i've always heard about carny's at the carnivals being bad or not the kind of civilized type people you would hang out with. is it true or just a bad rap?
2006-07-21 16:28:02 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
First, I am a former carnival concessionaire who also owned rides.
Now retired, my partner and I operate a site at www.carnytown.com which is sort of a "bible" for the carnival industry.
Before you can decide if they are civilized you must establish what is civilized to them.
To be labeled a carny is an honor. To qualify to be a carny you must have spent at least one full "season" on the road. Living entirely off the income from your work on a carnival. This means that you have lived for at least a year out of a duffel bag, poor sleeping conditions (sometimes under a truck), poor food, no dental or medical care and no therapist. You will be taking care of any problems, yourself. Carnies are basically Libertarians for all purposes and do not believe in having their problems resolved in any way by anybody else. They are not on the public dole and don't believe in it. You work and you stay alive. You don't work ... well, you will work if you are hungry.
Even at that point the old timers are not going to accept you as a carny and will test you with the language of the carny which is similar to pig latin and they will use significant names and places in the conversation to see if you are "with it" or just "for it"
Like in all societies their are some bad apples. Since carnival ride companies travel each week and their hiring practices respect the carny code, it is likely they will not have applications, w4's etc. signed. This will enable those on the run from the law to "hide out" on the carnival lot. Hence, some bad apples in the bunch. Carnies will allow for minor problems like drug taking that doesn't hurt them since their attitude is that you can make your own choices and not have them dictated to you by lawmakers.
All that said, most carnival folk are like the majority of our population. Christian, conservative, family oriented and honest.
And many are very well off, financially.
You can test this by going to a fair or festival and taking a look behind the rides and games. BIG motor homes, big trucks and luxurious living conditions. (one owner I know has a 50' trailer and his own tractor which serves as a private gymnasium/workout room)
The carnival Rides can cost from 10k to a million dollars so an owner with a 15 or so of those obviously is civilized.
Other carnies are well educated and just love the life and want to be on the road.
Bottom line. Just like the rest of the country, carnies are good and bad, because they are human.
To finish, I want to cover the appearance issue. They say you can't judge people by their appearance and that can be true with carnies if you catch them in the middle of a set up or tear down. Loads of dirt and grease on those rides and they WILL BE Dirty when working on them. They spend 12 hour days working so don't be suprised if they smell a little at the end of the day. Showers are few and far between, also.
Since the Austin Powers movie there has been a lot of talk about bad teeth or missing teeth. I said earlier that medical care is not a possibility on the road and that goes for dentists also. Carnies do have problems with getting thier teeth fixed and capping is not in the budget for the lower paid workers, even if they could stay in one spot long enough to see a Dentist.
That said, take a look around your home town. At least half of the folks over 50 are missing teeth or have caps or bridgework.
And half of those cannot afford dental work and have no teeth. Doesn't make them bad folks. My Grandmother has no teeth and she is a saint.
Now that I have defended the carnies, I have a warning. Be careful, be very careful who you "hang out with" because there is always the possibility that a stranger that you have just met could be a rapist or serial killer...that includes carnies AND your neighbors.
2006-07-22 04:46:37 · answer #1 · answered by theauburnian 2 · 4⤊ 2⤋
Just a bad rap by very few people. Today we are much more accepting of other lifestyles than perhaps 20 or even 10 years ago. The bad rap was earned because in general Carny's make a living out of scamming,tricking people who have roots,stable jobs,go to church and so forth-out of their money.-or so it is thought. Then too there's just a bit resentment for we are all tied down to family and job responsibilities and obligations and seeing a carnival perhaps there's a split second sense of envy to be free,travel,not have the expected 8-5 job but be like Gypsy-free.
2006-07-21 16:36:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It takes a very tough individual, male or female, to live the,"Carny" life. Since, obviously, it isn't an extremely high paying profession, there is not a great demand to get into the 'life'. Since it involves moving constantly, under extreme weather & living conditions, exhaustingly long hours, and dangerous conditions...a person would either 'need' or 'want' to get into that life. As far as the 'need'---a person in trouble with the law, or bad record, could easily work, and not have to divulge much personal information. As far as 'want':---someone, who just wants to drift, it would be perfect. So, to some degree, it is somewhat of a bad rap, but, these, in general, probably people you don't want to cause problems with, unless, you plan to finish it!
2006-07-21 16:41:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
are carny's really as bad as people think?
i've always heard about carny's at the carnivals being bad or not the kind of civilized type people you would hang out with. is it true or just a bad rap?
2015-08-24 15:00:32 · answer #4 · answered by Sergei 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not true! I worked with Bell City for 4 yrs. I started when I was 16. I started cause they needed extras & it was kinda mission work for me. I met alot of cool people with them. Lot of good freinds. I admit some are not so wonderful, but you meet those kinda people everywhere. Carni's are individual people who need to be treated individually. It's not really fair to meet one not-so-good carni - & brand 'em all as not civilized. And no they are not scum!
2006-07-21 16:37:23 · answer #5 · answered by BlueSpider 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
First off lets see if anyone can tell me why Carnies and Gypsies as well as Circus people have the rap they have?Mainlly because of the persaccusion of the Catholic Church .The same church that makes the virgin mother more important than the Savior.Moved his birth to the winter as well as claiming to be the mother church.
2014-02-03 15:33:27 · answer #6 · answered by Brian B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well society says that but i know for a fact it is not true my late husband was a carnie an the folks that knew him called him mr. serenity tell you anything
2006-07-21 16:31:44 · answer #7 · answered by serenity0795 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well that is just a silly question,and some of the answers are just plain rude ,if it werent for the canival"showpeople" what would you upbringing have been like ?So stop and think about never having carnivals and rides and the wonderful ppl that run them for the childrens pleasure ,i cant believe how self centered some ppl can be
2006-07-22 07:45:42 · answer #8 · answered by redneckwoodman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not bad people all in all,wouldn't leave my children with them though.
2006-07-21 16:34:00 · answer #9 · answered by allwayshappy 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
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yes they are that bad
2016-04-03 23:37:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