Sunday 8 August 2010

Busking is more acceptable than begging.

Many of our cities seem to be trying to tackle begging by encouraging busking. But is this really dealing with the issue, or are they just making it a legitimate form of begging and therefore more socially acceptable?

6 comments:

  1. As you walk down many of the country's high streets you can usually hear someone playing an instrument of some kind. I don't mind busking, but I wonder whether it is just a legitimate form of begging. I must admit that I rarely give money to buskers, unless they are exceptional. As an outreach workers I can't help looking at the individuals appearance and trying to guess their motivations for the busking. The reason I struggle with busking is that several of my homeless clients over the years have made the move from begging to busking, in what seems to be an acceptable (both legally and socially)way of earning money. However their motivations have remained unchanged, whether it is to buy food, alcohol, drugs, to fund a gambling habit or to make ends meet. On the one hand I applaud them for getting out there and having the confidence to perform in front of others, something I could never do. But by accepting busking on the streets are we not encouraging street lifestyles. Many people seem to struggle with the concept of food hand outs on the streets at soup runs and feel this again encourages people to the streets and enables them to continue this lifestyle. So what is the difference? Is ok for the buskers because they have to 'work' for the spare change we happen to throw their way?

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  2. Why stop at busking? Chuggers, pollsters, leafletters, the AA, petitioners, carol singers, the salvation army band and Big Issue sellers also give rise to street culture. I did a documentary on buskers once, it was freezing but great fun. I did it over christmas cos I knew there were more out there at that time of year.

    I reckon if we judge the music rather than the lifestyle of the musician we stand a better chance of living in a more pleasant streetscape. The buskers I can't stand are those ones with the huge speakers and panpipes. They draw huge crowds of philistines and are genuinely obstructing the highway. Yes i know what a snob I am.

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  3. In most cases busking is the only Way an individual has of showcasing their talent, begging is in most experiences is born out of desperation, addiction or greed. I know there are obviously valid reasons for begging, who hasn't asked someone to lend them money or give them a cig wen we have had nothing, but there is a world of difference between the one person asking 100 people for a pound, to one guy playing to 3 ppl and expecting Nothing in return?

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  4. and what about the fact that many buskers see themselves as professionals who prefer to play in the street? They have no particualar problems, are self-employed, housed and happily engaged in +ve economic activity?

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  5. I personally think that Chuggers should be given hefty fines and given ASBO's.

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  6. I like to play my harmonica on the street and I do throw down the hat, but my primary reasons for doing this is to try out new tunes and to play in front of different people and not just friends and kinfolk.

    As far as the money goes I have a good pension and do not really need it, but it is nice to have a little mad money

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