Quite true friend, I hadn't given a thought to the fact that you could be helping them in other ways.Eamar said:
Poll: If a homeless person begged you for money, would you give it to them?
- Thread starter mrduckbear
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I voted before I read that they were following me so ignore one yes vote and add a no vote.
If they're sat begging then I'll give them like £1 but if they're following me I'd just walk more briskly until they leave.
If they're sat begging then I'll give them like £1 but if they're following me I'd just walk more briskly until they leave.
Yeah, I've given money to the homeless before. Though I live in a country where everyone is entitled to a welfare check apparently that doesn't prevent homeless people from scurrying around on the streets. Some time ago while I was waiting for the rain to pass I talked to a few and(while friendly) they seemed pretty far gone. Makes me sad to see their holllow eyes, black teeth and crummy faces while they babble incoherently. 
I imagine whatever their lot in life is they must have been dealt a pretty shitty hand while making all the wrong choices.
I have a good job and can miss some change and considering the only homeless people I encounter here are addicts that look like they have been drinking/snorting/injecting etc. shit for decades I have no illusion they won't run to the nearest liquor store/drug dealer as soon as they have some cash. But well if that is their only bright spot in their nightmare lives I figure who am I to judge? I hope ofcourse they use the money they accumulate to better their lives but I also realize after what looks like decades of addiction it's probably also wishful thinking at this point.
I imagine whatever their lot in life is they must have been dealt a pretty shitty hand while making all the wrong choices. I have a good job and can miss some change and considering the only homeless people I encounter here are addicts that look like they have been drinking/snorting/injecting etc. shit for decades I have no illusion they won't run to the nearest liquor store/drug dealer as soon as they have some cash. But well if that is their only bright spot in their nightmare lives I figure who am I to judge? I hope ofcourse they use the money they accumulate to better their lives but I also realize after what looks like decades of addiction it's probably also wishful thinking at this point.
Well, aside from any personal moral issues people might have with that, there's the obvious point that if a homeless person's going to get drunk/high, they're going to be doing so on the streets, in public, where they will become disruptive and possibly even dangerous. Ever been harassed and groped by a drunk homeless man, in the middle of the day and in a crowded street? I have, and I'd rather my money didn't help perpetuate that sort of behaviour.Colour Scientist said:
Then of course there's the fact that you may very well feel that you have no right to deny them whatever their poison is, but that doesn't mean you want your money going to some drug dealer. You can acknowledge someone's right to do whatever they want to their own body without being obligated to actively help them to do so, hence people choosing to help the homeless in other ways.
Highly unlikely. Most people in that situation have friends to call on, family to go to, etc to avoid being literally without a home, especially if they have a family. If they have any kind of steady income, they can rent a studio flat or some other low-cost shitty option for the interim. Most people that are homeless are homeless long-term, because...nathan-dts said:
This! The vast majority of America's homeless (over 90%, easily) are homeless because they cannot operate within society. They have crippling mental illness which prevents them from raising a family, holding a job, acting like a "normal person," and the end result of that is homelessness. Nothing will "fix" a person like that - some illnesses can have their effects lessened with specific drugs, but drugs are expensive and those people are unlikely to go to a hospital or have a doctor.nathan-dts said:
Depression is a serious mental illness as well, but it can be caught early by family members/friends (way before they're in a situation where they're completely without a home, job or money). By the time they're out on the streets, especially for years, they've either cast off all bonds they had or they're unfixable.
It's got nothing to do with what they "deserve," though. Nobody truly deserves mental illness - it's simply a flaw (or a huge variety of flaws, to be technical) in how our brains work and develop. But when someone does have it... it's not going away. Drugs and treatment are expensive, even for people with jobs - for people without jobs it'll pretty much never happen. Giving them sandwich money is effectively pissing that money away. You can feed them for a day. Someone else can feed them tomorrow. But they won't change, they won't get better. If anything, people giving them money keeps them out of shelters where professionals can help them with food, clothing and treatment.
It's a shitty scenario, but they're homeless for a reason. Nearly nobody is homeless because they're down on their luck. Some people have rough patches, but 'the homeless problem' usually isn't talking about them - it's the for-lifers that will never improve. No matter how many sandwiches you buy them.
I voted "Yes" though my answer would probably be more along the lines of No because I either would have already given them something before they would have had a chance to start harassing me or most likely I wouldn't have anything to give in the first place.
But if a homeless person was to start following me it probably would be in their favor because the first food establishment/stand/seller we came to I'd probably end up purchasing them something like a sandwich.
But if a homeless person was to start following me it probably would be in their favor because the first food establishment/stand/seller we came to I'd probably end up purchasing them something like a sandwich.
Considering the last time I stopped for someone as described in the OP, and when I handed over the only cash I had on me of £10, and they held a knife to my throat because they took it as an insult, fuck them.
I'll give money to the homeless as long as they stay the fuck out of my face and keep their distance.
I'll give money to the homeless as long as they stay the fuck out of my face and keep their distance.
No. If the guy was following me about, pestering me for change then I'd get pissed off at him.
I've got better uses for my money than to freely give it to some random person on the street who I don't know and couldn't give a shit about. In the long run it won't benefit them since chump change or not, they will still be homeless by the end of the day and it won't benefit me as I'll have wasted money which I could have used for better purposes.
I've got better uses for my money than to freely give it to some random person on the street who I don't know and couldn't give a shit about. In the long run it won't benefit them since chump change or not, they will still be homeless by the end of the day and it won't benefit me as I'll have wasted money which I could have used for better purposes.
