintain an air of authority.
- Vietnamese police wear camo green or tan with red accent uniforms, not mall cop blue with fake rank indications on their shoulders
src - Vietnamese police have weapons
- Vietnamese police are in good shape and have crisp and well-fitting uniforms
- Vietnamese police always travel in groups of 2 or more
This guy definitely wasn't police, he was just some lump on a plastic stool that wanted to bully someone and man did he pick the wrong person.
On our way out I made certain to exit the beach from the same footpath and stopped to have my first ever Google-translate argument ever.
Dogs are allowed on the beach, there is a sign that shows this rule 100 meters to the north of where you are sitting - go have a look for yourself. You are wrong, stop bothering us and stick to minding motorbikes
Chó được phép vào bãi biển, có một biển báo ghi rõ quy định này cách chỗ bạn ngồi 100 mét về phía bắc - hãy tự mình kiểm tra nhé. Bạn sai rồi, đừng làm phiền chúng tôi nữa và hãy chú ý đến xe máy nhé.
now I don't know if this translated properly. I'll have to ask one of my Vietnamese friends. But whatever the translation is he looked at it, then briefly looked at me and then made a dismissive waving of his arm that is like "get out of here."
So now I have to go back to that exact location every day until the end of time.
My dog loves going to the beach. I think that it is her favorite thing other than steak scraps that find their way to the floor. As long as it is allowed by law, we will continue to go there and I look forward to eyeing this guy up every single time that we do it.
I suppose the life lesson here is just "don't be a jerk." I will never understand people that seem to go out of their way to try to upset other people with something that at the end of the day doesn't mean anything anyway.