Friday, January 18, 2013

The Life of a Boardman: Deserving of our compassion?


20 inches in breadth and 32 inches in depth (Police Duty Catechism and Reports, 1903) are the measurements of the boards that sandwich these walking advertisers. To take such a job does not require extraordinary talent by any means, yet it does involve indifference to more respectable occupations. By taking the most mundane and easiest jobs our city has to offer, they find themselves teased “in every conceivable manner” (Thomas and Smith). From being shoved around and having mud splattered about their bodies to being publicly ridiculed, the boardman experiences it all. So, the question remains…do they deserve our empathy and should we take measures to ensure their safety? 

Brittney Cato 

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