I was reminded of this story by a funny post of Dr. Frank’s:
On my only trip to Paris, five years ago, my wife and I were in a full
Metro car when two men started arguing. We don’t speak French, so all
we could do was observe them and our fellow passengers. The argument
began to grow heated, and the atmosphere in the subway car grew tense
as everyone strenuously tried to ignore the fighting men and pretend
that nothing unusual was happening. The argument built to a crescendo
of shouting and pushing, the other passengers were mortified, the
tension seemed unbearable, when suddenly–Pop!–the men stopped
fighting, turned to their fellow passengers and addressed us all, and
revealed that they were actually performance artists and that this was
a piece of street theater. (At least that’s what we gathered.) The
crowd’s relief was palpable, and they burst into applause. Then the
performers passed the hat–with great success–and got off at the next
stop. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I can’t imagine an "act"
like that working here in the States, although I’m not sure what that
says about the differences between American and French culture (and
subway systems).
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