Cultures Different From Ours

[Contrapuntal]

Ahem.

So it seems that in India professional eunuchs shame shopkeepers into paying taxes.

The new shock strategy, in which sari-clad and heavily made up eunuchs accompany officials on their rounds of crowded shopping areas in a country notorious for tax evasion and non-payment, has been declared a success.

                                        And

“People may be afraid of them, but they are very much part of society and are useful,” Prasad said, adding that authorities would pay the eunuchs a four percent commission on the total tax collected.

Eunuchs are still common in India, where they live in closed-knit communities. Some are castrated men but others are transsexuals and hermaphrodites who have been ostracized by their families

                                        Also

Those unwilling to pay sometimes face lewd dances, lifted saris, and abuse.

“All’s for the best in this best of all possible worlds!”