A Different Drummer?

During the past few summers, we recall a visit or two from the drum dudes, but this year they've taken up a permanent residence in front of the Q stop.  Or at least they had until two days ago.  Where did they go?

Does anyone know if they left at night?  Did the guy sleep there?  Did anyone actually witness a drum purchase?

Strangely, for all the drums there didn't seem to be a whole lot of noise coming from his squatting - and our window is right above the Lincoln Rd./Ocean Ave. bodega.  (Keep it on the DL, but we had been tempted to throw him a few bucks to drown out the Ice Cream Man on the weekends.)

To make matters a whole lot more complicated, the drum dudes took off before their ATP photo op.  DANG.

Comments

[EGG LADY]

I DON'T LIKE THEM.

DID YOU KNOW THE EGG'S UNIQUE SHAPE IS CALLED AN OBLATE SPHEROID?

[HIAW]

I don't know if they slept there, but I would pass them late (after midnight) and they'd still be out there.

[Ceelledee]

The "drum dude", who acts as the keeper of the display, is a longtime homeless resident of PLG. This summer, he has been sleeping nightly on Ocean Avenue, on a favorite bench, outside of the park.

Frankly, I was already troubled by a few recent posts about him on the Lefferts Yahoo group which included advice to call 311 or the 71st as a way to deal with his unsolicited and sexist verbal passes to a female resident outside the Lincoln Road station. But now, he appears again as a subject for discussion on ATP. What's wrong with this picture? IMO, the least of it is his presence. Rather, it is some of our responses to him which I find to be far more troublesome.

In short, I think the "drum dude" makes some of us uncomfortable because he is uncomfortable! Further, his discomfort is all the more undeniable as he is an obviously economically and socially challenged Black male in our nabe who has no soft place to lay his head, no pot to cook or piss in, no shower, no AC, no window to gaze out of upon the rapidly changing demographics of the street below. As such, he parades his raw, quirky and homeless being amongst us. Yet, instead of raging madly, dealing drugs or breaking and entering our homes, etc., it appears as if he is trying to engage in some kind of Afro-centric business enterprise to support himself. (Go "drum dude"!)

Perhaps he has not kept apace of the culture wars, or -- woe is us-- he has and remains an avid proponent of male chauvinism. But as long as he does not physically agress us or in any way hold us captive to his offensive verbal commentary, I would think he is doing nothing more than exercising his first amendment rights to assemble and speak as he pleases in public places. If we don't like what he is saying to us, our response options are pretty simple: we can dispute him, seek to change his opinion or simply ignore him.

Most of all, I'm really hoping he does not become singled out as subject of either scorn or fascination in our public discussions. Wouldn't it be much more productive to focus our energies instead on real movements for change such as affordable housing, jobs, health care reform, homeless prevention and outreach?

Yeah, I know. ATP was not saying mean things about the "drum dudes." But, others of us are. And it's only Monday and I'm still caught up in the message of peace, hope and love that was delivered in the Sunday sermon.

[Nativegal]

The "Drum Dude" sold my 3yo a bongo earlier this summer and even gave her a quick lesson.

A few weeks later he saw me on Canal St. and ask why I hadn't brought her to the Drummers Circle at the park. He seems harmless to me.

[Jamie]

I'm principally concerned with the mental health and well-being of the women in our neighborhood that he accosts. Therefore, he will not be able to remain outside the subway station. He has also reportedly urinated in the street and blocked entrances to the station with his equipment and possessions.

There are people in the city that are homeless and some are easier to help than others. There's nothing wrong with considering the situation of this gentleman, in fact in some ways it's commendable, but only as long as it's not impinging on the rights of others.

If you feel strongly about it, I'd suggest banding together to explore ways to help him while insuring he operates his business legally and safely.

[Ceelledee]

Jamie,

Let's get more specific on this: how is this man impacting the "mental health" and "well-being" of the women in the nabe? How many women? Only certain women? I ask because I am female and he has never negatively impacted my mental health and well-being in any way.

How exactly does he "accost"? Does he raise his voice, leer and lunge at his "victims"? Attempt to fondle? Actually touch? Pull a knife? Whisper physical threats?

And what are the "rights" he is impinging upon? To walk the public thoroughfares without being disturbed and annoyed? If that is a "right" (which it is not), then most of us are violated every time we leave the safe haven of our homes and venture out into the big bad world beyond.

Don't get me wrong. I understand he offends some, especially women. I understand that it is no pleasure to be offended, especially when the offensive behavior is repetitive and appears to be targeted. And, believe it or not, I really don't wish to pick a fight with you and others. But you are now using legal terms and concepts to describe his offensive behaviors.
And when you state that "he will not be able to remain outside the subway station," I'm curious to know under what provision of the NYC penal code has he been banned from his Lincoln Road "business" address?

