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Its confusing to think in a first world country we have people begging for money. They should at least get benefits.
It doesn't seem confusing to me. I'll bet they do get benefits --- doesn't every legal citizen below a certain income level qualify for free handouts in this country? But instead of getting a job, they prefer to beg. And perhaps they are thinking that if they do get a job, they will not only lose their roadside income but also their benefits.
I have been approached in the grocery store parking lot and at gas stations needing "money for gas to get home". Even when I feel a tinge of empathy, I always yell out to them to back off and stay away. It is a personal safety issue, I believe, and unwise to let any stranger within 10 feet of you. Once a guy even banged on my car window and kept motioning me to roll the window down, if he wasn't going to ask for money he certainly was beyond mannerly. Even if he needed directions (unlikely) we have to consider our safety above all and not get into a situation where we are interacting with a stranger who might harm us.
I hated it when in the Inland Empire of California a couple of panhandlers were working the drive thru take-pit line at a Taco Bell!
If they could figure out how to be right next to my driver's side
so I could hand them a buck easily...I would and I do.
If I had just bought a 12 pack I'd hand 'em a beer.
What do I care...The Lord's been good to me ...here's a buck.
^^^^^ I would suggest one possible reason to care, namely the high likelihood that you are helping support the panhandler's drug, alcohol, or tobacco habit. If you are O.K. with that, more power to you, but I am not. Better to give directly to a shelter or soup kitchen, in my opinion.
do you give to the people with missing limbs or obvious physical conditions? im guessing no
if it were so easy to get a job there wouldnt be this unemployment problem, if it were so easy to "clean up" put on some fresh clothes etc etc, then i guess "bums" are just dirty for the fun of it
Maybe this is really horrid but I don't actually understand what these people are at to be here. I mean can they not go and get educated or get a job??
Its confusing to think in a first world country we have people begging for money. They should at least get benefits.
How should they do that?
You realise many of these people are battling mental illness, depression, and other health issues?
One thing I notice on these types of threads is the polarized reactions you see: from, "Bums stink" to "You should be ashamed for not helping our homeless brethren."
To be honest, even though I like to try to help people when I can, I wonder if this broad idea of being compassionate and engaging with every "homeless" stranger you meet is realistic. From an evolutionary standpoint, does it make any sense?
I mean, I try my best to be decent to my friends and family, and yet I still sometimes fall short of my ideal; I only have so much love and patience (and money) to go around. Do I really need to be browbeat because I sometimes suffer from "compassion fatigue" when the tenth person tells me that they need $5 for their train ticket?
One thing I notice on these types of threads is the polarized reactions you see: from, "Bums stink" to "You should be ashamed for not helping our homeless brethren."
To be honest, even though I like to try to help people when I can, I wonder if this broad idea of being compassionate and engaging with every "homeless" stranger you meet is realistic. From an evolutionary standpoint, does it make any sense?
I mean, I try my best to be decent to my friends and family, and yet I still sometimes fall short of my ideal; I only have so much love and patience (and money) to go around. Do I really need to be browbeat because I sometimes suffer from "compassion fatigue" when the tenth person tells me that they need $5 for their train ticket?
I don't think its feasible to be engaging with every homeless person you encounter. I don't think its expected to give money every time.
However, the idea that people will call those less fortunate, or who have fallen on difficult times, "bums", and be so judgemental is just poor form, they don't know their story or how they might have ended up in that situation.
Wouldnt these folks be better served by cleaning themselves up and applying for work rather than bumming a buck on the side of the road? Aren't they a danger to themselves and the motorists who might hit them? Do you pity them or shake your head in disgust at them?
I have heard people who panhandle make as much as $500 a day.
I generally do not give cash on the streets, primarily for two reasons:
1) All the stories (such as on this thread) of people not legitimately in need. If you can work, you should work - or not expect handouts.
2) Even if their needs are legitimate (and I acknowledge we can all fall on hard times), is my dollar (or even $5-10) really going to help them long term to get out of the bad situation they're in? Or is it nothing more than something between "band-aid fix" to "teaching victim mentality"?
My dollar or five at the stoplight isn't going to stabilize their lives in any meaningful way to get them off the streets, into a stable life, get a job and be independent. I'd rather give a donation to the Salvation Army where that dollar or five is going to be used for programs that cure addictions, bring long-term stability and ultimate independence to people's lives.
The donation is far more compassionate than throwing change at someone on the street and then drive off thinking you're such a great bleeding heart and now so much moral than those who don't roll down their windows....
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