Donation Seekers and Panhandlers (buy, wage, legal)

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

Oh, I meant there are other cleaning ladies out there. If she persists in bringing JW's to my home, I'll just get another cleaning lady - somebody who won't bring people over here. I like her and I know she needs the work, but come on - I also need (and like) my privacy!

Oh no Twinkle Toes, I Got What You Said, I didn't get what the Poster B4 u was going.....thats where we all go "ding dong"...anyhow

Amen to Privacy, do what Fontucky says and get a good guard dog...(a Dobie, Rot or German Shepard perhaps)

[Fontucky]

A few years ago as I was loading groceries into the trunk of my high-mileage, 14-year-old used car that ain't no shakes in the looks department, a very nice looking, late model SUV comes driving up. The woman driving told me she needed gas money because she just had a fight with her boyfriend and she and her little child needed to GTFO of town.

I'll let the gentle readers guess how many $$$ she squeezed outta me.

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by jmlowman

The other reason not to acknowledge these people (homeless) is that some aren't.

We were leaving the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego, waiting for the arrow, to turn onto the freeway. There was a reasonably attractive young woman who wasn't dressed any worse than others her age, with a sign near the on-ramp. Closer inspection while we were waiting for the light to change revealed what looked like a recent manicure.

Yep, that is their part time gig aside from their fulltime jobs, begging for our $$$$, sorta reminds me of that slapstick comedy "Don't be a Menance to So. Central, While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood", theres a scene where the Wayan's brothers (main characters) are walking by, get hit up by a beggar on the street, (w/dreadlocks & torn gloves & ratty coat), shortly thereafter he rips off the gloves & coat, tossing them aside & is dressed like a professional business man, and hits his remote ("chirp chirp") to his Benz or BMW,.......... ain't that the truth!!

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

A few years ago as I was loading groceries into the trunk of my high-mileage, 14-year-old used car that ain't no shakes in the looks department, a very nice looking, late model SUV comes driving up. The woman driving told me she needed gas money because she just had a fight with her boyfriend and she and her little child needed to GTFO of town.

I'll let the gentle readers guess how many $$$ she squeezed outta me.

....."Ain't that the truth"......yep me too, although this lady looked like she was going to kick my butt if i didn't hand her some money, she got me because it happened back years ago when I had both my girls w/me, both of them babies, and I was in a vulnerable position, heck I didn't want nothing to happen to my kids, but daum lady, scared the bejeebies out of me & my kids......

[Twinkle Toes]

Yeah, a few years ago there was a series on one of the LA news stations where they went undercover videotaping these people who hang out at freeway on/offramps and I'm telling you - if I weren't doing what I'm doing, I'd be hanging out on a freewat ramp somewhere!!! Some of them were raking in like close to $1,000 per day. They park a car nearby - a NICE car - and go home and wash up. Some of them were videotaped rolling up to million dollar homes in Rancho Palos Verdes Estates!

So, imagine if you have your wife and 3 or 4 kids out doing this every single day in different parts of town. Everybody could retire well before they ever hit social security age!

[steel7]

I just ignore them but sometimes they are persistant. I cant give what i dont have.

[Twinkle Toes]

I'm compassionate when I see that somebody truly needs help. I am more apt to buy somebody a meal rather than give them money. But, I am also a tough old bird who is hip to the con, so it is very likely that in the event somebody continues to pester me for money after I've chosen to ignore them, I will tell them I work for my money and that perhaps they should do the same. And no ... I don't consider panhandling a job.

[The_GarGars]

At the Staters I used to work at, we were notorious for having homeless hangin around bugging our customers for money. It got so bad sometimes that we'd just be calling the cops like 2-3 times a day because we had a customer tell us that they were being harassed by them. One of the homeless guys even admitted that the reason he was homeless was because he didn't want the responsibility that comes with working and paying bills. Yeesh.

Happily, we haven't had to deal with as many homeless since leaving Riverside. And the ones we do deal with are no where near as bad as the ones we left behind!

[steel7]

The staters on colton ave (across from the salvation army) has pan handlers their often. It gets a lil annoying but i try to be nice to them. I know what its like to be broke & homeless.

[Dunbar42]

A lot of the beggers are drug addicts so you're aren't really doing them any favors by giving them money. I don't know why the stores let the charities and Girl Scouts sit out front of their establishments since I'm sure it annoys many of their customers. The stores shouldn't allow it but large charities/organizations like that should not condone this form of solicitation either.

Don't get me started on the whole "do you want to donate" to a charity thing at the checkout register.