[Mpls] Saturday Night Live joke on Minneapolis

[Michael Atherton]

Laura Waterman Wittstock wrote:
  
>  Asking the general public for cash on the street brings to mind the 
>  idea of quid pro quo (or "commercial activity" as Mr. 
>  Atherton stated earlier). What does the giver get in return? 
>  Lemonade? Sexual favors? Political support? These seem like vastly 
>  different exchanges. Panhandlers don't seem to offer more than a story 
>  whether written on some cardboard or given verbally.

I haven't really taken a stand on this issue. I was just exploring
different perspectives, but the above is a very weak argument.

Obliviously, if you voluntarily perform an action you must be motivated
to do so, i.e. you satisfy what motivated you.  It might just be
the self-satisfaction of giving.  There are numerous types of
commercial exchanges in which nothing tangible is exchanged.  
Musical performance are just one example.  If the concert is
free then it is not commercial, if you have to pay to hear the
performance then it is.  Definitionally begging requires a
monetary exchange. 

I think that there is a significant difference between standing
on a soapbox and informing people that the end of the world is
coming and then asking people to help finance your farewell party.
In one case money changes hands and in the other it doesn't

I am still undecided as to whether a monetary exchange can
be classified as an act of speech or "free" expression, but
I'll need a stronger argument to convince me than the one
above.

Michael Atherton
Prospect Park