The Tip of My Nose.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:57 pm

Andrew Hammond, The Accordion Guy

(Serious Face)

The right for you to express yourself ends at the tip of my nose.

This is a very important concept, and is brought to mind today by a very disturbing incident here in rochester involving ny friend, Andy, the Accordion Guy.

Background info...Andy is approx 65, very kind, multi talented, former actor, musician, and currently, homeless.

he lives in the open door mission, downtown.

The other day, someone, for no reason whatsoever (not that there would ever be a good reason for this) assaulted him, breaking numerous bones in his hand.

he plays accordion for money.

im not asking for any money for Andy, im asking for Vigilance and Concern, but never violent action.

yes...no violence....i had a moment last year on playa where i decided not to do that again.

i changed, and in a very important, tearful moment, i didn't do what i might have normally done, and resisted the deep urge to strike.

i read about incidents on playa concerning "Hit and run's" and other "random" acts of mindless violence....i also read that no one tried to stop it. It is the same as the Horrible stabbing death in 1959 where many watched, yet no one wanted to "Get Involved"

get involved..

how to mesh these two notions, protection, and non violence is a tough thing to do...it goes against my nature.

but the other night i saw the use of community shame and instant behavior modification.

BassNectar was playing here in rochester.....it was sold out....a fight broke out up front, and Lorin stopped the show, singled the asshat out, and all of a sudden, the crowd chimed in with disapproval and within seconds, the kid was subdued by the very force of common shame that it ended as quickly as it had started...."DONT DO THAT SHIT"...he bellowed "NOT HERE"...

not here...not anywhere.

if you see something, speak up, get others to see what you see, take direct action, but not physical, unless absolutely necessary, and only to subdue.

the person that took away andy's only real source of "Income". his music is still running around, and probably will repeat this behavior.

not if i can help it.

But again, every inch of me wants to pound this kid but Andy reminded me that that wasnt "Him".

thats not me anymore, either.

Keep The Playa Safe, And Work Together to Stop Bullshit like This, and this includes Vandalism, for it's an assault on someones ART, and hence their Person as well.

Any and All suggestions on how to defuse any and all situations that have and will happen again are welcome.

My solution last year was to explain to a Newb Australian who was pretty shitfaced, and had just attacked a member of our camp before disappearing into the morning dust with his GF (who was the catalyst, and had egged him on) that

"THE PLAYA IS SACRED GROUND MOTHERFUCKER, WE DONT DO THINGS THAT WAY HERE, GODDAMMIT!"

and i finally convinced him, thru words, to come back and apologize....

the member of our camp was hesitant, and rightfully so, but after some moments, we worked it out shook hands, and said goodbye.

maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was the morning air, but i actually teared up, i did the opposite of what i wanted to do, and IT WORKED.

dont be afraid, do what you think is right if you see a wrong like this occurring.

and it's not just the playa anymore, home is wherever you're at, right now.

stepping down from soapbox, going back to being an asshole, this whole sincere bullshit is an enormous strain to my system.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:29 pm

good words, Simon.........I'm with ya, I always try to talk it out and diffuse.
Thanks for the thoughts, and reminder.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:57 pm

I slept through the incident and never got a complete story, but whatever...

Being in Emergency Service Department (medics, fire, mental health and communications) for my first four burns, I've always been aware of some of the dark side... It's there, it happens.That's not the reality we want, but it is the one we have.
And it is also, in some ways, one of the safest cities in the country.
Being able to step in and change defuse a situation is a powerful thing. But there is "backup" on that. If you don't have the presence or the zen or the respect to chime in and say "me too" or to stand up as well or whatever it is that you need to do to show that more than one person cares.
Of course, you have to worry about being a mob... It's a lot of not easy...

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:19 pm

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:25 pm

Is that Ile de France?

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:40 pm

Good post Simon.

tattoogoddess · Post by **tattoogoddess** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:18 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Is that Ile de France?

Well that is a region that Paris falls with in

Looks a bit like ND but not the same. Close but not the same.

OK sorry for thread drift. I 100% agree when shit happens people need to stand up. I know many people are scared to for fear of the person fighting back. I wanted to go up to a kid who was like very early 20's he has a handicapt sign in his window and parked in one of the hc spots. He got out of his car and walked perfect and looked like nothing was wrong with him what so ever. I wanted SOOOOO badley to go up to him and ask him wtf! Those spots are for people who really are handicapped, like cant walk well or cant walk at all.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:50 pm

tattoogoddess wrote:. I wanted to go up to a kid who was like very early 20's he has a handicapt sign in his window and parked in one of the hc spots. He got out of his car and walked perfect and looked like nothing was wrong with him what so ever. I wanted SOOOOO badley to go up to him and ask him wtf! Those spots are for people who really are handicapped, like cant walk well or cant walk at all.

Could be he was picking up his mom or some other relative/friend, in their car.

