No busker ban
To the editor:
Controversy swirls about banning panhandling in downtown Lawrence. Let me make a distinction between panhandling and busking. Panhandling is poor people trying to get by; busking is artists sharing their skills with the community, hoping for tips.
True, there are buskers downtown that give the pastime a bad name, but one of the defining characteristics of Lawrence, Kansas, is the fact that your downtown experience can be enhanced by fine musicians, street theater, jugglers, etc. When I go downtown I take a pocket full of $1 bills. A good act gets a few, a bad act gets none. Ban panhandling if your hearts are hard, but don’t ban busking!