Beggars: generally not, at least in Germany. There is absolutely no reason in this country to beg for money unless you make a conscious decision to lead your life that way or you are forced to do so through shady people.
However, I do make a point of giving money to every street musician and performer I see, as I think that their work should be appreciated regardless of individual taste or quality.
Note that my comment on beggars differs from country to country. While living in China, I actually did give money to every beggar I met.
However, I do make a point of giving money to every street musician and performer I see, as I think that their work should be appreciated regardless of individual taste or quality.
Note that my comment on beggars differs from country to country. While living in China, I actually did give money to every beggar I met.
We had a guy that was constantly begging for money and following people around.
His excuse was that he ran out of gas and that his little boy was waiting in the car and that he's in desperate need for gas.
He was shocked when I've said that his boy probably walked home by now since that same guy begged for gas on the same spot for a month. I also told him to get lost or I'll call the cops. Not a week later I went to a show that was a slight distance from where I first met him and he was still beggingI told him to get lost (again) and that the car was probably towed away by now. Maybe that worked because I've never seen the guy again.
So no. People that beg don't get money from me because they are mostly scamers and/or crooks. The ones that don't beg (hobos) are an ok bunch but people know where they usually loiter and we just give them money there. I even talked to one and he said that people like the ones described by the OP and me are hurting them because people think twice before giving them money because they think they are the same.
His excuse was that he ran out of gas and that his little boy was waiting in the car and that he's in desperate need for gas.
He was shocked when I've said that his boy probably walked home by now since that same guy begged for gas on the same spot for a month. I also told him to get lost or I'll call the cops. Not a week later I went to a show that was a slight distance from where I first met him and he was still beggingI told him to get lost (again) and that the car was probably towed away by now. Maybe that worked because I've never seen the guy again.
So no. People that beg don't get money from me because they are mostly scamers and/or crooks. The ones that don't beg (hobos) are an ok bunch but people know where they usually loiter and we just give them money there. I even talked to one and he said that people like the ones described by the OP and me are hurting them because people think twice before giving them money because they think they are the same.
wishing there was a depends option hehe..
I often do give a small bit but I mix it, for instance, lets say they are infront of a store? Ill buy my own groceries instead and then buy a sandwich/bottle of water and maybe a croissant or something.
Upon exiting the grocery store, Ill give them that and a small bit of change. Through this I feel that I 'gave' them something 'good' that they were supposed to use the money on, and a small bit of change so they have 'money' but not enough that I can say they defo used it on addiction substances if that would be the case of plan of use.
But if they'd be following and harassing me...Id personally tell them Ill call the cops if they dont stop...and Id go through with it.
I often do give a small bit but I mix it, for instance, lets say they are infront of a store? Ill buy my own groceries instead and then buy a sandwich/bottle of water and maybe a croissant or something.
Upon exiting the grocery store, Ill give them that and a small bit of change. Through this I feel that I 'gave' them something 'good' that they were supposed to use the money on, and a small bit of change so they have 'money' but not enough that I can say they defo used it on addiction substances if that would be the case of plan of use.
But if they'd be following and harassing me...Id personally tell them Ill call the cops if they dont stop...and Id go through with it.
No I don´t give to beggars. If a person asked me for money for a reasonable reason then sure, but I´m not going to toss some coins at you just because you sat your ass down in front of a store. Maybe if the beggars here were also swedes I would be less sceptical, but most beggars here are foreigners and not as in they are immigrants who lost everything but as in they are people who came here especially to beg. I have to wonder how broke you really are if you have the resources to travel across the entire continent to get here. I´m not saying they secretly live in mansions I´m sure they are pretty poor but still, you know. Trains are expensive, gas is expensive and I highly doubt anybody walked. They either commited a bunch of crimes (syphooning gas, petty theft, etc) to get here (which I doubt would stop when they got here) or they are simply looking for easy money instead of honest work and know western and northern europeans are naive to the point of stupidity.
Nope. I already give any money I have to spare to the homeless, so if I haven't given them any yet, it's because I don't have any.
It depends on how safe I feel. If it is dark and/or isolated, then I wont because handing money over puts me into knife/mugging range. If it is super crowded, then I wont, because it's a good way for pickpockets to see where your wallet is and how much you have. But if I don't feel threatened by them, then yeah I have done.
Not that I've ever been 'followed/harassed'. People have approached me asking for change, but you just say you don't have any or even that "I can't, sorry" and they leave you be. Maybe beggars in Britain are just more polite.
Not that I've ever been 'followed/harassed'. People have approached me asking for change, but you just say you don't have any or even that "I can't, sorry" and they leave you be. Maybe beggars in Britain are just more polite.
No. I would never give someone something like money to allow them to buy whatever they want with it because it just enables people to use sympathy into manipulating others feeding their habits.
A story from my youth: Some young bum asked for money from my mother and she replied by giving him a meat pie she'd just bought from the grocery store. He frowned and thanked her,, then she turned around after walking away to see him trying to pawn it off to other shoppers for money.
He wanted cash for cigarettes. She demanded an got the meat pie back.
If they don't then it's waste of charity and goodwill because it feeds into the culture of dependance.
A story from my youth: Some young bum asked for money from my mother and she replied by giving him a meat pie she'd just bought from the grocery store. He frowned and thanked her,, then she turned around after walking away to see him trying to pawn it off to other shoppers for money.
He wanted cash for cigarettes. She demanded an got the meat pie back.
Because people don't like dependent, helpless leeches. Charity greatly comes with an instinctive expectation that it is given to help that person rise up, no longer require the good will of others and will one day stand up for themselves.
If they don't then it's waste of charity and goodwill because it feeds into the culture of dependance.