If you get hit up for coin from a bum

[SWirth86]

I used to work valet for a restaurant in a downtown area with social problems so I'd see a lot of bums or people asking for change. Most of the time theyve got some story about needing money for the bus, ran out of gas, etc, but some just ask you for money. I rarely gave out anything (if I gave a dollar out everytime someone asked me I'd lose a fair amount) but there were times where I gave some money. It really depends on the person, I found it fairly easy to tell when a person was lying about what theyre going to use the money for, the drug addicts and alcoholics are pretty recognizable. It's a hard decision to make, and a few times people have been real grateful when I've helped them out. Everyone's had a time in their life where they could use a little help...



And I'm going to disagree with the guy who says a lot of bums are professionals... yea maybe theres a few low lifes who fake poverty to get peoples change, but really most of the bums/homeless/people asking for money have serious problems and issues that are visible. How many people do you think could really fake being that desparate and lives a life of a 40k earner? Psychologically thatd be pretty difficult and taxing to impersonate a homeless, dirty, and usually not quite all there mentally person for 8 hours or whatever a day and then go back to home and play a totally different role, all just to make some money... itd almost be easier to get a real job. Begging isnt fun...

 

[Kelemvor]

I jsut mutter somethig about not having any cash or change and keep walking...

Lazy bastards should take a shower and get a job.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: TechITguy

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
None. I don't give money or anything else to the scroungy bums, it only encourages them. I would rather feed cheese to rats living in my attic than give anything to the scum who litter our sidewalks and streets.

Have a nice day.

So if someone like that was standing there with there 5 year old daughter asking for money to feed there kid you would not give it to them?????

Nope. But I would call children's services and get that kid a better life.

 

[RadioHead84]

i dont give them money either...unless i think they reall need it.

If they can make that much in a day they could afford rent or atleast food somewhere. i can understand if you just lost your house and dont have anything you need to beg. But if your smart enough you could save and get your life back. You need a house and stuff to get a job

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: TechITguy

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
None. I don't give money or anything else to the scroungy bums, it only encourages them. I would rather feed cheese to rats living in my attic than give anything to the scum who litter our sidewalks and streets.

Have a nice day.

So if someone like that was standing there with there 5 year old daughter asking for money to feed there kid you would not give it to them?????

Do you think a man who would put his daughter in a situation like that deserves pity?

Would it be better if he left her alone somewhere...

not like he can afford childcare, right?

Child protection services or whatever?

 

[mattocs]

If they were with a kid, i'd go into a store and buy them a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. Then I would do what is in the best interest of the child, and call police.

 

[Corporate Thug]

the guy that doesnt ask at all...

 

[spaceman]

i dunno,im a sucker for stories.
if i have some pocket change, i give it to them.

 

[imported_Kensai]

I'd keep it.

 

[imported_goku]

I walked pass a mentally disabled lady in a wheelchair on the way to buy a hotdog and purchased two dogs because I was goanna eat both but when I walked back I thought that she should have one of them and gave her one. She was very greatful and was like "oh god bless you", felt much happier and soon as I left I saw her munching down on the dog so it's obvious where the food went (apposed to the trash).

 

[Quasmo]

If a bum ran up to me and started saying I'm a bum, I'm a Bum, and doing some crazy dance... I'd probably give him some cash.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: Chompman
You haveto remember lot of the bums are professional bums and make a good living off it and don't have to pay any in taxes.

Can make 40k+ easy doing this and even though it's illegal they still let this happen.

Bullsh|t.

 

[DT4K]

Show me one city that doesn't have churches and other charities operating shelters and soup kitchens and maybe I'll start giving people food, but NEVER money.

The fact of the matter is that anyone who is hungry can get free food pretty much anywhere in our country. Most of the time, the only reason they choose to panhandle instead is because then they can spend the money on drugs and alcohol.

All of you handing out money are enabling these people to continue their drug habits and making sure they never do anything to improve their situation. That guy standing out there with a child is guilty of child abuse and should be reported to Children's Services. If they gave a sh!t about their child, they'd be at a shelter getting help instead of begging for money.

If you feel guilty and want to help, donate to a quality charity that will help the people who actually want to become self-sufficient. It should be a misdemeanor to give money to bums.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Chompman
You haveto remember lot of the bums are professional bums and make a good living off it and don't have to pay any in taxes.

Can make 40k+ easy doing this and even though it's illegal they still let this happen.

if it's so easy, why don't you do it, oh master of economics?

listen, i know someone who lived on the street for two years. when she hit them, she was an 18 year old female, healthy, extremely intelligent, attractive, friendly, outgoing, white (don't tell me this doesn't make a difference), and resourceful. when she finally gave up on this supposedly carefree lifestyle, she was skeleton thin, pregnant, had a "minor" addiction to speed, looked 10 years older, and was in jail. she made the choice to live on the streets (running away from home, fears, life in general), but it wasn't easy and she barely made enough to eat and get from one place to another. she made many times more money when she got on welfare to go to school after she had the baby. she's a surveyor these days, supports herself, etc, so happy ending, but the point is, NOBODY does this to make more than enough to eat, drink, or get high. there are no middle class streetpeople pulling in more money than college grads, and VAST majority of homeless these days are schizophrenic, drug addicts, or both. these are people who were helped and kept off the streets until Republican Poster Boy Reagan fvcked them over and kicked them to the curb. these days, only a tiny percentage of the homeless are actually the "bums" of the 50's, who chose that life over others and were otherwise sane people.

if your psychotic fantasy is what it takes for you to avoid your guilt about not helping others, then suit yourself, but don't inflict it on others. at least i'm capable of admiting that i don't help them because i'm greedy and selfish.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Atheus

Originally posted by: Chompman
You haveto remember lot of the bums are professional bums and make a good living off it and don't have to pay any in taxes.

