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#61
05-29-2007, 05:27 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] There's a reason why family memebers of addicts have to be counseled almost as much as the actual addict does, it's because they think they are actually helping when they give the person a place to stay or money to buy drugs. [/ QUOTE ] Pretty big difference between giving a person a place to stay and giving him spare change. The former may prevent a person from having an important realization or taking responsibility for his own life. Even addicts still have to spend some money on food. And even if it's true that any given panhandler is statistically likely to be an addict, it still isn't your place to write them all off as hopeless. [ QUOTE ] You're not helping addicts by giving them money, stop pretending you are. You would be helping them more by punching them in the face instead of giving them a dollar. [/ QUOTE ] You're not helping them by turning a cold shoulder. No one is forcing you to give money, and if you don't want to, then fine. But stop pretending like you are doing them a favor by ignoring their requests for help. So many of the standard objections people have to giving money to panhandlers- "they're going to spend it on alcohol", "they don't really need it", "none of them want food", "it would just enable them"- strike me as all-too-easy rationalizations, even if some of them are not without basis in reality. It's the kind of thing people would like to believe so that they can justify ignoring the problem or evading their own responsibility. [/ QUOTE ] You are better off giving them nothing than $1 if you are pretty certain they are a drug addict/alcoholic. Better than either of these is to give them a meal if you have the time or even new shoes or a coat depending on their need. With cash an addict will forego all else and feed his addiction. In years past I have gone as far as giving up my couch for a few nights but it was always with someone who had a desire to give up the drugs and was willing to go to AA/NA meetings etc. At the first sign of relapse they were out. 
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#62
05-29-2007, 05:32 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
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[ QUOTE ] I just got back from living in China for 6 months, and running into panhandlers over there as a white guy really sucks cause they assume your mega rich and never leave you alone. -10 points for racial profiling. [/ QUOTE ] It's true though? [/ QUOTE ] Most anti-American terroists are of Arabic descent. Therefore its okay for me to harass all Arabic people and assume they are terrorists? Yes its a fairly exaggerated example, but either it becomes a very slippery slope when we accept these things as truths.
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#63
05-29-2007, 05:32 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
First off, let me say I'm all for helping the poor and the needy. The original post about helping a woman and her dog is very nice, and I think is what helping the less fortunate is all about. The people that are down on their luck and just need some help deserve everyone's help, including mine.
What I don't agree with is giving money to people that are obviously addicts, and pretending like you're helping them. I never said I was helping them by avoiding them, that's just stupid, but what I'm not doing is hurting them. Believe it or not, in almost every major city in America it is basically impossible to go hungry. There are homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other places where the homeless can go for help. They are on the streets begging for drug money, not food money (in most cases).
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#64
05-29-2007, 05:46 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
A few years back I was approached by a bum in downtown Seattle. He asked for money and showed me a wound on his neck to elicit sympathy (a common bum trick to watch out for). I told him I wouldn't give him money, but I gave him my Subway card (back in the day when the stamps got you a free 6")
Just last week I saw the same bum downtown asking people for money. I wouldn't give him anything. What's the point of me giving him money and Subway coupons if he's not even gonna turn his life around? Total waste. And I LOVE Subway.
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#65
05-29-2007, 06:17 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
[ QUOTE ]
A few years back I was approached by a bum in downtown Seattle. He asked for money and showed me a wound on his neck to elicit sympathy (a common bum trick to watch out for). I told him I wouldn't give him money, but I gave him my Subway card (back in the day when the stamps got you a free 6") Just last week I saw the same bum downtown asking people for money. I wouldn't give him anything. What's the point of me giving him money and Subway coupons if he's not even gonna turn his life around? Total waste. And I LOVE Subway. [/ QUOTE ] Seriously, what kind of man can't parlay a 6" sandwich into a stable job and an affordable apartment?
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#67
05-29-2007, 09:16 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
A buddy of mine worked at a fancy sandwich shop in NYC. He routinely had people buy sandwiches for homeless guys, only to have the homeless guys come into the store and ask to exchange the sandwich for money. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
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#68
05-29-2007, 11:22 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
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Most anti-American terroists are of Arabic descent. Therefore its okay for me to harass all Arabic people and assume they are terrorists? Yes its a fairly exaggerated example, but either it becomes a very slippery slope when we accept these things as truths. [/ QUOTE ] I typed out a response and then realized it's way off topic. Would some one in EDGD mind creating a thread on racial profiling?
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#69
05-30-2007, 03:59 PM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
[ QUOTE ]
A buddy of mine worked at a fancy sandwich shop in NYC. He routinely had people buy sandwiches for homeless guys, only to have the homeless guys come into the store and ask to exchange the sandwich for money. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] This is why they're homeless. Hello, Business 101... You can't sell sandwiches to a sandwich maker!
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#70
05-31-2007, 05:43 AM
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Re: How my stance on panhandlers changed, if just for one day.
I live in India, and every Saturday my family organizes a lunch for about 500 homeless people. I got into arguments with my folks about how this was not the most effective method of charity, and the money would be much better spent by donating to WHO or some other charity.
But last Saturday, I actually went there to hand out food, and the personal aspect of it touched me. Seeing the smile on the face of a 5 yr old homeless kid when you hand them a mango is priceless.
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