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Don't just give these people money....talk to them, treat them like human beings. You'll be surprised to learn that they are just that (human beings).
Like jtur88, credit card companies, health insurance companies and other private organizations take far more money from me than any beggar would ask for.
Unfortunately in America, we have a tendency to make the scapegoats the weakest, most vulnerable members of society (it's so easy to poke fun at "bums", after all).
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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The subject of panhandlers is a toughie. Although there are those that pandhandle because they legitimately need the money, there are many who are scammers. Also, you do not know for a certain that the pandhandler will spend the money on food or booze. As a female, I'm reluctant to deal with a pandhandler as I never know if the person would try to jump me once my attention is diverted looking for change to give him/her. I guess the best thing to do is to carry non-perishable snacks if you know you will likely encounter them but that isn't always practical.
The subject of panhandlers is a toughie. Although there are those that pandhandle because they legitimately need the money, there are many who are scammers. Also, you do not know for a certain that the pandhandler will spend the money on food or booze. As a female, I'm reluctant to deal with a pandhandler as I never know if the person would try to jump me once my attention is diverted looking for change to give him/her. I guess the best thing to do is to carry non-perishable snacks if you know you will likely encounter them but that isn't always practical.
Yes, there are scammers out there, just like everything else, but I am more concerned with the real scammers of this world (Medicare fraud, for example) than some guy on the street corner looking for spare change.
I rolled down the window and gave a lady a dollar, she grabbed my wrist in a vise like grasp, then just said Thank You, and left, but it scared me. I thought perhaps she was going for my watch.
Now, if I ever give to panhandlers, I keep the window rolled up and just crack it.
Here's a little story--many years ago, when I actually had money to give, I gave a panahndler $5. Or so I thought. Then I got to the grocery store, now.where was that $50 I took out for groceries? All I have is a $5!
Here is an unbelievable story you may or may not believe. In Ottawa Canada there was this panhandler who stood on the same corner everyday. He would ask for whatever change you had. Could be a penny could be $20 did not matter, there was one person who would put a $5 bill in his tin every morning. This person would talk a few minutes with this man and then go on his way to work.
Turns out said panhandler was actually a millionaire and had chose to live the life of the streets. He was giving what he made panhandling to the local soup kitchen when he died he gave half of his money to the person who gave $5.00 every morning, the other half to the soup kitchen, it was in the local paper, they said how he had said person followed so he knew where they worked. So ya never know who it is you are giving money to.
I had a guy come up to me at the grocery store and give me this sob story about him being hungry and I was looking in my purse until I looked down and saw that he had on fresh, newly white Air Force Ones Nikes tennis shoes. And I know those are expensive because I buy them for my DH. I told him sorry I dont have any money. But sometimes I do give out of the goodness of my heart, it is a weakness.
I had a guy come up to me at the grocery store and give me this sob story about him being hungry and I was looking in my purse until I looked down and saw that he had on fresh, newly white Air Force Ones Nikes tennis shoes. And I know those are expensive because I buy them for my DH. I told him sorry I dont have any money. But sometimes I do give out of the goodness of my heart, it is a weakness.
How do you know they weren't gifted to him? I'm just saying, how can you really judge someone's need without knowing the whole story?
Actually, my response is to your first post. This post was closer.
Its one thing when you throw a buck or change and you live above that society. You walk away. You call that charity.
It is a whole 'nother ball game when you live amongst them. I've been transient. The area I live in now has got some scamming people. There is no drop a buck. You know who is hustling by name. You know what they are going for. You walk down stairs and there ya go.
You have a right not to be taken advantage of.
In Panda Land, which is, albeit, only been around for 38 years, and therefore lacking in credentials compared to Judaism, it works a different way. Everybody is.......treading water. One mistake, health wise or other, your homeless.
So, if I see a woman who has X amount of children, all of them I know, who goes to a bar and hustles drinks and drugs and food for herself and can't hold down a job, and leaves the kids with the oldest at night, I don't feel too bad about not throwing her money when she asks for it. Once her needs are met, she will start hustling for the kids. Or any 79 different scenarios when it comes down to it.
In Panda Land, we slip out and buy food and place it outside of their doors. We give them vehicles. We research crap for them because they are illiterate. We purchase books. Most of which we try to do without anyone knowing. We try to recognize what the needs are and address them and recognize our limits.
In Panda Land, we don't call that charity, we call that community. Charity is a dehumanizing word. Further, it gives one an excuse to hold leverage over another if an ego is not in check. We avoid that. By the same token, I have a right not to get played.
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I thought perhaps she was going for my watch. 
