A reader seeks to bring clarity to panhandling’s place in Santa Cruz’s economy and culture. Others chime in on our coverage of the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival.
Hard Work? Really?
I agree with Gibral Jillard's assessment (“Real Problems,” Posts, July 25.html) that “if the worst thing that happens on any given day is someone asks you for a quarter, well, you are truly blessed.” Being fearful of the world as it currently exists is neurotic at best and extremely limiting to one's personal freedom. Be thankful that you give the appearance of someone who has surplus funds and actually gives a crap about the downtrodden. The choice is yours whether or not to keep your karmic account current by coughing up the quarter, or not.
However, I do take exception to the “panhandling for a living is hard work” statement. I don't disagree that everything about being in a position whereby one has to take the decision that panhandling is the best option available is distasteful, demeaning, and the work environment can frequently be challenging. But these factors don't make being a panhandler for a living “hard work.”
For the sake of illustration let us agree that panhandling for a living is “hard work” and based on that criterion panhandlers should be allowed to ply their trade indiscriminately. Couldn't the argument then be made that pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, and even politicians be allowed to roam Pacific Avenue unencumbered by city statutes asking us to contribute to their personal largesse? At least in the case of pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers they offer something of value in exchange.
Terry Hardin
Santa Cruz
From The Web
Harsh Review Hurtful
[RE: “Santa Cruz Fringe Festival,” SantaCruz.com.html]: I am a bit disappointed by the critique in some of these reviews. Fringe Festivals usually display local talent that share their work even though this is not their day jobs. One should not expect Broadway polished shows or even off-Broadway.
I think it’s disheartening for these entertainers to have reviewers like Georgia, probably as minimally experienced as some of these performers, try to make a name for themselves by mocking others.
Aaron Schleifer
Just One Opinion
Aaron, I can sympathize with anyone receiving a negative review at a Fringe Festival or in any theater endeavor. Performers often reach into their emotional and creative center and then expose themselves to the opinions of all who view it. I agree with you that that alone is deserving of support. It isn’t easy and a harsh reviewer can certainly put an unsure performer off of the effort. So I am not disagreeing with that much of what you’ve said in your post but I’d like to express my greater concern with the premise that suggests that the reviewer’s role is to support the fringe by pulling their punches. …
Hopefully, the public knows enough to understand the limited usefulness of reading one reviewer’s opinion. On RottenTomatoes.com right now one could read a review of Moonrise Kingdom at the Denton Record Chronicle that calls it “… unbearable … whimsy” but, fortunately, they also include 172 other reviews and the fact that 94 percent of them loved the movie.
To my knowledge, the only reviews of this year’s Fringe Festival shows in Santa Cruz are written on this page. We need more reviewers and I know that they’ll be subjective but I hope they aren’t over gentle even as I hope that the artists reviewed don’t take these notes as the last word on their work.
Tom Noddy
