DEAR Editor,-
Last week’s ‘Butthead’s Beat’ social experiment with beggars was very interesting. We are all inclined to look down on these guys, but I am sure that you have noticed that most of them are totally committed to their little begging patch.
We have a guy on the corner opposite the Margate Police Station who is there from early morning, sometimes till dark. Twice during the last month he has not been at his post and then has a locum (who I presume is his son). This guy dresses in a real style, with an upmarket leather jacket and real ‘zooty’ shoes.
I once had an issue with Marcia Kriek when she condemned people for squatting on the land which is now Sunrise Bay. I said to her that I am sure no one actually sits in a vocational guidance class (as we all did) and when confronted with the question ‘What do you want to be when you grow up’ would we answer ‘a beggar’ or ‘a squatter’.
A while ago, one of the East Coast Radio announcers said ‘we are all just a few pay cheques away from the squatter camp’…
I am sure that Bevis learned a lot from the exercise and I for one am interested to see if he is going to expand on his findings ie education, background, to mention two, as I am sure he has just scratched the surface.
GEORGE ENSLIN
