We are the fucking worldI decided last night that my least favorite form of pandhandling/busker-ing in the subways is those breakdancing duos--you know, the ones that consist of a Svengali older teen and a young boy. They hit play on their boombox and start clapping and shouting and doing some weird bootleg Cirque du Soleil routine that involves a lot of touching the fetid, pestilent floors and groin-on-groin contact. Then they go and shake everyone down for money. It's not the vague Death-in-Venice vibe that bugs me about the whole deal. It's not even the obvious exploitation of the children involved. It's the fact that I like to ride the train home in relative peace, sans loud clapping, and if I wanted to pretend I was living in fucking Calcutta I'd stop washing my fruit, taking birth control, and using antibiotic ointment on my cuts, OK? Posted by Dana at 09:24 AM
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Little Man with a Gun in His HandI'm with you, sister. I have started wearing earplugs on the train. I started doing it because the 4/5 is such a screecher, but the unintended benefit is that I can pretend I don't hear the subway buskers. Hey, I'm all for the musicians, and the "FAKE DURACELL BATTERIES!" guy (who I love), but I have no patience for the dancers, or the lady who has had two young children to feed for the entire five years I've lived here,and will literally stare down single women on the subway with children. I consider her a predator. I also will not help fund anyone's basketball team by buying chocolate, when there are plenty of free leagues in the city that don't require their players to do subway duty.
Posted by: The Liminal Liberal at September 23, 2003 10:45 AMTrains in St. Louis are very much like I imagine trains in Berlin ca. 1937 - on time, and full of white people reading quietly. No break dancers. No crazy-eyed battery salesmen or dangerous-looking mothers. When the schoolgirls talk too loudly, they get a stern frowning-at, let me tell you. Followed up with a chastisingly dismissive newspaper-rustling. Take that, you hooligans!
Posted by: Fes at September 23, 2003 10:57 AMOh, don't EVEN get me on about the subway fakerz. That long-haired couple who say they have AIDS? They don't. I used to give 'em money all the time. (Back when I also used to say "Bless you" to sneezing strangers.) Now I don't give anyone money. Not even the guy who threatens to strangle his cats at Port Authority.
Posted by: dana at September 23, 2003 11:34 AMI did, however, give five (five!) bucks to the guy that had a complete rolling magic show on the 6 train a few weeks ago. Complete with disappearing doves, no less.
By the way, welcome to the new digs. Spiffy! (geez, ya take just one freakin' little weekend off and spend time IRL, and see what ya miss?)
Posted by: Vidiot at September 23, 2003 11:52 AMI'm not here to bash panhandlers, because anyone who publicly begs for money probably has a lot less of it than I do. However, I have a more practical issue with the subway breakers and that is, simply, they suck. I've never seen any good dancing from them. They do that "hey, player. you got your leg all wrapped around me. now let's clap!" and a bit of floorwork but it's sloppy as all get-out.
It's hard to breakdance on a subway. No room, and unpredictably moving environment. I've said it before: subways are a much better location for singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with a three-part harmony.
Posted by: kid tremble at September 23, 2003 12:24 PMdoes this mean i should stop practicing on my pickle bucket at home? i've just gotten to the point where it sounds like NYPD Blue is about to go to a commercial!
The subway entertainment does seem to get worse every time i visit the City- i wonder if this some kind of economic indicator?
me likes when breakum dancer use high-holder rails to do death defying flips, nearly breaking nose of peace-loving riders. Me likem when cowboy sally quotem Adam Ant. Nahmbuhwahn!
Posted by: rick still at September 24, 2003 11:43 AM