Sorry if I'm being slow, but what exactly is Salad's grift?
This will be a little spergy, but I do think this is germane to the overall topic.
The words "grift" and "grifter" get thrown around a lot here, in Gorl World, and on Reddit, but I don't think they are used properly in about half of the cases. (I am not referring to
@Teresa77 , whom I quote simply to attach this comment to something.)
Grifting is a very specific thing, and when done right it is almost an art form. Grifting is essentially another name for what used to be called a "confidence game". In a confidence game, the grifter's objective is to befriend a stranger, gain his or her confidence and trust, social engineer some information out of the mark, and ultimately have the mark willingly and freely give the grifter the prize the grifter has been working towards. Usually this is in the form of a scam investment or power of attorney (where you give someone else the right to all your money decisions). Once the grift is accomplished, the grifter vanishes into the ether, and the dupe is left without any means of recourse.
Essential to the idea of grifting is gaining confidence from the mark, so that they freely offer you what you want.
The most high-stakes and famous example of a grifter I can think of off the top of my head is Bernie Madoff, who would schmooze millionaires at the racket club, become their buddy over a period of years, and then offer them an impossibly lucrative investment opportunity. In its most simplest elements, Madoff was running a basic confidence racket. Most grifters are far more penny-ante than that, but the good ones work out elaborate cons and patiently wait years for them to bear fruit, which could result in many millions of dollars.
Not everyone in Chantopolis is a grifter. Some are mere leeches, lowlives, creeps, scammers, and retards. So, if you'll indulge me, I would like to play a quick round of everyone's favorite game:
Grifter/
Not Grifter [Denizens of Chantopolis Edition]. To wit:
Nader:
Not grifter. He didn't work to gain Clotso's confidence, she latched on to him immediately, no questions asked. After that, he may have strung her along in thinking she was in a relationship so that she'd keep giving him money, but that isn't grifting. DeeDee also does not seem to have been made to believe that Nader is anything other than what he is, so he isn't exactly grifting with her either. He is a leech and a scumbag, but not a grifter.
Peetz:
Not grifter, He's too stupid and impatient to ever run a confidence game. He probably
could; a lot of Beezers seem to genuinely like and trust him, despite his being a creep. But too dumb and lazy.
Roman:
Not grifter. Nobody takes him seriously or trusts him, and he's also even dumber than Peetz.
FFG:
Not grifter. She found a way to make a lotta bucks. Nobody has to trust her or even like her. Legit.
Negz:
Borderline grifter I am only addressing Negz as it pertains to Chantal. There was a kind of artless quasi-confidence game going on, in that he seems to have gained Fatso's trust, which he aimed to manipulate for a revenge attack. But he failed at it, his attempt was ham-handed and unthought-out, and, critically, there was no material payoff in the form of money or other valuable item.
DC Media Girl:
Borderline grifter: See entry for 'Negz'
Bibi:
Not grifter. I mean, all he wanted was a sandwich when he came home at 1AM after a long day of work. Is that asking too much?
Aunt Phyllis:
Not grifter. Just an aged party girl who loves chillin' with the Rastas.
Sjam:
Not grifter A drunken, lazy, fat, bi-curious, obsessive retard. He gave away thousands of dollars willy-nilly to a moron who didn't even like him; that is the
opposite of grifting.
Missy Moo:
Not grifter. She may be an attention-whore trying to infiltrate Chantal's life, but like sjam, she
gives away money rather than takes it in. Really, any
true Beezer is too stupid to grift.
Motorcycle Guy:
Not grifter. Drug dealing is not grifting.
Sam and BBJ/Casey:
Not grifters. True grifting requires good verbal skills.
Mae:
Not grifter. Crazy people can't really grift. Confidence requires trust, and batty old women don't inspire it. No monetary payoff either.
DeeDee:
Not grifter. She's a fucking weird swinger/masochist, but she is not grifting.
Shannon:
Not grifter. White-trash dumpster fire, but that isn't grifting either.
Tea and Sass:
Not grifter. A lonely old lady who mistakes interest in Chantal for interest in her.
Harry the Hamster:
Not grifter. A sad reminder of the cruelty of nature.
Charlie Coal:
Not grifter. Fat lady who appears to have bought 100,000 subs before ever even uploading her first video, but cheating at YouTube isn't grifting.
McDonalds:
Not grifters. That's just capitalism.
Rina:
Not grifter. Inexplicably missing in action for over two and a half years. Any confidence game requires presence and access.
Angie:
Not Grifter. Last seen literally in a dumpster. Real grifters know they don't ever have to dumpster dive.
Karlee Steele:
Not grifter. I should acknowledge that in a sense,
all Influencers are grifters in a way, since they rely on building trust with the audience to make big money. But the money doesn't come from the marks, and what the influencers do lacks the necessary individual, one-on-one touch.
The "owner" of the "mansion":
Possible grifter. Assuming this person ever existed, which is in doubt. Did this person gain Clotso's trust before running off with her money? She made it sound that way, but the story is just too murky to ever know.
Alaa:
Not grifter. He is more of the neighborhood "fixer". The guy you turn to when you need a serviceable used car, a double-reinforced bed, a construction job, an apartment, advice, or revenge. Hustling is not grifting, Alaa is da boss man.
Salah:
Not grifter. He is thick and stupid, not particularly sophisticated or knowledgeable, and all he wants is to play his games in peace, far away from Syria. Some fat weirdo appeared on his Tinder and started throwing money at him willy-nilly. She says he can go to Canada. He'll take her money and the trip to Canada. Not a grift, he is investing his confidence in
her, not the other way around.
Chantal:
Grifter. True to form, if she is running a grift, it is the most retarded one in grifting's long and colorful history. But let's consider. Did she initiate the relationship with Salah? From all appearances, it seems that she did. Did she send him filtered photos, nude photos, and other communications to gain his trust? Appearances and Alaa suggest that this is the case. Did Salah believe Clotso and in fact trust her? By appearances it would seem so. Does Salah expect a payoff that El Fatarino knows she cannot deliver? By his own words, yes. Does Clotso stand to gain millions of dollars at the end of this grift? Well, no, and that is the retarded part. But she does stand to gain something she values even more than money: esteem and bragging rights. Those are worth more than Madoff's millions to her. 
