SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A daigou is a personal shopper who buys items to send back to people in China, usually for a significant markup. This is a cheaper alternative for Chinese buyers to purchase products around the world. Especially products so in demand in their home country that they often can't be purchased. Like decent quality milk powder produced by Australia. This has caused problems with locals in Australia with hundreds of tins of baby formula being purchased by Chinese daigou to be sent back to China. These daigou can strip shelves of milk powder in minutes. While supermarkets have responded with limiting the number of tins a person can buy per purchase this has failed as the daigou simply go straight back in to purchase more. In response, the Australian public now records videos of these Chinese shoppers stripping the shelves of baby formula then posts to social media. Australia is well known for giving anyone a fair go but there are limits.
Ever think of robbing a store but stopped thinking "what if I'm seen?". Cameras are everywhere. Just about everyone has one in their pocket. Powered up, hours of free space, a phone unlock and camera app start away from filming. YouTube and Facebook have made it easy to share videos for free. Anyone can do it. Now they are. When over 30 daigou recently went on a baby formula buying spree in Brisbane, Shane Conroy captured the raid on video to post to Facebook. The footage has since been viewed half a million times with thousands of shares. The situation with foreign shoppers stripping shelves is only getting worse. The public is now stepping up to record these incidents to post them online to publicly name and shame these people as laws and rules are ineffective.
Is it better when Big Brother is not a central authority but instead is implemented by the people, themselves?
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday January 02 2019, @03:57PM (1 child)
Are vigilantes better? Almost always no. Because that's what this is, only virutal instead of physical. "Big Brother" doesn't enter into it as nobody proposed the state should record and post the video online. Because it's a stupid idea that lowers the people doing it to a moral ground lower than the daigou and even the plebianness knows it.
Especially when the answer is pretty darn simple - produce more milk powder so there are no shortages, raise prices, or establish some tariffs on sending milk powder to China. Or the public might plan accordingly - heaven forbid anyone ever face a time anywhere where there is a shortage of anything! That can't possibly be right, can it? (As I hear my ancestors turn in their graves....)
This sig for rent.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 02 2019, @07:05PM
If there weren't any Chinese in Australia, this wouldn't be a problem would it?