The bottom line is that I don't feel strongly about this one individual per se. Instead I feel strongly about how far some of us may be willing to go in making changes to places and people of PLG in order to make it "right" for us.

[Arturo]

Well, you can't legally run a business on the sidewalk without a permit. Even if you own and run a business from a storefront, the city may not allow you to use the sidewalk. Plus you're not allowed to urinate in public.

The whole harassment thing would be technically illegal, but it wouldn't be pursued until it reached aggravated harassment. Maybe.

I agree with Ceeledee that laws are irksome and Drum Dude should be the head of some kind of new monarchy. Groceries should be free and we should all be allowed to pee freely where we please.

[Ceelledee]

Arturo,

Please don't resort to hyperbole and distortion. It is so unnecessary.

The women who have complained about Drum Dude have not complained about his merchandise hawking. The essence of their complaint is that he engages in sexual harassment of the verbal kind. If you now want to prosecute him for peddling wares without a license on a public sidewalk simply as a means to silence and eliminate him that is one thing. But I just don't think it's a particularly good idea to deal with every societal ill that displeases us by calling in the police.

Also keep in mind that every action has a reaction. The act of evicting Drum Dude from his post on Lincoln Road may be simple enough. But it won't be so simple to calm down the increasing fears I'm hearing expressed from his many supporters in this nabe. Here, I'm talking about the masses of other economically challenged residents who, already feeling the effects of gentrification, are likely to view a campaign to displace him as part of a larger effort to displace them as well. So again, I ask: just how far are you willing to go to get rid of people in the nabe who make you feel uncomfortable?

As for it being illegal to urinate in public -- please. How many more jails do you want to build in order to punish all those whose commit this terrible crime?

Finally, I do not think laws are irksome. But I do think overly zealous "law and order" types can be irksome. I also think that those who try distort what could be a civil debate by interjecting irrelevant straw men into the discussion are especially irksome.

[leffres]

Drum Dude hasn't said a word to me, though I have only walked past him a couple of times during his tenure on Lincoln Road. I thought he had some interesting items for sale.

Is it wrong to have certain expectations/standards for a day-to-day living environment?

My own personal expectations, when I am out in this and any neighborhood, include the following:

-- Not being subjected to verbal remarks (lewd or otherwise).
-- Not feeling physically threatened.
-- Not having to observe public urination (which I happen to consider unhealthy).

Honestly I have not felt physically threatened nor have I had remarks of any sort directed toward me in this neighborhood. However public urination seems to be a very unpleasant constant. There are a few other expectations I also have regarding noise and other nuisance behaviors.

Drum Dude and others among the homeless I can understand in terms of public urination -- really what choice has he? But this is by far something that is pervasive in PLG and certainly accepted by many.

Now while I realize what is considered to be acceptable human behavior varies between cultures, time, etc. I personally don't see any of these "expectations" as excessive nor infringing upon the rights of anyone.

In fact there is, in my opinion, a value in having higher expectations for people in this and all neighborhoods, schools, communities, etc.

[Ed]

Questions:

(1) Should Drum Dude be entitled to a different set of laws then the rest of us?

(2) In PLG, how are "masses of... economically challenged residents already feeling the effects of gentrification"?

[Charles Star]

I have no experience with Drum Man other than walking by him without incident. I have not seen or heard him do anything antisocial, so I have no opinion on the truth of claims to his bad or good behavior as reported by other commenters. BUT...

if the accusations are true, my first thought when I hear a homeless man is harrassing women and peeing on the street in my neighborhood isn't "how can I help him." It is "how can I get him to stop doing those things or get him out of my neighborhood." I don't care that sounds NIMBY or fails to solve the economic disparities in the world.

Ceeleedee, you probably see yourself as non-confrontational, but in response to a complaint of sexual harrassment you have essentially called the alleged victim a complainer and overreactor and bestowed upon Drum Man a right to annoy passers-by. This, incidentally, if classified as harrassment, is not a right he has.

I don't think playing the gentrification card is appropriate if harrassment and public urination are the alternative. If being anti-pee makes me a gentrifier, I can live with that.

[Ceelledee]

To all who have decided that Drum Dude is an intolerable evil that should be banished from the community, let me make it clear that I am not his PR agent or hired counsel! I do not advocate for general lawlessness and I think there is much to be desired in maintaining the basic social compact. I don't get a kick out of watching men pee in the streets and I don't enjoy receiving unsolicited sexual comments from anyone. I don't think that homeless people who dare to befoul the streets of our beloved PLG are "entitled" to violate the laws anymore than the super rich capitalists who run this country and commit horrendous crimes of a global proportion daily.

