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On a cold November morning in St Cloud MN I was leaving the courthouse after getting some permits that were holding up an excavation crew 35 miles away.
An elderly Black woman, with a limp ,approached me and said she was hungry. (shortly after 9AM ) She stated she doesn't do drugs and the last guy who offered money wanted lewd acts performed and she refused.
After she had the $10 in her hand she muttered in a disappointed voice..........."thanks, but I was hoping for a $20 "
I related this story before on a MN internet site and all the liberals attacked my post and accused me of wanting her to bow, kneel down, and thank me profusely.
No!
I just figured if $10 means nothing to her next time it stays in my billfold because $10 still means a lot to me !
And then yes, there is the whole "those who will ask something innocuous, usually 'Do you have the time'" as a distraction, or something to try to get you to take your wallet out of your pocket so they can decide if they want to take it from you.
For the extremely aggressive bums that knock on car windows and stuff (the "Oh I know this guy didnt just touch my car" kind of thing...) Best thing to do is either ignore, or have the phone In hand and feign the dialing, but dont engage. They kind of want to make you mad, if they can't get anything from you.
Good points, and good advice. I had have numerous encounters with these aggressive pieces of garbage, and agree completely that in many cases if you don't give them $, they will cuss you out for the purposes of making you angry. I agree it's not worth getting angry in response. I also notice they never cuss people out unless there are a lot of other people around and they feel "safe".
One time I was a pedestrian at a cross-walk and was waiting for the light to change. A panhandler asked me for money, and I said no. The light turned green, and I crossed the street. When I was "safely" on the other side the panhandler cussed me out. He was obviously too cowardly to do it while I was standing right next to him.
Last edited by The Big Lebowski Dude; 12-02-2016 at 04:58 PM..
Honestly, until I traveled out of Wisconsin, I never saw a panhandler. It was until I took a road trip to the West Coast I encountered them, even at rest stops. Now in Texas, they are everywhere. The only time one actually made me uncomfortable was when I was walking in downtown El Paso and he was yelling something over at me and then crossed (jaywalked) the street and then started asking me for money for some sob story. Too bad his buddies were on the other side of the street laughing and he had a blunt in his ear. Didn't look like too much of a sob story to me.
Sorry about your experience. Homelessness is a huge problem these days, and not just among drug users. Many working people are homeless. Who can live on $7.25 an hour, unless you have a strong network of family and friends looking out for you?
Anyway, I'm a big guy physically, and rarely find panhandlers intimidating, and kind of accept it as a part of the American social fabric these days.
Im a Working Homeless with no drug problem.
Even at the soon $11/hr, I can barely pay my bills. Inflated, BS bills.. from Liberal states....
And I may soon bring myself to have the two jobs...
Good points, and good advice. I had have numerous encounters with these aggressive pieces of garbage, and agree completely that in many cases if you don't give them $, they will cuss you out for the purposes of making you angry. I agree it's not worth getting angry in response. I also notice they never cuss people out unless there are a lot of other people around and they feel "safe".
One time I was a pedestrian at a cross-walk and was waiting for the light to change. A panhandler asked me for money, and I said no. The light turned green, and I crossed the street. When I was "safely" on the other side the panhandler cussed me out. He was obviously too cowardly to do it while I was standing right next to him.
Man. If it wasn't for whiny people with phones, I'd have rocked so many of these POSes world just one time... up top. Go to sleep. BUT. I am smart enough to know, that... there are too many Concern Trolls with phones around.. police would be there in about 90 seconds flat.
They also like to bum-rush people coming in cars at places like Greyhound stations in Philly. They rush to touch your stuff like they want to help..
Sometimes, late at night, you get the one that wants to sing and then ask for money.......
Then there are those that perform with a synthesizer and get some dollars doing so. At the train stations. You can tell when the police arent around because they are there...
On a cold November morning in St Cloud MN I was leaving the courthouse after getting some permits that were holding up an excavation crew 35 miles away.
An elderly Black woman, with a limp ,approached me and said she was hungry. (shortly after 9AM ) She stated she doesn't do drugs and the last guy who offered money wanted lewd acts performed and she refused.
After she had the $10 in her hand she muttered in a disappointed voice..........."thanks, but I was hoping for a $20 "
I related this story before on a MN internet site and all the liberals attacked my post and accused me of wanting her to bow, kneel down, and thank me profusely.
No!
I just figured if $10 means nothing to her next time it stays in my billfold because $10 still means a lot to me !
Even at the soon $11/hr, I can barely pay my bills. Inflated, BS bills.. from Liberal states....
And I may soon bring myself to have the two jobs...
My life just sucks.
All I want is a car.
A car someone else buys for you.
So, take the bus. Been there.
Learn how to budget your money, and anyone can own a car in America. Like me. I buy old Toyotas for around $1,000. I don't go out to eat. Don't gamble. Don't buy cigarettes.
Life's a bunch of choices. You budget for the car, or you decide you'd rather spend money on something else and you take the bus.
And you quit feeling sorry for yourself because you can't have it all.
I live on $890/month, so I don't feel sorry for you. Work with what you have and learn how to be happy with what you have. Or change your circumstances.
Learn how to budget your money, and anyone can own a car in America. Like me. I buy old Toyotas for around $1,000. I don't go out to eat. Don't gamble. Don't buy cigarettes.
Life's a bunch of choices. You budget for the car, or you decide you'd rather spend money on something else and you take the bus.
And you quit feeling sorry for yourself because you can't have it all.
I live on $890/month, so I don't feel sorry for you. Work with what you have and learn how to be happy with what you have. Or change your circumstances.
Ok that's all well and good but I also didn't ask you to feel sorry for me... Great advice and observations, though!
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