On Sundays there has been a cat-mouse game on the sidewalk near mabru. 2nd-hand sellers lay out their wares on the sidewalk because mobs of shoppers pass by on their way to the mabru market. The police would periodically drive by and move them along. But the instant the police are out of sight, the street peddlers pop up again. It was a game of whack-a-mole.

Now two cops sit there stationary in a van non-stop for 6+ hours to block sellers. It’s interesting how when you call the police or go to a police station for service of some kind, it’s like they have no time for you. They don’t want a discussion. They are short with you and just want you not taking their time.

And yet they have the time to sit idly for 6 hours (12 man hours) to stop people selling 2nd-hand goods on a short stretch sidewalk. What is the motivation? Of course mabru ownership is annoyed by the street sellers because they want those sellers on mabru property paying rent. Using the sidewalk outside of mabru property is a kind of free-loading of sorts that exploits mabru traffic. But what I don’t get is why the police care so much about a dozen or so people not doing business with mabru. 12 man hours of police wages is higher than the rental value that mabru loses if you assume those sellers would otherwise rent space from mabru.