That being said, all I've been asking for on this forum is to think about what battles you want to pick and how to go about them. Who among us who has been disturbed by Drum Dude has ever attempted to talk to him about his behavior? And what is so damn hard about showing just a tad of tolerance and compasssion towards an individual who, with his nasty habits, is also obviously slightly deranged, and without a home, but who is also not physically threatening or engaged in a truly serious illegal business activity such as drug dealing? (BTW, because he is attempting to actually support himself through the sale of craft items, he also relieves us of the pain of having to experience him in the role of a panhandler -- a behavior you likely despise in others of his ilk.)

Clearly, the police have known of his presence outside the Lincoln Road station all summer and have obviously not deemed him to be a public nuisance. Now, however, because he has allegedly made one nasty comment too many and has allegedly been seen to urinate on Lincoln Road, he is the subject of a campaign for shutdown.

Bottom line is Drum Dude is an especially easy target for ouster because he is one homeless Black man who has dared to flaunt with his colorful display (yes, pun intended) and his sexist commentary in our midst. Yet, how many of us women have walked past countless construction sites -- on a daily basis-- and have had to endure unwelcome sexual comments of the hardhats? When that has happened, how many of us have also decided that the way to remedy the problem is to call in the police and attempt to have the workers evicted? How many of us know that others regularly engage in the obnoxious act of urinating in the streets, parks, and other public places -- including public beaches, lakes, oceans, pools, etc., even when we are in that same body of water with the offender -- but respond to it with a shrug of disgust and keep going? Who runs to the police to have the miscreant stuffed, zipped and booted?

Both newly-arrived and oldtime intolerant gentrifiers: you have chosen to move to a community that you now desperately wish to change. I get that. As a longtime resident who might also be regarded by some as a member of the gentrifying class, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I want see some changes as well. Where we differ, however, is on priority and appropriateness of targets and how we approach our challenges.

This is it for me. I can't make my position on this subject any clearer on this board. If the "anti-street pee and we decide what speech is free and which is not" contingent wish to continue this with this campaign, have at it.

[Ed]

Ceelledee - I have to admit, I admire your tenacity. I've been in the middle of a blog firestorm, so I understand where you are coming from. Kudos to you for keeping it up. Also, I think your main point is extremely important - to what extent is our repulsion or lack of compassion toward Drum Dude based our attitudes towards his black male-ness? To a lesser extent, we're also repulsed by his odor, his habits, his commentary, his cracked mind, etc. This is something that deserves serious examination.

One piece of advice tho - you shouldn't let Drum Dude off the hook so easily while taking such an acusatory tone towards the harrassed women. It undermines your credibility a bit because you can't effectively take a stance against racism and be misogynist at the same time. Let's examine racism AND sexism when talking about Drum Dude, because clearly, both are present here!

[Ceelledee]

Ok, Ed, I've got to give it to you. Your post has made me take the bait. But, after this one, this is really it. I promise!:)

Please understand that I am also NOT a supporter of Drum Dude in the role of a sexual harasser! Indeed, for most of my life, I've been an vigorous activist for the rights of women and people of color not be oppressed, repressed, objectified and devalued. On the other side of the fight, however, I believe there is a real need for folk of color and women to speak up and out for ourselves and to stop with the easy embrace of victimhood that results in us giving away our own power!

Thus, over the years, I have learned to preserve my personal power when dealing with nonviolent and sexist street encounters in a couple of ways. Depending on the circumstances, I either mentally dismiss the offense or directly confront the offender. In the former instance, especially if I fear that a direct approach is likely to spin matters out-of-control, I simply ignore the person(s) and opt not to let the offender have lasting impact on my mental state; in the latter, I try to choose my words and demeanor in such a way as to have lasting impact on his or her mental state! :)

So, no Ed. I'm not letting Drum Dude's sexism off the hook. And I'm also not dismissing my nabe sisters' claims of sexual harrassment. Such attitudes and behaviors should not be condoned in a civil society. Finally, I also realize that my way of summoning and demonstrating my personal power in the face of adversity may not be every woman's cup of tea.

Still I think the basic principle is a pretty solid one: when we find we lack the personal power to change a thing, we can also find a tremendous amount of power in how we fashion our personal responses to it.

As I look at the whole picture, including what I've heard described about the alleged scope and nature of Drum Dude's sexist verbal offenses thus far, I'm just not yet convinced that the only way to have dealt with him was by bringing NYPD into the picture.