Can make 40k+ easy doing this and even though it's illegal they still let this happen.

Bullsh|t.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnist...to/Mike_Strobel/2004/07/09/532725.html

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/toronto061505.htm

 

[Bozono]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Atheus

Originally posted by: Chompman
You haveto remember lot of the bums are professional bums and make a good living off it and don't have to pay any in taxes.

Can make 40k+ easy doing this and even though it's illegal they still let this happen.

Bullsh|t.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnist...to/Mike_Strobel/2004/07/09/532725.html

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/toronto061505.htm

Second link there; BIG DEAL; a poor guy who can't find a suitable job bums money and buys a bicycle with it? What's wrong with that? It's not like he doesn't get his $195 a month, so he probably used that. Besides, what's the sticker price on a bike at Zellers: $149.99.

As for the Shaky Lady; yeah that was something, but I infact know many of the panners in TO and the vast majority simply buy food, booze and cigarettes with it. Maybe some weed. What the hell do people think they do with it anyway, buy groceries?

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: ironcrotch
I'd rather buy someone lunch than give them $5.

correct. never give a bum money.

 

[Nitemare]

I normally just tell them to get a real job

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: ironcrotch
I'd rather buy someone lunch than give them $5.

 

[Spamela]

i give, regardless.
ken collins expressed the reasoning pretty well:

When I fail to give to the beggar, because I speculate that he will misuse my gift, I am making his moral judgment for him. I am not permitting him to choose good or reject evil, I am choosing it for him. I am also choosing it for him blindly, because I do not in fact know the consequence of my decision! So on sheer speculation I am making two moral decisions, not one. I?ve made a decision about giving money to a beggar, and I?ve made a decision about how he can use it. That means that the consequence is my responsibility, not his, because I had the choice and he did not.

...

My moral problem is whether to help a beggar in apparent need, without casting aspersion on him, and without speculating about the chain of events that will ensue. What if I am mistaken, and the man does not drink alcohol, but simply has bad breath from days without a toothbrush? What if the man is so severely alienated from society by his distress that the only social skill that remains is begging? What if giving this man a handout is the best way to show him that some people still care about him, and not everyone treats him like a bum? What if I am the last straw for him, what if my failure to reach out causes something to snap within him, and leads him to a fortified withdrawal, a permanent vagrancy, to violence, or even to suicide? What if my kind act and kind words could have helped him climb a hard and arduous ascent out of his predicament, but their absence sealed his fate?

 

[EyeMWing]

I'll help out one that claims to be a tech industry refugee. Nobody else.

 

[MisfitsFiend]

None of the above - I did offer a lunch to a guy and his little son - all I had was a salad, and he said no thank you. Besides that, I ignore the signs, the guys washing windows, selling socks, water, m&m's, movies, pron, etc.

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: Atheus

Originally posted by: Chompman
You haveto remember lot of the bums are professional bums and make a good living off it and don't have to pay any in taxes.

Can make 40k+ easy doing this and even though it's illegal they still let this happen.

Bullsh|t.

Most likely but after riding the NY subway for the past 8 years, you can usually spot the (semi)con-artists. There are a lot but one lady goes on about her many kids and being homeless due to a house fire. Keep in mind she has had this same story for at least 4 or 5 years. Besides, the city is not legally allowed to have kids live on the street. There is always temporary housing available for homeless kids and their parents. For the most part, when someone talks about their kids and living on the street, it's instant BS.

 

[gigapet]

i generally make them give me something in return, a joke, a magick trick, a poem a little dance, some freak of nature ability.

If they have nothing to offer me they get nothing plain and simple.

Nothing is free in this world.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Spamela
i give, regardless.
ken collins expressed the reasoning pretty well:

When I fail to give to the beggar, because I speculate that he will misuse my gift, I am making his moral judgment for him. I am not permitting him to choose good or reject evil, I am choosing it for him. I am also choosing it for him blindly, because I do not in fact know the consequence of my decision! So on sheer speculation I am making two moral decisions, not one. I?ve made a decision about giving money to a beggar, and I?ve made a decision about how he can use it. That means that the consequence is my responsibility, not his, because I had the choice and he did not.

...

My moral problem is whether to help a beggar in apparent need, without casting aspersion on him, and without speculating about the chain of events that will ensue. What if I am mistaken, and the man does not drink alcohol, but simply has bad breath from days without a toothbrush? What if the man is so severely alienated from society by his distress that the only social skill that remains is begging? What if giving this man a handout is the best way to show him that some people still care about him, and not everyone treats him like a bum? What if I am the last straw for him, what if my failure to reach out causes something to snap within him, and leads him to a fortified withdrawal, a permanent vagrancy, to violence, or even to suicide? What if my kind act and kind words could have helped him climb a hard and arduous ascent out of his predicament, but their absence sealed his fate?

That's his problem, not mine. If he wants to mistreat the public because the public does not bend over backwards for him, big freakin deal. If he wants it, he can work for it like the rest of us. Homeless folks stay homeless because they choose to be!