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Yes, Tickyul knows all.....bums know where to get the FREE grub.
That leaves them free to spend the money they get from suckers/enablers on things like booze, filtharettes, dope!!!
I just don't get the attitude from some of you. You're heartless. It must of been the way you grew up and what you were taught. Parents are the first teachers and influence the rest of our lives.
I started to think, if he is that hungry, why doesn't he use the money he got from begging to buy himself a sandwich? Why am I feeding him? I decided to keep on driving and not stop.
Before any of you jump all over me, I am not rich and we struggle ourselves just to put gas in our cars. I had some extra change and decided to treat myself to a coffee. If someone is truly starving, I'll feed him but this just rubbed me the wrong way. Would you still buy him breakfast after seeing all that?
You should have never considered it. I saw a beggar with a "Nam" vet sign he was about 30 and it was 2005. Beggars will use any means to elicit the results of taking your money. It is a full time job and pays probably better than yours and - no taxes- My complaint to you is that you considered it.
There is this one guy that limps through the middle of the street collecting money and looking pathetic. After he is done he walks away...no limp ... go figure. Want to find out the truth.. offer one of them a job... they won't accept. Most of the time they will throw food away you give them. They want beer money... go in to the quick stores and watch how many are buying beer vs food.
If you saw a supposed disabled man, in a wheel chair, wearing military fatigues, displaying an american flag at a fast food restaurant drive-thru near the 4th of July, would you buy him something to eat?
That happened to me the other day and I told him sure, what do you want? He goes "oh, just a sandwich....well umm....maybe some hash browns, some pancakes, orange juice, you know....whatever you can spare." I told him I barely have enough for my coffee but I'll get you a breakfast sandwich if you want. He goes "ok, ok, great. I'll be over there.
So I notice him asking other people in line after me and I'm thinking "how many sandwiches can this guy eat?" I get the food and I drive over to where he is supposed to be. I noticed him wheeling himself to his CAR and dumping a big coffee can full of change into the backseat to make room for more money in his can. It was 10am and his can was already full.
I started to think, if he is that hungry, why doesn't he use the money he got from begging to buy himself a sandwich? Why am I feeding him? I decided to keep on driving and not stop.
Before any of you jump all over me, I am not rich and we struggle ourselves just to put gas in our cars. I had some extra change and decided to treat myself to a coffee. If someone is truly starving, I'll feed him but this just rubbed me the wrong way. Would you still buy him breakfast after seeing all that?
This is why I give to organizations such as Disabled American Veterans. http://www.dav.org/
There are systems in place - that I support financially - that are designed to actually HELP these folks, not just give them cash for more alcohol & smokes.
Just to play devil's advocate, sometimes people have applied for these programs and are waiting for them to come through. It took something like 18 months for my SSI to come through, and during that time I did ask people for money a few times.
That said, I doubt most "disabled" panhandlers are really disabled. As someone who is disabled, I find it offensive that some able-bodied people have no problem playing disabled to get pity. That directly makes it harder for me as an ambitious disabled person every time I walk into a job interview, because then people see the image of the disabled panhandler when they see me and expect me to just sit on my @ss collecting SSI when in fact I want have my own independence and work for my income.
He could be paying his bills with the money, which would be legit. I'm sure a lot of people just give money versus buying food for him.
He could be trying to make enough for alcohol or drugs, too. Who knows. If he's paying his bills first, he's at least smart for holding down the fort.
If he's really hungry and that's it, I agree with you and wonder why he would keep panhandling if he's already got food.
That's another thing to think about. For a few months I was on food stamps because we were so broke, but my problem was always trying to buy soap and tampons. Food stamps don't cover soap and tampons, and I didn't have enough income at the time to cover those items with cash. So now if I sense that a panhandler is genuinely in need, I'll offer to run into the store with them and buy them whatever they need without always assuming they want food.
I totally agree with Dyer. It's not about the person in need, IMO, it's about my soul, my humanity, and my ability to respond with compassion. Once I give that money, it's not mine anymore. What they do with the money is between them and their soul. I don't feel any need to control the person to whom I have extended a helping hand. What they do with it is their karma.
It's not our place to judge them. Maybe they are a drug addict. But who knows what their childhood or adulthood were like? They have to evolve to a better place personally. Only they can change themselves, I can't change them by not giving them a dollar. They will just get a dollar from someone else. So why not give the benefit of the doubt?
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I told him I barely have enough for my coffee but I'll get you a breakfast sandwich if you want. He goes "ok, ok, great. I'll be over there.