[Ed]

Egg Lady - we call your kind a "troll" in the world of blogging. There is no place here for your nonsense, so I suggest you take your silliness elsewhere, unless, of course, you have something reasonable to say.

[Ed]

And by the way, Egg Lady, it is possible to track the IP address of your computer and disable your ability to comment on this site, so please bear that in mind when thinking about your next posting.

[Ed]

FYI -

The Drum Man and his cart is back!

Ladies, defend yourselves, and the strongest of you, engage him in conversation and try to help understand why it's degrading to talk to women that way.

[Sam]

Very interesting commentary. I'm new to the neighborhood and enjoy hearing the debate. My personal take is that the hyperbole about getting rid of (or "fixing") the drum guy is wrong-headed. I don't care if he urinates in public or that he is a public character. While, as a man, I haven't observed his sexist behavior, and I don't condone it, I also see sexist imagery on the sides of buses, billboards, hear it over my radio, and happen to live in a patriarchy. I think we should work to change this, and this may involve talking to the drum guy, but I also think we should rush him into being the pinata for a wicked system. Rock out, yall. Now where is the good bar?

[Jamie]

I am just flabbergasted by this discussion and the story on PlanetPLG.

This isn't the welcome sign we want people to see when they come off the subway visiting our community.

REGARDLESS, you cannot illegally pedal your wares on the street in NYC.

IF you want more people selling knock-off DVDs, CDs and drugs, then support casual crime.

This most interesting town meeting aside, any of our elected officials, from Marty to Mike, will tell you why he cannot stay there.

And to clarify a somewhat misleading article on PlanetPLG - no, he's never planted himself in front of the subway station before.

[Nativegal]

Jamie, who is this we you're speaking for? You certainly don't speak for me. I would have no problem if the picture on PlanetPLG is what people see when they visit the neighborhood. If they find it disturbing then it's a good indication that PLG may not be for them.

As I posted above I've had nothing but civil interactions with the gentleman in question and had no qualms about his interaction with my 3yo.

[Stacy]

I’m one of the people aggravated by the drum guys. While I think that many, but not all, of you have valid points, I wonder how many of you hear the drums when you go to sleep at night, or open you bedroom curtains to see drum guy urinating on the street, throwing random garbage (not a lot, but enough) onto the street? How about going to or coming from work and hearing drum guy moan loudly and say, lord have mercy, or Oh GOD, as you walk by?

Do you cross not at the corner but in the middle of the street to avoid drum guy when you are doing your laundry? I see him follow the same woman down the street almost everyday when she leaves for her morning jog. She is shaking her head no, and not looking at him. I can tell you it’s not reciprocal admiration on a lot of our parts. Is it out of the ordinary harassment? No. Is it harassment we have control over? Yes, I think so. We’re not talking about a neighbor who pays rent and maybe plays their music too loud. We are talking about someone who has made the sidewalk a home because he doesn’t want to commute back and forth to the drummers circle on the weekends.

Maybe you only see this guy on the way to and from work. Or maybe you only see him in planetplg but I am practically living along side of him. If his presence isn’t that much of a big deal to you, maybe you can invite him to park his drums, and weight bench, and shopping cart in front of your home. Or even better give him some space in your home and then none of us have to look at him, as nice as he might be.

[leffres]

I think Stacy makes a very good point. Many people expressing a tolerant view here do not live with these behaviors on their doorstep. This goes for public urination, drug dealing, loud stoop parties, and other intrusive nuisances.

Personally I just don't see any of it as desirable, nor do I feel we should be acquiescent.

[Ed]

"If they find it disturbing then it's a good indication that PLG may not be for them."

Now we're getting to the heart of the discussion - are we a black or white neighborhood?

Frankly, it's too bad that the leading symbol of afro-centrism in PLG is crazy, homeless man who insults women and pees all over the place.

I'm actually surprised that those who want the neighborhood to maintain its african roots aren't interested in better representation.

[Dan]

"the leading symbol of afro-centrism"

While the Prince seems like an interesting, if somewhat deranged, man but I would hardly call him the leading symbol of anything, save perhaps the homeless in NYC.

As for the color of the neighborhood, PLG has always (or at least for 40+ years) had a mix of colors, the ratios just change. I imagine that will continue.

[Ed]

Meanwhile, so that newcomers can better assess if PLG is for them or not, why don't we save them a trip out here and start referring to ourselves as "Pee LG". Or how about a touristy slogan like - "PLG - Come Park and pee!". It's undeniably catchy, no?