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Beggars!
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Beggars! |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration 
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I fully understand that there are people in this world who've had a bad time of it, bad luck, bad timing, physical, mental, emotional problems, etc. BUT! I've had it up to "HERE" with seeing someone ride his bike up to a street corner, place it on a nearby grassy area, run across the crosswalk to the center divide, then hold up a sign and START LIMPING LIKE A LAME DOG!  It seems our street corners have become crowded with the graduates of Begging 101. Each one of them has the same stance, the same half-smile that refuses to look you directly in the eye, the identical limp that makes it look like they're trying really hard to be strong and deal. with. the. pain. *awww* Of course, as soon as some putz sticks a hand out the window, they have no problem rushing up to the car and taking the money - the limp seems to disappear for a moment somehow. amazing. last weekend, i saw a guy with a sign: "I'll be honest - I need a beer." People handed him money too. It's irritating. I think, though, that this week i'm going to grab a bunch of applications from various places, and start handing them out. if someone can stand on a street corner all day, they can work. Grrr. Ok. I'm done. |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
McDonald's gift certificates are good too. In fact, if the person really needs assistance, a list of social services and quarter to make a phone call would be good. What I don't like is when they drag their kids or their animals to the street corner...especially in the summer when the temperature reaches 200 degrees! Beggars have been a part of our culture forever - I don't think there will ever be a way to get rid of them. Just let them have their place on the corner and be glad they don't come knocking on your door.  |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
It's not the begging, methinks, but the LYING... |
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Jeffrey E. Osborne Member
since 2001-11-01
Posts 160out there |
I agree.. begging is bad enough but lying about it is the lowest! I had a bum walk up to me in New Orleans and ask me for a dollar - I asked him what he planned on doing with it. He gave me a big goofy grin and said "What do you think I'm going to do? I'm buying a beer with it!" Much to my wife's frustration, I gave him a buck, but as I explained to her - it was the first and only time someone had enough "cajones" to tell me the truth and not BS me.  The guys I hate are the ones that stand outside all day with the "Will work for food" signs. If you can stand outside and hold a sign all day, you can stand inside in the unemployment line! |
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doreen peri Member Elite
since 1999-05-25
Posts 3812Virginia |
please please please.... could you paraphrase all that for me??? oh god!!!! i'm TRYING so hard to understand.... please ok? please???????? post some kind of explanation of all this... i'm lost..... god i hate to beg but i would get on my knees this moment just to be able to figure this out..... what? i didn't READ it?? you're KIDDING!! oh god i wish i could understand this but i do know that i'm SICK and frigging tired (is it ok to say "frigging" here? hehe....) of the begging myself... i HATE it when people beg me!!! and it happens all too often..... i mean what IS this??? a goddamm stage for pleaing? PLEASE, don't PLEA ON ME!! *wink i beg of you!! and tell that lady of yers to email me when she gets a chance, not that i don't want you to, too, you're perfectly welcome and i would love the repartee but i need to talk to somebody.... hopefully young and beautiful..... who will tell me to pack it up and get lost.... hehe... and i think you're girl might be my ticket to all that.... awwww hell, i'm rambling.... too much pinot grigio again.... and TONIGHT??? i didn't have to beg for a sky or anything!!!! it was beautiful in the state of vifginia.. virginia is for lovers, you know. *wink.... they made it a slogan because it's true but i will NOT beg you to believe it beLEIVE me!!!!! *smooch*hugs*allthat* throw me your words like a treat and i will sit on haunches waiting for the beauty of wisdom from your mouth, touched like north announcing south, east announcing west, while the best we can guess is the blessings of poets meeting...... nothing in the greeting of a soul can e'er be told by the repeating of verse that touches Time with a world of wonder, the thunder clapping friendships down under beneath the chest where peace rests ........ ...the most you can ever expect is a sincere apology and some decent poetry...... [This message has been edited by doreen peri (04-25-2002 12:54 AM).] |
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doreen peri Member Elite
since 1999-05-25
Posts 3812Virginia |
btw..... i give them all a dollar, a quarter, three dimes, a nickel, or a combination of all that..... and a smile trusting in the fact that it just COULD be possible that they are HONEST and need it...... i live to believe..... in the honesty of human nature........ but i'm older than you... and my trust in Honesty has been jaded..... so i have no choice now but to believe...... and let the liars fall on their own accord.... can't judge..... no jury here...... i just reach into my pockets and give them whatever i can without trying to figure it out becuase when it comes down to it, all Truths become self evident with Time if they lie? eventually, all will know... what's fifty cents for a halo? |
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catalinamoon
since 2000-06-03
Posts 9543The Shores of Alone |
I think sometimes people may stand there all day cause they have no choice. It i not always so posible to stand in unemployment, at least not to make anything successful happen. I have also been trying to accept people more, if they have a problem, and I can be kind without too much of a problem, why not On the oher hand, the lying is obnoxious, and I think if I had any moey, I woud be more likely to give it to the guy who said I need a beer, honestly. When I livd in San Diego, and went to Mexico frequentl, th problem is 100 times worse there. From the border to the beaches. You probably lready know hat, Christopher. It made me stop going to Mexico, anyay, as I could not bear to see the women with kids stapped all over their body, begging for money. (As a side note I would at this point rather see my son in law stand on the street and ask for money, than COMPLETELY ignore the needs of his children..sigh) Thans for the thoughts. Sandra |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
