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Old 04-02-2015, 02:36 PM
 
Location: Free State of Florida, Support our police
5,841 posts, read 3,259,428 times
Reputation: 9100

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Quote:
Originally Posted by PhotoProIP View Post
That's too political to discuss here.

Apparently, people complained to Publix, and they got sent away. I hope in one piece. However, there is still a homeless guy in a wheel chair that roams around and makes us all pretty darn uncomfortable.

Some are truly that desperate, but too many moved here and turned into crooks, and I think(JMO), that there isn't enough law enforcement around. I mean, on one hand we have more laws than we can handle, and on the other 3/4 are not enforced. So why have them? just take a look in your day at how many remember to turn their turning signals on! This is a major offense anywhere else in the world but here, yet how else are we supposed to communicate with the cars in front and behind us?

The panhandling needs to be banned. It makes us look really bad with those visiting regardless of them looking to move here or not.
In a "Progressive" city like NY its banned. But here its legal. I thought it would be opposite and honestly I was surprised when I came down here that it actually was occurring. I see these people that hold signs to advertise for a business and I have to respect the fact that they are willing to do that instead of begging!
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Old 04-02-2015, 02:46 PM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,578,522 times
Reputation: 4369
Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredcop111 View Post
In a "Progressive" city like NY its banned. But here its legal. I thought it would be opposite and honestly I was surprised when I came down here that it actually was occurring. I see these people that hold signs to advertise for a business and I have to respect the fact that they are willing to do that instead of begging!
Yeah!

St Pete banned it either back in 2013 or 2014...one of those years, and then, all the ones from there came to Tampa instead! #FAIL

To me, the sheer traffic danger they place themselves and others in is why they should be banned in the first place. Drivers in Florida aren't used to see pedestrians like it is in NYC. We already have enough people crossing 6 lane highway's jaywalking to need extra beggars around.
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Old 04-02-2015, 07:51 PM
 
1,500 posts, read 3,314,197 times
Reputation: 1230
To clarify, I did not call the big guy a coward. I said his act of bullying a homeless guy was cowardice because that's what that was. Hugely unbecoming of either an officer or a gentleman. He told him to remove his clothing in public. He did not seek to honor, he sought to humiliate. A coward can act bravely and the brave can act cowardly.

Calling out bad behavior is not name calling.

As to the so-called uniform, is camouflage uniform? I see people wear those lots of times. So I googled and found this...

Illegal for civilians to wear military uniforms? - Topic
...BDU's are no longer official uniforms for the US Army...
...Secondly unless it has the US Army nametape, it cant be considered a Uniform...
...It's only against the law if you wear a uniform with a proper rank, patches, insignia, ribbons on it...
...As for the old BDU's... as long as it doesn't have the patches on it, it's not a uniform, and anyone can wear it. Hunting, paintball, halloween costome... whatever you want, as long as there are no insignia on it, and you're not trying to impersonate a real member of the military...
I'm not a legal expert but it looks to me like the homeless guy did nothing illegal by wearing that outfit. He might have been somewhat out of his wits, certainly out of style, but within his rights. And if that big guy really was active military then he's sort of kind of supposed to protect, not harass, right?

The only patch according to the voices on the vid on the "uniform" was an ROTC patch? lol. Not even, it was Junior ROTC? What's that represent, high school? At worst it might represent something that kids training in college might wear, not an aged homeless guy. So he wasn't exactly fooling anyone with an ROTC patch. Right? So the comments that the big guy was right are ridiculous. There was nothing right about what he did.

That "uniform" was something kids wear to paintball and the patch was something a high school kid might have his mother sew on.

And I'd take that a step further. Even if this guy was trying to scam by garnering the support of military people near the base, even if he was that down on his luck, the fact is that many of our military veterans do become homeless. So at the very worst, all this guy did was maybe collect a few extra bucks to survive on while bringing needed attention to the plight of many of our veterans.

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 8% being female. The majority are single; live in urban areas; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About 12% of the adult homeless population are veterans...
...the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night.
And I'm not saying scamming is right. But I don't even know that for a fact. Could be the only clothing the guy had. And even if it was scamming, I don't know that I'm in a position to judge someone trying to survive at that level of existence.


