To be known from the "No to Nice" campaign* can be a strength. I had to learn to sharpen my verbal skills on the streets in disputes with aggressive beggars, and other buskers setting up too close, so that I had to develop confidence and shed my anger. That experience has enabled me to have little political discussions with regular passers-by, give messages now and again to nice Americans (three in the last eleven days) about where 30% of their taxes are going.
We are ashamed, too, that our so-called leader offered the US the use of Shannon Airport for refuelling on their way to bombing Afghanistan. I talk to the other "Europeans" about how the Nice Treaty and the Rapid Reaction Force have to be resisted, and give them information leaflets.
Walk with music
The life on the street is tough and rewarding. Rain is bad - no shelter or canopy on the streets. So are road works, aggressive beggars, and opportunistic thieves who have no respect. It is a solitary occupation because the motivation comes from the self so it is a pleasure meeting somebody like a Japanese harper who is happy to play some music with me, swapping tunes and doing a few gigs together.
It is a nice thought, sending all that music out into the atmosphere. Walk on an empty street, then walk again when music is being played and the whole street is transformed, people are transformed. Culture is the opposite of war, I think.
Note: * The "No to Nice Campaign" worked to persuade Irish citizens to vote against the Nice Treaty in the 2001 Irish referendum. One of the major reasons for opposing Ireland's joining concerned the treaty's enabling of a more intergrated militarised Europe. The campaign was also closely linked with the "No to NATO" campaign. Mary Begley is a parent and grandparent, an Irish-speaking Kerry woman, resident in Dublin, playing music in the pubs and streets and opposing war everywhere.
