taylweaver | Can you spare a minute for...

One of the consequences of living in the city is that, as I walk down the street, I get stopped every so often by people standing on the street, holding clipboards. The tend to stand in pairs, one on either end of the block, facing opposite directions, so they can grab people who are heading in either direction. They generally try to catch your eye and ask something along the lines of, "Hi there. Can you spare a minute for [fill in the blank here]," (or, alternatively, "Do you have a minute for...) generally choosing topics I might actually care about such as global warming, children in Africa, gay rights.

Thing is, I walk a lot for my job, up and down the same main streets as I travel from school to school. I am paid for that travel time - it is scheduled in. This means that, technically, I am working as I walk. Which, by extension, means that no, I cannot ever spare a minute. Now, granted, I don't like to sign things anyway, and I tend to refuse even when I am not working, but still...

Today I got asked if I could spare a minute for gay rights. I felt really bad answering, "sorry, no." I felt worse that I also could not stop and explain that I was running off to work, because I do care about that cause, and I know it can be discouraging when people say no and walk past.

I also feel like they are going to think I don't care about their issue when, in fact, I do care. I just don't like signing things, and I am working right now, as I walk past you. See that step I took? That was me, working. See that next step? You got it. Working. If I stop to talk to you, even for long enough to explain why I can't stop to talk to you, then I will be stealing time from my employer.

Plus, as I said, I don't sign petitions.

Anyway, it just feels awkward.