Last edited by housingcrashsurvivor; 04-02-2015 at 08:10 PM..
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Old 04-02-2015, 08:23 PM
 
Location: Jupiter, FL
2,006 posts, read 3,294,864 times
Reputation: 2301
Quote:
Originally Posted by housingcrashsurvivor View Post
I said his act of bullying a homeless guy was cowardice because that's what that was.
That's not what "cowardice" is.
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Old 04-02-2015, 08:45 PM
 
1,500 posts, read 3,314,197 times
Reputation: 1230
Cowardice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
...it is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge...
...As a retraction of a virtue that may be or have been required...
Cowardice - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
...fear that makes you unable to do what is right or expected : lack of courage...

So this very much was cowardice (though not in the military sense of the term--certainly nothing anyone should get shot over).

Even if the wearing of that outfit was the illegal use of a uniform--which by definition from what I've tried to look up, does not seem to be--then the courageous move would have been to call the proper authorities, not to try and make a person strip in public.

If the outfit was only made illegal by the appropriate patch--which by definition from what I've read does not seem to be--then the courageous thing to do would have been to get the guy out of traffic and maybe ask him, hey, some guys might find that patch offensive, would it be okay if I just remove that one section of that outfit which makes it a uniform so that no one is offended. That would have taken courage. That would have been a right thing to do, if it was not merely an ROTC patch which probably makes even that point moot.

So the big guy failed in a number of respects. He did not act courageously, neither in action nor even by his relative size and capabilities. He did not act courageously with regard to virtues; he did not act with the courage required of compassion for guy down on his luck. And as the homeless guy had done nothing illegal, at least not from what I can tell from what little googling I did (and feel free to correct that if you know for a fact that was a uniform illegally worn), then the big guy found himself through whatever faults of his own to be unable to do what would have been right or expected.

He violated the homeless guy against all rights and expectations. Lacking the courage to act virtuously, instead he acted for the camera at the expense of another person's dignity. Of whatever dignity was left to a homeless guy begging for money on the streets. That was not a brave act. It was the opposite. I don't know what stresses the big guy had on him. Not everyone is in their right mind. But the act as shown on that vid was both shameful and cowardly.

He owes that guy an apology. I wonder if he is brave enough to so offer.

Last edited by housingcrashsurvivor; 04-02-2015 at 09:01 PM..
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Old 04-02-2015, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Sinkholeville
1,509 posts, read 1,783,455 times
Reputation: 2354
I wish I could side with the bully against the panhandler, but I just can't.
I only saw one rude person trying to pick a fight.

I'll give to a few legitimate charities, but I won't feed panhandlers or alligators or other wildlife because it makes them dependent upon handouts and they lose their fear of people, and vote wrong.
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Old 04-02-2015, 09:37 PM
 
1,500 posts, read 3,314,197 times
Reputation: 1230

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BXxxfc4aYc
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Old 04-03-2015, 04:53 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
27,798 posts, read 32,225,846 times
Reputation: 14611
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuteTheMall View Post
I wish I could side with the bully against the panhandler, but I just can't.
I only saw one rude person trying to pick a fight.

I'll give to a few legitimate charities, but I won't feed panhandlers or alligators or other wildlife because it makes them dependent upon handouts and they lose their fear of people, and vote wrong.
yeah, the first time I watched the clip I was proud of the vet standing up for the disservice to his fellow military members.....but he went overboard by chasing the panhandler around the street.
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Old 04-03-2015, 06:53 AM
 
Location: Tampa Area
198 posts, read 222,654 times
Reputation: 155
Soldiers give their lives in conflict to protect the freedoms that 99% of Americans take for granted. They make relatively little money while serving our country and sacrifice a large portion of their prime years in life to do so. Many die or lose limbs while serving abroad. Please remember that when complementing whether the big guy handled the situation in a manner that you approve of. Those discounting how paramount our responsibility is to honor our Soldiers should spend a day in a VA hospital and see first hand the sacrifices have been made in their behalf. This biggest issue here was the disrespect to our Military Soldiers not whether the panhandler was yelled at. Shame on everyone who doesn't get it.
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Old 04-03-2015, 07:21 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
27,798 posts, read 32,225,846 times
Reputation: 14611
Quote:
Originally Posted by OccidentExpress View Post
I fail to see how an ex-mercenary for the military-industrial complex is any better than a bum who stole a uniform. They're both welfare leaches, but at least the bum didn't kill anyone.
Medics don't kill people, they save lives, heal, comfort. Military members sacrifice a lot for your welfare. You owe them gratitude. Clearly you've got some very misguided opinions. Glad to know that you're in a very small minority.
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