Grumpy Old Man
Dateline: London
Speakers’ Corner on a Sunday is crowded with people having their say. On Sunday, the corner particularly attracts those of a religious bent. One woman who had attracted a large number of hecklers (and like a stand-up comic in a low-rent club – she gave as much as she took) was shouting to the crowd, “You are a disgrace to Almighty God!” And the refrain came back, “You are a disgrace!”
Across the way (Hyde Park welcomes speakers of all religious persuasions) a Jewish man teetered on a step-stool. (Apparently those in-the-know bring their own stools to rise above the throng.) He (a lovely voice, a cantor perhaps) held a Torah in his hands and was singing. His crowd was smaller. Apparently, people like listening to rants better than listening to song.
And to his right, a very large crowd clustered around a black man who admitted that England was not perfect, but “if you don’t like it here, you should go home.”
The angry man in the photo did not bring his step-stool. Ask him to rant and he will.
