The man's experiences with constantly being moved on reminded me, as a foreign tourist, of how distinct America is in this regard. I flew into California and did a few weeks of bikepacking there before crossing into Mexico. In spite of wearing clean, new expensive expedition-clothing brands, and having a high-end bike with new, clean premium bags, I was several times apparently taken for homeless: I'm packing away my purchases outside a supermarket, and a police cruiser rolls by and tells me I need to move on; I pop into a petrol station for a snack, and a police officer standing around tells me I need to move on.

And everywhere "No loitering" signs. I wouldn't even know how to say "no loitering" in the European languages that I speak.

In the USA it is illegal to exist outside in one spot for too long. Sad but true.

So true. I once bought nicely worn-out US Army jacket when visiting California, quite fashionable in Europe in 1980's. Could not believe what kind of shit I got. Some shops told me right at the door "please leave now sir".

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