Happens all the time, nothing wrong with it at all.

Some people assume too much, all the time, too.

OregonRed · Post by **OregonRed** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:52 pm

Simon, this is one of the many reasons that I love you. The hardest moments of growth are the ones where we must go against our nature, but they are often the most rewarding.

Thank you for the reminder.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:44 am

oneeyeddick wrote:
tattoogoddess wrote:. I wanted to go up to a kid who was like very early 20's he has a handicapt sign in his window and parked in one of the hc spots. He got out of his car and walked perfect and looked like nothing was wrong with him what so ever. I wanted SOOOOO badley to go up to him and ask him wtf! Those spots are for people who really are handicapped, like cant walk well or cant walk at all.
Could be he was picking up his mom or some other relative/friend, in their car.

Happens all the time, nothing wrong with it at all.

Some people assume too much, all the time, too.

Indeed. May simply not have the energy one way or another. There was a woman who was in recovery from a kidney transplant who was taking the BART elevator with me for a while. "Hidden Disability" is a good search term.
I remember Chai Guy telling us that his mother who had both legs amputated (I'm not sure where) and had worked like a dog so she could walk well, occasionally got shit for being "able" and parking in the disability space.
And let me just say--it is hard work.

junglesmacks · Post by **junglesmacks** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:50 am

You know.. thankfully I have never witnessed a physical altercation on the playa.. BUT.. the thing that infuriates me is people that disrespect or more directly CLIMB ON THE ART.

Seriously.

This last year.. that poor LED tree.. which was IMHO one of the most spectacular things that I've ever seen.. had people climbing on it non-stop with complete disrespect. Even after an orange fence was put around it.. it was quickly trampled and people still climbed that thing.

If you see someone doing this crap.. SHAME THEM! CALL THEM OUT ON IT! Ask them what they think they're doing and have they thought about the love and time that went into that project.. just to have you disrespect it like that..??

DO YOUR PART TO CALL OUT THOSE THAT DISRESPECT THE PLAYA ART!!

tattoogoddess · Post by **tattoogoddess** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 10:45 am

Post by **Savannah** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:42 pm

theCryptofishist wrote: Indeed. May simply not have the energy one way or another. There was a woman who was in recovery from a kidney transplant who was taking the BART elevator with me for a while. "Hidden Disability" is a good search term.
I remember Chai Guy telling us that his mother who had both legs amputated (I'm not sure where) and had worked like a dog so she could walk well, occasionally got shit for being "able" and parking in the disability space.
And let me just say--it is hard work.

Truth. When my mom had cancer it was (initially) hard to tell what was wrong with her from the outside, but she was weak from chemo, so she had a placard. It was no one's business whether she was disabled enough to park there. That was between herself, her doctor & the DMV.

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:52 pm

Simon, thank you. <3

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:53 pm

(When are we going to merge this with the clown nose thread...)

Mojojita · Post by **Mojojita** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:59 pm

Simon, you are a gem. I spent many years in martial arts just for the purpose of knowing that I CHOOSE non-violence because I wish to and not because I can't defend myself. It is a powerful choice. Please let Accordion Man know we are thinking of him.

Mojojita · Post by **Mojojita** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:00 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Is that Ile de France?

Can't be unless they moved the river......

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:23 pm

if you see an injustice/bullying/'fighting etc, make noise. Make a lot of noise. If you can't stop it yourself, making alot of noise will most likely bring about people who will help you or at least maybe get the shit to stop.

I've always had a secret fantasy where I save/help someone by using my car as a weapon to stop the agressor. Not killing or maiming them just using my car to stop the bad action.

TG-many have hidden disabilities so don't be to harsh on what you may not know. And if someone is using a placard who doesn't need it, well then their a shit head and "What goes around comes around"

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:26 pm

Mojojita wrote:Simon, you are a gem. I spent many years in martial arts just for the purpose of knowing that I CHOOSE non-violence because I wish to and not because I can't defend myself. It is a powerful choice. Please let Accordion Man know we are thinking of him.

hey, me too!!!

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:44 pm

he's gonna hang out in my workshop tomorrow...i've got wi-fi and coffee, and it's warm.

and cigarettes.

Andy has a natural baritone voice that is enhanced by winstons. check out the souncloud recordings...they are quite good.

i'd like to record him as soon as he gets better...maybe i can Get him to try his hand at Dj' ing...

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:48 pm

Simon of the Playa wrote:he's gonna hang out in my workshop tomorrow...i've got wi-fi and coffee, and it's warm.

and cigarettes.

Andy has a natural baritone voice that is enhanced by winstons. check out the souncloud recordings...they are quite good.

i'd like to record him as soon as he gets better...maybe i can Get him to try his hand at Dj' ing...

fuck that!!
get Zamfir to accompany, and you playing the spoons...........you'd be like the Kingston trio, only from Rochester!!

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