No Hooking or Drug Dealing in the Restaurant
There is a scene in the less-than-beloved movie The Phantom where the hero, none other than Billy Zane of Titanic and Zoolander fame, begins to light up a cigar in the villain’s cave home. Out of nowhere a little person comes up and announces loudly “No smoking in the Skull Cave,” and prompts him to snuff out the Cuban in an ashtray. It is a comment so entirely unexpected that it almost made the movie worth the $3.50 matinee price I paid 12 years ago.
This is the feeling I got when I read the sign in my more-beloved Spitzer’s restaurant. You may remember that I wrote about two weeks ago how they shut down the apparent brothel across from Spitzer’s that inspired my office to dub the lunch spot such a colorful name. Well, last week I noticed a sign on the wall, which was more than a little bizarre:
Quite clearly it advises people not to sell their bodies, do anything with drugs or gamble large quantities of money. Equally clearly, this is part of a confused Olympics push. First of all, even though there were prostitutes across the street from the restaurant, was it really such an issue inside that they needed a sign? That idea makes me uncomfortable about my fried noodles. Something about “unsafe things.” Secondly, if they clean that stuff up before the Olympics, doesn’t that sign simply make visitors aware of the fact that the a reminder is needed so that people don’t pimp in an eating establishment? If I walked into a famous NYC restaurant and saw a sign discouraging prostitution, my first reaction would be, “Why was prostitution such a big problem that it warranted a sign?”
I hate to be critical, as I think that many of Beijing’s efforts to make the city a great place for international tourism are great. Three examples that come to mind are (1) reducing drunk driving (2) reducing prostitution (3) removing foreigners. At the same time, I wonder if they are running the best PR campaign.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to quietly sweep away the hookers, pimps, drug dealers and casino operators quietly, and pretend they never existed? Instead they have a giant sign that essentially says “Free of Venereal Disease for 6 Days,” with a little flip counter for the number. No hooking in Spitzer’s indeed!
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Lindel responds:
Posted: June 30th, 2008 at 9:47 am →
Maybe that particular restaurant owner is not connected or failed to pay his monthly good government extortion fee.
Jeremiah responds:
Posted: June 30th, 2008 at 4:58 pm →
I think your observation about a list of rules causing viewers to wonder what went on to necessitate such a sign is spot on. As a historian, I love lists of rules–because they give all kinds of indications as to what people were actually doing but the authorities (religious, political, what have you) wished they wouldn’t.
Lindel responds:
Posted: July 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 am →
How about those commandments?
The Cider House Rules were funnier.