Teribus,

    A couple of years ago I was one of the performers in a three day event in Chicago called Buskerfest. The breadth and variety of entertainment was astounding. There was on juggling act that was astounding. They juggled flaming torches (allright you're unimpressed). They passed back and forth between one another (you've probably seen that, too0. They did so while they were on POGO STICKS (I think I have your attention, now)! They decided that the act still needed something, so they rigged up the pogo sticks to shoot flames from either side at seemingly random moments. An act like that MUST be done out of doors! There isn't a fire safety law in the western world that would let them do that inside anywhere.
    Is dropping a few coins in thier hat any worse than paying the U.K.'s television tax so that you can watch Tony Robinson dig up some poor jerk's garden in an attempt to find archaeological evidence of Vikings, or, as in the United States, sending thirty-five bucks to the local PBS station because they just aired a showcase of over-aged rock and rollers who haven't learned any new songs in the last fourty or fifty years?
    Buskers, at the very least, make some sort of effort to provide some entertainment. They provide a service. Admitedly, not a vital one, but a service nonetheless. The fact that it is not part of some organized program does not diminish its value. Beggars walk up to you and say, "Got any spare change?" or something like it. They offer nothing in return. How can you reasonably equate busking with begging?

Stephen Lee