Moving back to the big city after a few years away was a real eye-opener. *S* I was coming out of the bank after opening an account with that first, desperately needed paycheck when I was waylaid by a woman who had on better clothes than I did. It wasn't the fact that she asked for money that shocked me so... it was the amount!!! Forget wanting spare change... she wanted $100!!! She said she was "trying to help herself"... yup, to MY money. *G* I went back to the office just shaking my head... Dorothy certainly wasn't in Kansas anymore. *G* On the flip side... my boss and I were leaving a sandwich shop when we encountered the inevitable panhandler... walking downtown is running a gauntlet of outstretched hands. *S* This guy said he wanted money for food... and our first thought was "Yeah, right." But my boss gave him what is her standard reply: "I won't give you money, but I'll buy you something to eat." Now, 9 times out of 10, she receives a glare cause food isn't what they're after. But this guy just lit up as he said "Ma'am, I'd be most grateful." So back into the sandwich shop we went... and I'm afraid I left with tears in my eyes from the gratitude in his as he gulped his food. Some people need the help... to others, begging IS their job! |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
adn that's why i'm split on the issue. those standing on the street corners here - they're full of it. i would swear they all go to the same school - they stand the same, look the same, walk (limp) the same, etc. had an experience a few months ago in San Fran, where, upon coming out of a restaurant, there was a panhandler with a sign that said: "Starving Vet. Anything will help." So, i offered him my take out (i had a bad hangover and hadn't touched my breakfast) to which he responded with several colorful curses as he moved away. if somone can stand on a street corner all day, i honestly beleive they can find work. the jobs are out there. they may not be glamourous, but they pay money. i've been in tough places in my life where i had next to nothing. a day in the unemployment line, or several phone calls to Labor Agencies, and virtually anyone can have a job. There are all over the place here places where tehy will hire you on a day-by-day basis, paying cash at the end of the day. it's not much, and it's not permanent - but it CAN help you get back on your feet. it's not lack of opportunity keeping most of these people on the street, it's laziness. for those who don't have the ability to work - in the US we have government assisted programs, which i pay good money that i earn every week to support. those, i have little issue with - however, if you're dragging 'cause you're lazy, too bad. starve. |
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Moon Dust
since 1999-06-11
Posts 2177Skelmersdale, UK |
not always as simple as that but I suppose I don't live there neway don't forget some people cant get jobs so easy because of discrimination and not all r lazy I'm wise enough now not to let cool get to me. |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
The discrimination issue is basically in their heads. More often than not, it's going to be a drug abuse issue (and yes, alcohol is a drug). There have been very few of the downtrodden who were actually wanting food in their stomach, not up their arm. And yeah, I guess you could call not wanting to hire someone that stank to high heavens discrimination. I call it lack of common sense. If you really want a job, you normally don't play in a midden first. But I digress. Some of the panhandlers can be quite inventive though...like selling free adsheets, like the SuperShopper: a dollar, paper not change. Alicat |
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Lady In White
since 2001-02-12
Posts 2799USA |
"if som[e]one can stand" then they don't need my handout. What they are liable to get is a bit of ear, a good shoulder if in deep straits, and a bit of advice. But no money. Do I give directly to charities? Yes, those of my choosing. What do I give most? Actions by way of example. Just my two cents to pay for the good read...[Christopher, I would honestly give more if I thought you would take it, but after reading this, I don't think you would...  ][This message has been edited by Lady In White (04-26-2002 12:19 PM).] |
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RosePetal
since 2001-08-26
Posts 2985South Florida |
i hear you chris! this guy was in the middle of the intersection in a wheelchair with a sign that said "handicapped man needs help" Against my better judgement i gave him a dollar and he said god bless you. Later that evening I was drying by again, and damn a miracle must have happened because he got up out of the wheelchair, walked perfectly around the corner (and i followed him) and he folded up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk of his rolls royce!! CAN U BELIEVE THAT? what a scammer! Begging for money and the man was filthy rich already. |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
moondust - you're right, it's not as simple as that... if only because of all the 'bleeding hearts' (and i use that tongue-in-cheek) who make it their business to 'help' those in need. the reason i put the word 'help' in quotes is because a lot of times what ends up happening isn't that the people are helped, but rather, hurt by the actions of the very people trying to save them. terry goodkind, for all his failings as a writer, has come up with some damn sensical morals in his books - one, which is appropriate here, is the one that likens 'helping' people out [who are homeless, poor, beggars, etc.] to allowing someone who's broken their leg to remain in bed while you cater to their every need. if you feed the person with a broken leg, wash them, care for them, that's ok. but there has to come a point where you start having them do things for themselves, or their legs will atrophy, and there will be no need/desire for them to get up and get better. in the long run you end up hurting them far more than you helped. and i'm with Ali on the discrimination issue. not to deny the existence of such, but for the most part (in this country at least, unable to talk about others) discrimination has turned from being a real issue to being an excuse in many cases. again, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but the discriminators are now the people who think they're constantly disciminated against. my op is that a lazy person works a lot harder to find ways not to work than s/he would if they were just to work - making excuses is a favorite pasttime of people like this. if you can convice yourself (or others) that you can't get a job because: you don't have a car, are discriminated against, hurt your ankle five years ago, whatever, then you can justify not working. it's sad, really, and i've seen far too much of it to suit me. lady in white - feel free to comment as much as you'd like. i'll take any words you care to share! (oh, and thanks for pointing out my typo!  )rosepetal - i've heard stories like that... i have to admit that i am somewhat skeptical about them, as they seem along the lines of the typical urban legend stock. still, every lie has some truth at its foundation. |
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