Among Friends

[Isobel Archer]

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@proudlyfromNJ wrote:

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

What is the difference if a panhandler - has a car/jewelry/an iphone/wears makeup, cologne or has a manicure etc. etc. etc. and someone who does the same going to a food bank, using food stamps, getting welfare, public housing etc. etc.?

Just curious.

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@Isobel Archer . First example doesn’t seem as though they would need to beg. Second example, I have no clue if this gives a person a decent living or not. I would assume not as I have seen the inside of some of the public housing in NYC and it isn’t fit for a family of rats. 

JMO as I have no other knowledge of panhandlers as I have never seen one around where I am.

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Not quite understanding your answer.  Are you saying that if someone is getting a lot of help - e.g., food stamps, welfare, public housing, etc., then it's not OK to judge if they have an iphone - but if they are just asking for enough to buy food, then they should sell their phone first before they ask for help?

[Isobel Archer]

Really not trying to trick anyone with my question.

It just seems to me that when people are personally asked for money or help, suddenly the person asking is subject to much more scrutiny and judgment that the same people often would consider reasonable for people who are receiving government or nonprofit benefits.  

In the latter case, any suggestion of fraud or using the money for drugs, or not providing properly for their children etc etc. is immediately branded as hateful and the suggestion that ongoing recepients should be monitored for any of the above is beyond the pale.  But panhandlers - well we see how they have been characterized on this thread.

[dex]

@Isobel Archer @Taking from the needy is greedy..no matter where you do it.I think some people who receive assistance could make it on their own if they learned how to to live with less expensive choices.

[scatcat]

It makes people feel good about themselves to give. They are “doing the right thing”.

Google Joel Osteen’s house. And the properties in the Vatican City.  It can be very beneficial to ask for money 

[Rockycoast]

No, I do not give to beggars/homeless people directly. I give to the organizations that help these people. That is a better way to help them. Plus I know what my money is going towards. 9 times out of 10 the people you see pan handling will not use it for the reason that states on their sign they are holding. Dont give to people directly.

[aggravated]

On my way to and from work every day and if I venture out in the car during lunch hours.  Folks with signs at every single intersection with an island in the center and a stoplight - left turn lane.  Every single one.  Same people at the same interestions in some places - approaching it like a job, I guess, but not a job.

[Q4u]

Years ago back in So. Calif where we used to live, DH and I would get around town for garage sales, often going to many areas.  In one area, we noticed men begging for money carrying hand made signs that were very unique even though the men more or less looked the same.  

We did this for our Antique business so we went all over the city.  One Saturday I noticed what seemed to be the same sign being carried that I noticed the last week we were out.  It was then that I noticed the men and more of the signs and dang if they weren't in another area we happened to be carrying the same signs a week after that.  Not the same men however but the same signs.  I had one of those feelings that something else was going on.... Quite a long time after that I heard on the news that a professional group of beggars was broken up.  Apparently they were organized, made signs, dressed appropriately, brought their donations to a central area and everyone shared in the money.  The signs that I noticed were being passed out (to whomever at the start of their day and why I saw different men with the sign I initially noticed)....    

Just bringing this to the conversation because it IS hard not to feel badly and think how easy it is to get behind the eight ball and want to help, but it's also very easy to manipulate and make people feel something that may not be true.  Donations can be easily made to reputable charities and churches who have the means and resources to truly help those who need it.  

[sabatini]

When we recently visited Italy, there were gypsies begging in many areas.
Some women sat on the ground, each holding a sleeping child in their laps - some kids looked as old as 8 or 9.
A local guide told us that it's common for them to drug the children in order to have them sleep while they begged.
One man we saw was lying on the ground w/ his legs bandaged & begged pathetically as we boarded a bus.
As the bus pulled away, he jumped up (energetically) to walk over to the next bus stop.

[lovesrecess]

It is dangerous for panhandlers to be anywhere near an offramp or an onramp....we have them here standing at major intersections; they get run off and are back in a few days....as long as people give them money, they aren’t going anywhere. Many of them in our area are “professionals”. One woman works a grocery store parking lot MWF and the other days works the Walmart....inside and outside...always the same story “ my grand baby is sick and I need gas money to take him to the hospital”. If you offer to call 911 or to drive them yourself, she swears at you like a maniac and runs away...to take care of her fictional grand baby...who should be about 12 years old by now...Give them the address of a local church or the Salvation Army...not money.

[esmerelda]

Have I ever ...?

No. I have not. 

There are plenty of services and plenty of people other than me to point them out to anyone in need. 

There was a story in the local paper a couple of years ago about a guy at the ramp out of Walmart...his story, etc.  Prople were supportive.  The next time I saw anything about him it was that he was in jail...drugs or theft. I don’t remember.  Does it matter?

IMO time spent begging would be better spent looking for a job or at social services applying for help.