Often while driving to my favorite thrift store, I'll see a sign flipper/spinner or two. I love watching them. Mostly because I'm evil and take pleasure in honking, waving and otherwise embarrassing them especially that one guy that wears the statue of liberty getup. Maybe I do it because I'm grateful that it's not me out there in the 98+ degree weather or maybe it's just because I love honking at people and that's the only time I'm really allowed to.
Anyways, I realized the other day that the flipper is not much different from a homeless.
This is what I came up with.
Similarities
1. Both are outside making money
2. Both work the day shift(I don't think I've ever seen a flipper at night.. it'd be pretty pointless. I don't know where the homeless go at night, but... I don't think I really want to know.)
3.Both work in all weather conditions (one time there was a storm in Tucson, unbelievable as it may sound, and the flipper was out there, his sign covering his head from the rain, the wind almost tearing it away. I felt bad for him, so, I did what any citizen would do, I honked :)
4. Both are wearing a costume/uniform of some sort (this is true, what person would be willing to give a homeless money if they were wearing nice clothes? They must look grungy, it's the uniform)
5. Both are holding signs!
6. The signs are trying to sway people to feel a certain way (for the flipper it's usually a fast food place and people feel hungry even if they had just eaten, the homeless, it's usually to make people feel bad for them)
Differences
1. Homeless are homeless while a flipper probably has a home
2. A flipper is usually cleaner and presentable opposed to a homeless
3. Flipper's must stand their whole shift while homeless have the luxury of sitting down on a plastic chair, rock, or bucket.
4. (This one can be argued) Homeless make more an hour. Flipper's make minimum wage and they don't make any more then that. A homeless is often offered food, money and other things people deem to give them.
5. A homeless is not working for anybody/under anybody.
6. A homeless decides when to quit working and can call in sick whenever they like
And that's alllll folks.
