Tribal instincts when helping a panhandler / homeless person? (unemployment, ethic, drugs)
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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?
I never thought about that I think you may be right it might make a difference not so much for tribal reasons but because you identify with them more. I have stopped giving money to panhandlers though because I know most do not use it for what they claim, and you do not know which ones really need it and which are faking.
I have given money and rides to multiple races. Never thought about their color. People can gripe about how they'll just spend the money on bad things, but they clearly need a beer more than I do. Most of us could never imagine what it is like to be truly homeless. They might've made 100 bad decisions to get to that point, but it is still a dreadful way to live. Also consider how many have mental illnesses and were never given a fair chance to seek treatment due to the closing of mental facilities. Now they are just thrown in jail over and over while never getting the help they need. Heck, they are better fed and clothed in jail than they are on the street. I'd want to be arrested if I were completely homeless.
when the panhandler is elderly and weak, it kind of reminds you of your grandfather or grandma and I would tend to be more sympathetic to them , since they are old and their chances of survival are much harder at that age and physical condition.
but if they were young and able bodied, I would probably have less sympathy
I have given money and rides to multiple races. Never thought about their color. People can gripe about how they'll just spend the money on bad things, but they clearly need a beer more than I do. Most of us could never imagine what it is like to be truly homeless. They might've made 100 bad decisions to get to that point, but it is still a dreadful way to live. Also consider how many have mental illnesses and were never given a fair chance to seek treatment due to the closing of mental facilities. Now they are just thrown in jail over and over while never getting the help they need. Heck, they are better fed and clothed in jail than they are on the street. I'd want to be arrested if I were completely homeless.
I was also talking about panhandlers pretending to be homeless to get money. Wouldn't it be better to give to an organization who helps homeless people then to a person who may be putting on a con job?Or at least making sure you know the person really is in need?
I have serious trust issues with those people because so many of them aren't nearly as bad off as they make it seem.
Just last friday evening some lady approached me claiming she had to escape a domestic violence situation with her children and needed some food for the weekend, then she was going to some public assistance office Monday. They wer staying in a hotel with some voucher they got, but her children weren't with her. She had a big knot on the side of her face where it looked like she had been hit and was holding back tears, so I gave her the benfit of the doubt.
When we got into the grocery store so I could buy her a store gift card, she then wanted a pre-paid Visa instead so she could go to Wal Mart instead because diapers are too expensive at Albertsons, but you can only buy those with cash and I didn't have any, so she shut up and let me get her a store gift card.
Then she took that $40 gift card I bought her with my debit card and headed out the door, saying she left her bag in her car. She was walking faster than me, but I was parked near her and when I finally got by her car she had disappeared. She was a ninja or something. I peeked into her crappy car and there was no child seats or toys or tissues or anything.
I don't know if she was a grifter who does stuff like that all the time for a living or if she just figured out a way to get some cash from that gift card so she could buy drugs or what. Maybe she was just nervous or somehting, but weird experneices like that make me want to ignore needy people no matter what their race.
I refuse to give to them. Call me whatever you want because of it but enough frauds have taken over that you can't tell who's who and I don't even bother trying. No eye contact. And it's not just in this country.
I am pretty sure my wife got scammed in Colombia this new years. It was only a small amount so I just laughed and thought, how slick.
A lady came up to us with a notebook with some sob story written. She didn't say a word, just handed it to my wife so she would read. Then it had a column for names and a column as to how much to "donate". She really took the time to do it right. That page was almost full and had a few folded previousely, I'm going to assume empty. Amazing as well that the first 10 or so names and "donations" all were done in the same handwriting. Oh well! The beotch never even thanked my wife. Just took the money and walked away, to another couple who looked like they had the means to "donate"
Then there was the poor looking man with his oh so poor son in Panama, in a more well to do tourist section outside the city. Of course he had the universal sob story as well. My thought as I ignored him and pretended not to understand a word he said was that if he was really that bad off how did he get there. Every day! Taxis aren't exactly cheap to get there and on a daily bases they sure would add up, especially if you can't eat!
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 was also talking about panhandlers pretending to be homeless to get money. Wouldn't it be better to give to an organization who helps homeless people then to a person who may be putting on a con job?Or at least making sure you know the person really is in need?
sorry I totally let the panhandler term fly over my head for a moment. I don't give money to organizations since nearly all of them only make the CEOs rich and do little to actually help people. 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. Bigger battles to fight
I have done some volunteer work for a few organizations though.
Last edited by JobSeeker101; 02-24-2015 at 02:18 PM..
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Oh well! The beotch never even thanked my wife. Just took the money and walked away, to another couple who looked like they had the means to "donate"
Taxis aren't exactly cheap to get there and on a daily bases they sure would add up, especially if you can't eat!
