Street people asking for money

rgp said:
I am, so are you saying that i should remain quiet, because my opinion differs from yours ?

If you are ? Then again I disagree, as I believe all sides of an issue should be discussed .
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I wish everyone would stop picking on you for having varied opinions. You're a thinking man. It's true that whatever happens to us is a reflection of our own level of consciousness. The qualities of the heart, as compassion, evolve at different times to different souls. What I like about your opinions is your words stand as written. You stand behind your words. I admire that!
 

I do not care for panhandlers, each situation requires a judgment-are you dealing with
a truly needy person, a con man, drug head...
Judgment calls-what if I was wrong. I'm not a judge and do not like being placed
in that position.
 
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One way I deal with this is to keep zip lock bags with individually packaged granola bars, small boxes of raisins or other dried fruit, and bottles of water with me. If there’s someone holding up a sign that mentions hunger and it’s safe to pull up near them, I offer them what I have.
 
rgp said:
Your situation may be unique I stand by my opinion.
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I didn’t try to change your opinion, just said I disagreed with it. As for my situation being unique, lol, I don’t think there is anything unique about being poor. Lots of men were outside that company, my husband always got picked as he was in great shape straight out of the marines.

I think I mentioned this before on another thread. JC said the poor would always be among us, he was so right! There was one time I did not give to someone who asked for money and I felt I should have. I have always regretted not doing so and it was decades ago. It was a bad day for me, which is no excuse for my behavior.

The question is were JC and the disciples beggars? I suppose they were since they did not belong to an established church and they did not work. There is also the caution to not refuse to give since the person might be an angel in disguise. The pope has said if asked for money, by whomever, we should give.

Of course, some people who beg clearly are scamming. It’s a judgement call. In any event, I agree you are entitled to your opinion and would not have you change it.
 
jerry old said:
I do not care for panhandlers, each situation requires a judgment-are you dealing with
a truly needy person, a con man, drug head...
Judgment calls-what if I was wrong. I'm not a judge and do not like being placed
in that position.
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If you are conned out of a few bucks, what does it matter?
 
Camper6 said:
This seems to be more prevalent now than it used to be.

People holding signs asking for money.

Or just coming up to you and asking for change.

I always give something.

One day at a bus stop one person asked me for change and said he hadn't eaten all day. So I asked him if he wanted a meal. He said yes. So I had a coupon for a meal at the nearby casino and I asked him to come with me. He sat down and I called the waitress over and gave her the coupon and asked her to give him a meal up to the value of the coupon. He wanted bacon and eggs and got the full treatment. This person rides the bus and he sees me and recognizes me. There are also buskers playing guitars outside establishments and I always throw any change I might have. I'm just soft hearted. I remember my mother feeding men who would be riding the rails through the city. We had a back porch and she would sit them down and give them whatever we were having. I just feel sorry for people regardless of the circumstances.
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Unfortunately I have had a different experience with those folks. Maybe it's because I lived in Florida. A man had a sign that said "Homeless. Please help." My husband and I gave money. Then my husband offered him a manual labor job working on his crew at his painting company. He said, "Here's my card. Come by on Monday." The guy threw the card on the ground!
One day as I was leaving work for lunch, a nicely dressed lady stopped me and asked if I could give her bus fare that her purse had been stolen. I gave her $10 because I had nothing smaller in my wallet at the time. She was very polite and thanked me. Lo and behold, when I returned from lunch a little over an hour later, she had another car stopped and was pulling the same scam.
I no longer give money to street people. I buy food for our local food pantry and make my donations to local organizations that I know to be reputable.
 
It can be hard to tell a scammer from someone in need. One hint of a scammer or drug addict is when you offer them food or offer to buy them a meal & they say, "Naw, just give me some change."

Around 40 years ago, my date & I were planning to see a movie & wanted to get some snacks in a market first. As I parked, a panhandler & his girlfriend approached & asked me for some spare change for food. They both looked thin & starving. I thought they were drug addicts or alcoholics. I said I didn't have any change.
My girlfriend said she thought I wasn't showing much compassion for the less fortunate.
I told her "If I gave them money, I'd be hurting them because they would buy drugs or alcohol"
She said I was "pre-judging without knowing their situation."
I said, "OK, instead of the movie, why don't we find out....it might be interesting."

We watched them get some money from several other people, then they went into the market. My girlfriend said, "See...they're buying food."
They came out of the market with a big bag. We followed them to the side of the building. They pulled out a 6-pack of beer & a bottle of wine.
 
LindaB said:
Unfortunately I have had a different experience with those folks. Maybe it's because I lived in Florida. A man had a sign that said "Homeless. Please help." My husband and I gave money. Then my husband offered him a manual labor job working on his crew at his painting company. He said, "Here's my card. Come by on Monday." The guy threw the card on the ground!
One day as I was leaving work for lunch, a nicely dressed lady stopped me and asked if I could give her bus fare that her purse had been stolen. I gave her $10 because I had nothing smaller in my wallet at the time. She was very polite and thanked me. Lo and behold, when I returned from lunch a little over an hour later, she had another car stopped and was pulling the same scam.
I no longer give money to street people. I buy food for our local food pantry and make my donations to local organizations that I know to be reputable.
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Many panhandlers make MORE money than people working full time. No taxes, no deductions, no transportation expenses.
 
I actually agree with what everyone has said.

I’ve seen people ask for money who have been dropped off by vans. I’ve seen people who own expensive cars and bikes begging for money, and, yes, drug addicts. And men on the street asking for change.

Ive also seen mothers with children begging for money for food, diapers, etc. Men seeking work where there was none. We have all seen it all in the course of our lives. It is a judgement call, and why should I judge someone worthy of my spare buck or not, although I do, and am sorry that I do. For there but for the grace of God go I or you.

Do I get taken advantage of, yes. But I feel that I failed a person in need, once long ago. I won’t do that again. It is better to get taken advantage of a million times than miss than one person whose life you could improve if only for one second in time.

Believers are judged on their good deeds. Hopefully my good deeds will out weigh my bad deeds, but I can not be sure.
 
The ones at the bottom of freeway off ramps here are really amusing.
They work in shifts. Every few hours, they exchange signs, dogs, cigarettes & cell phones. And they even have borrowed children sitting next to them - "Compassion Factor for revenue enhancement."
People are incredibly stupid. Doesn't take a genius to think about the cost of a dog, cigarettes or a cell phone.
 
I'll shorten a long story:...........

I watched a missing person program on TV , One of those featured was a young man 19, from Arizona [i think] that just walked off. The very next day I saw what I'll swear was that same young man passing through the little town I live in. I saw him at a glance, [he looked just like the photo they posted in the program] I went around the block, ran the window down and called out his name. He heard that and turned around. I motioned him over, I said son, I don't go around telling folks what to do but .... maybe call your mom .... she's worried about you. I had some loose money, gave it too him ....... He thanked me, blessed me, and went back to his corner.

He was not panhandling , he was hitching a ride. I felt sorry for his Mom.
 
win231 said:
Well, if they're drug addicts or alcoholics, you would be hurting them.
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And there's this, too: you/we/etc. actually work/worked for what we have- why shouldn't they?!?

Anticipating somebody-or-another claiming that's 'being judgmental'- I'm one of those people who can't stand knowing someone is in need without trying to help them.. so obviously I've been conned and scammed repeatedly by individuals who have a sense of entitlement and do nothing for themselves.
 
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