Panhandlers In Venice

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Street performers on the Venice boardwalk once again will be free-er to do their thing.  A federal judge says a city ordinance that determined who could do what was unconstitutional.  Bottom line: the freak show is back. Not that it was ever, really, away.

I've always liked watching life's passing parade in Venice. It's not just about the surfing (AP Photo, above). You see some genuinely unique folks. Jugglers, musicians ...  that guy who sits there with two cats. I'm not sure what his skill is, but he must be good at it: his hat usually has a couple of bucks in it.

What do the residents of Venice think about their less-than-skilled neighbors?  They knew they were there when they moved there (I hope), so complaining about them would be like moving next to the airport and complaining about the noise.  But I am noticing a lowered tolerance these days. Several of my Venice friends argue that there are as many aggressive panhandlers as there are actual performers.  And don't get a Venetian started about the people who live in their RVs that are simply parked on the streets -- in front of their houses.

Times change: Venice has always been a retreat of the free-spirited. But now, a judge has made it easier for some who are less about free-spirit than they are about free enterprise: their own.