ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Riley Martin smiled to himself and relished in his own sense of self-worth; swinging by his wrist on the D45 Bus to the French Quarter this morning.
He’d just spied another commuter on the bus bobbing his head along to a Red Hot Chili Peppers track.
“What a dumb cunt,” he thought to himself.
The 27-year-old post-graduate barista is allowed to laugh because on the ride to work this morning, he was listening to an NPR podcast dedicated to the tearing in the socio-economic fabric that held the military Junta together in Argentina back in the late 70s and early 80s.
He spoke to The Advocate briefly moments after he got off the omnibus in front of his place of work, the Pisse Dans Ma Poche Cafe on Rue de Putain.
“It really digs deep into the root cause of the Falklands War,” he said cheerfully.
“Such a great example of realpolitik that’s often neglected. But I digress, back to your question. I don’t understand how people can just sit there and listen to music. Maybe because I don’t have a lesser mind? I don’t know. All I know is, is that I need a bit of mental stimulation in the morning that doesn’t come in the form of a Coldplay lyric.”
However, he recoiled back into his shell when our reporter asked Riley what he thought of people who read books on the bus – if he thinks they’re simple people as well?
“I would’ve read a book but I had to stand up for a woman, so it was impossible to read, you know what I mean?”
Our reporter said he didn’t.
“Look,” he said retrieving a book from his backpack.
“I bet you’ve never read this one because you’re a fucking scum journalist. Atlas Shrugged, have you heard of it? Of course, you haven’t. Fuck head. You know, you’d benefit from reading a bit of Ayn Rand. His work delves deep into why you do the shit you do.”
If you listen to interesting and thought-provoking podcasts like Riley – but also enjoy the odd Red Hot Chilli Peppers track, then you might like the podcast version of The Betoota Advocate’s radio show on Desert Rock FM.
To take a look, please follow this link: apple.co/2FDrh92
