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Is it wrong to tweet about bums? — Brooklynian

Is it wrong to tweet about bums?

I came across the Bums of Myrtle Ave. Twitter account a few weeks ago. Basically, Kali writes about "interactions with the bums on the corner" almost like a tweeted sitcom, and there's a recurring cast of characters.

She just got interviewed in The L Magazine, who say she's "in her late 20s, working in fashion, and from a small town in the Midwest, Kali has lived in Fort Greene for the last three years ("lovin' it") after a stint in Boston."

What's interesting is how Kali perceives criticism of her account versus what people are actually saying in response to it.

1. Bums of Myrtle Avenue on her own Twitter account:

Has anybody been critical?

Not really. The worst thing was a critique about the bum that I call the CrackHead, and I can understand where that person was coming from. They don't want to be faced with hard things in life. Who does? But the truth of the matter is, the CrackHead is really a crack head. I've seen his pipe. My Twitter isn't about telling jokes, or making fun of bums. It's about giving people a look into a community from a perspective that they might not have had before.

2. Comments section of the L Magazine post about the Bums account:



This is obnoxious. Grow a fucking perspective.

report 2 likes, 0 dislikes like dislike

Posted by the homeless aren't zoo animals on February 29, 2012 at 12:52 PM

this girl tried to follow me on twitter and i was shocked. Oh, poverty and mental illness! OMG ROFL!

Posted by Disgusted on February 29, 2012 at 1:13 PM

Just a little lol@bumsafari for the fashionista. I'm sure it's fine, because people from the midwest are so "nice" as they are quick to tell you.

Posted by yo yo pa on February 29, 2012 at 1:50 PM

3. Reactions on Twitter today, yin and yang:



Jason G. ? @MoLo_

@BumsofMyrtleAve Pretty cool! #holyawesome

Offensive. Exploitative. Mocking. Classist. RT @TheLMagazine Interview: The Bums of Myrtle Avenue ow.ly/9mITf @bumsofmyrtleave

Comments

  • This twitter is hilarious! BTW those criticisms are comments on the interview page so they came in after her statement about criticisms. I expect better journalism from Brooklynian.

  • @bklynkarl, sorry if I misrepresented the reactions as being anything other than comments on the article.

    I thought it was significant that the account holder didn't seem to be aware that people might think what she was doing was wrong or in bad taste. THAT'S why I contrasted her interview comments with the comments on the article.

    My initial reaction to the twitter account was "this is funny" and then "should I be thinking this is funny?"

    I thought it was clear that I was contrasting her interview reply with commenters who had just read said article. I edited the line to hopefully better clarify.

  • It's fantastic that hobo culture now has a digital platform.

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