Came back home via London Bridge station this evening, transferring from Underground to Overground. I was just exiting the underground concourse when I saw a homeless guy; fished out a bit of change but before I could hand it to him he'd rocketed suddenly to his feet, gathered up his scant things and disappeared. Okay, shift over for the night, I thought. Turned the corner, saw a bloke sitting hunched in a prayerful position, hands clasped, over a woolly hat. Fumbling with my change I passed him by but then turned back, only to see that he had disappeared from his spot; just a paper bag in his place.
I think I can guess what had happened here. These guys have to have eyes in the backs and the sides of their heads, even as they're assuming the passive begging position. They would have seen London Transport's people having in to clear them out, perhaps worse and scarpered. Further down the concourse there's a machine in which you can register just how good your London Bridge "experience" was today. Doubtless they were hoping hygienic sweeps like the above would ensure a smiley-face yellow approval button. I slammed down the red frown facebooked disapproval button but sadly there's no facility available to explain why you disapproved; they could easily assume it was an automated gate malfunction.
Fuck you, London Bridge, and your mall-like "experience", with its Costa, Hamleys, WH Smiths and Paperchase and various other private, corporate concerns. Fuck you for trying to "cleanse" your concourses of the inevitable consequences of the way society is currently configured as a result of your priorities. And you know what? I came down this same route a couple of weeks ago and I saw several people handing out change to those in need of it. We're not all the selfish consumers you cynically calculate us to be. The other week I saw a couple of cops trying to move on some guy whose only crime was to be conspicuously homeless and slumped and "experience" diminishing and it was only having Dara with me that precluded me from intervening. Next time I promise I will. There's a cold snap coming and it's going to put both our heart and our heartlessness to the test.
I think I can guess what had happened here. These guys have to have eyes in the backs and the sides of their heads, even as they're assuming the passive begging position. They would have seen London Transport's people having in to clear them out, perhaps worse and scarpered. Further down the concourse there's a machine in which you can register just how good your London Bridge "experience" was today. Doubtless they were hoping hygienic sweeps like the above would ensure a smiley-face yellow approval button. I slammed down the red frown facebooked disapproval button but sadly there's no facility available to explain why you disapproved; they could easily assume it was an automated gate malfunction.
Fuck you, London Bridge, and your mall-like "experience", with its Costa, Hamleys, WH Smiths and Paperchase and various other private, corporate concerns. Fuck you for trying to "cleanse" your concourses of the inevitable consequences of the way society is currently configured as a result of your priorities. And you know what? I came down this same route a couple of weeks ago and I saw several people handing out change to those in need of it. We're not all the selfish consumers you cynically calculate us to be. The other week I saw a couple of cops trying to move on some guy whose only crime was to be conspicuously homeless and slumped and "experience" diminishing and it was only having Dara with me that precluded me from intervening. Next time I promise I will. There's a cold snap coming and it's going to put both our heart and our heartlessness to the test.
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