Tribal instincts when helping a panhandler / homeless person? (drug, suspect, dollar)

[vanguardisle]

Originally Posted by arleigh

I've never been a pan handler, but I have been on the street with nothing so , I've been there.( 18 just out of high school)
Getting a job is not easy , it's a lot like trying to get a loan at a bank .
If you haven't any money, you can't get any .
I've worked in a christian thrift store ,we collected and handed out food to the needy, and you learn those that will abuse the system and learn to deal with it.
Life is not fair, and thinking it should be is a fantasy. liberal wet dream.
One must earn respect and stay with a job and develop a good work ethic.
But that's not taught at school and rarely at home.
Some never learn it. and it's getting worse.
It's why some folks can't keep a job, and end up on the street.
We have an unstable economy as well, and part time jobs are not enough to live on, and some part time jobs don't allow people to get a second job, "conflict of interest".
Some companies( one my son worked for,) treat their employees so poorly that they do scheduling deliberately to prevent people from finding other work.
This forces people to take advantage of food stamps and welfare and unemployment insurance and the government.
And when those things are gone, those folk will die.
I'm probably wrong, but I think it's deliberate.
As to the OP,
I let God guide me how best to help some one. And that always works out best.

I see what you are saying. Some places hire people part time yet demand 100% availability from them so that they can change their hours any way the want to every week and if the employee cannot give them 100% availability their part time hours get cut even further. These companies are heartless.

[Diws]

If you give money to them, you are not helping them. You are also contributing to the polluting of public spaces.

[LS Jaun]

I'm from the S/W and I have been conned by both White and Black panhandler/con artist at about the same rate. Never been approached by a Mexican Pan handler though. Had a drunk Indian(NA) Female deficate and puke while she was in my car when I gave her a ride when I was young. Anymore, I keep my distance from all of them.

[TUMF]

Originally Posted by green papaya

when you help a panhandler or homeless person, does the person's race / ethnicity have any effect on your sympathy for them? or making a decision to try and help them out? because of tribal instinct to help a member of your ethnic group?

like if your of a certain race or ethnic background and the panhandler or homeless person looks like your cousin or from the same ethnic group does it ever cause you to be a little more friendly or have more sympathy for them to see somebody from your group in need of assistance?

A few years back I was living in Tampa. I went to a Men's Group from my church every Monday night. When I didn't go, I felt as if my week was ruined.

One Monday, on my way to that outing, I stopped as I often did, to pick up a drive thru order at that Golden Arches place.... As I pulled out of their parking lot, there was an guy who looked like he hadn't showered in weeks, holding a sign, and looking like his last meal was about the time he last showered.

I pulled up next to him, told him that I'd pray for him, and handed him the food that I had bought for me t eat. (By the way, when I ordered that, it was the last of the cash I had with me and I had left my debit and credit cards at home in error.)

I handed him that food and drink, at which point he looked disgusted, and threw the bag and the drink on the ground, told me what he thought about my God, and walked away.

I was shocked by his actions and, had I not been a Christian man, would have gotten out of my car and beat him to no end, just for being so ungrateful.

From that day on, I know longer give to panhandlers looking for or asking for money or something to eat. I donate money to local food banks, and supply much of my used clothes to charity.

I never did any of that because they looked like my Uncle Bill or Aunt Rose, I did it because they were human beings that appeared to need a helping hand.

I continued to go to my men's group meeting without eating - but another guy from that group had picked up several pizzas and I was able to enjoy a slice or two that night... not that I needed it... lol

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by JobSeeker101

I'd rather see the face of the person I am helping. I'm pretty good at telling the difference of if they're genuine, but it isn't a huge deal either way.

Ummm... It may not be a huge deal to you, but realize we all end up paying for the healthcare costs of homeless addicts. It's not fair for you to go around enabling desperate people, even accidentally, unless you're also willing to pay their hospital bills. But at least it massages your ego, right?

[Lodestar]

I will offer help to anyone by way of references and volunteer work but I haven't given any money to anyone in a long, long time. A person's racial appearance has no affect on my willingness to do those things.

I'm of northern European descent and I have to admit that I think more harshly of people who look like me who are on the street begging. Argh. No getting around it that you can twist that into any number of racialist thoughts.

[JobSeeker101]

Originally Posted by mkarch

Ummm... It may not be a huge deal to you, but realize we all end up paying for the healthcare costs of homeless addicts. It's not fair for you to go around enabling desperate people, even accidentally, unless you're also willing to pay their hospital bills. But at least it massages your ego, right?

It is zero of your business what I do with my money. Obesity costs 200 billion in health care a year because 90% of obese people are too lazy or gluttonous to change. I say the extremely smaller amount to keep a homeless person alive is plenty more important. Might wanna make sure your closet is clean before you go around critiquing others. People these days... everyone wants to have some little agenda to whine about.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by JobSeeker101

It is zero of your business what I do with my money. Obesity costs 200 billion in health care a year because 90% of obese people are too lazy or gluttonous to change. I say the extremely smaller amount to keep a homeless person alive is plenty more important. Might wanna make sure your closet is clean before you go around critiquing others. People these days... everyone wants to have some little agenda to whine about.

This is a bit like walking up to an unknown house and crapping on their doorstep. I'm sure it made you feel good but someone else is undoubtedly going to have to clean up your mess.

It may not be my business if it's not my house, but someone is still getting the shaft.

[JobSeeker101]

Originally Posted by mkarch

This is a bit like walking up to an unknown house and crapping on their doorstep. I'm sure it made you feel good but someone else is undoubtedly going to have to clean up your mess.

My mess? Right. Get a grip. Take a walk around these places. Talk to one of these people. It is quite obvious that you could never possibly understand what their lives have been like. If pretending all homeless people are terrible people and leaches on the economy helps you feel better, then have it. Just know you aren't living in reality or addressing the much bigger issues in this country and most likely in your own life.

[ABQConvict]

I had a White girlfriend who told me she would never give money to a White panhandler because she felt more guilt or responsibility for the misfortune of minorities.

Then I know a Navajo who just ignores non-Navajo panhandlers but literally flips out when a Navajo panhandler asks him for money. I mean he flips out, yells, and curses at them.