auxilary Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 i just gave one 20 bucks. i don't know why. his sign read "please help, need a job, homeless. happy holidays". nothing about asking for money, etc. He also didn't look like a crack addict or a regular homeless bum. But more like an ex-dot commie who failed to manage his money properly and ran into too much debt. I sat there at the light thinking about how I wish i could help him out, and wound up reaching into my wallet and handing him a 20. Maybe it was holiday spirit i should feel rewarded, but I don't. I also have a twisted sense of reality where i reason he could go across the street and apply at mcdonalds, and out of necessity he COULD get somewhere if he wanted/needed to. And at the same time I wind up thinking that if I was gracious enough in holiday spirit (and this is coming from an atheist) to give him a 20.... and he sees thousands of cars pass him daily... I bet he makes a lot more money than I do, especially during xmas season. It's like k-mart blue light special for them. ah... after writing that last paragraph, i see why i don't feel justified and rewarded for helping him out, because perhaps while he may have looked innocent, he got 20 bucks from me. That's what I get for acting on "good will impulse" once in a while. Ironically, after making this donation, i get back to my cube, check yahoo news, find this: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/021226/168/2xmrx.html&e=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I've seen several news shows that have shown that beggers can make in the 6 figure range annually. I refuse to give money to anyone who is completely able to get some type of job. I'm really jaded though. But, as many of these folks have said, why work for minimum wage when they can make much more begging. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 27, 2002 Author Share Posted December 27, 2002 I am the same way, which is why i am puzzled why i gave him money. i wasn't under drug or alcohol influence, and i was in complete reason of thought. I just gave him 20 bucks. probably because this guy didn't look like he was the average panhandler who was pulling in 300/day, but maybe someone who just honestly wanted some money so he could afford to rent a hotel room to get cleaned up and go to an interview or something. maybe i'm just out of it completely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 Hey auxilary, If you gave because it was your "gut insinct" you did the right thing! There are penty of folks out there that do take advantage of things, but some really do need it! How you tell which ones do and which ones don`t, I don`t know!!! If you felt good doing it, Thats what matters! Happy Holidays to ya!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 27, 2002 Author Share Posted December 27, 2002 but that's the problem... on impulse, i thought it would be rewarding... not for personal gain or anything. after i drove off, i felt like i made a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 If you felt good doing it, Thats what matters! Ah, but would it not have felt good to use that $20 for a bouquet of flowers for the lil Woman? That gets a lot more mileage IMO. There are always guys (or gals) on the corners selling overpriced bunches of flowers out here. Sure they are overpriced, but at least its commerce, not charity!Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 Rewards don`t always come when you want them, they come when you least expect them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 Doug, Like I said, I'm very jaded, and am purely into instant gratification, but I know where you're coming from! I'm just getting very callous in my 'old age'. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 While in NYC last summer, a friend and I were discussing this same subject. When he fist moved to the city he would give at least a quarter to anyone who asked for money. He soon realized that if he kept it up he would be the one asking for money. He then told me the story of a guy that he had met at an art show opening. This guy was a professional panhandler. every morning he would get up, NOT take a shower, and put on the same clothes that he wore every day. He would then ride the train into the city and sit all afternoon with a cardboard sign and a Mcdonalds cup. The guy told him that he used to own his own business, but closed the doors just BEFORE he would have had to file for bankruptcy. At the time he could not find work, so to keep from losing his house he started panhandling. he said that if he had known there was SO much money in it, he would have skipped college, NOT started his own business, and went straight to panhandling right out of high school. "Where else can you make so much TAX FREE money and have SO little stress" I will NEVER give money to a panhandler ever again. This guy lives in a newer house than mine and drives a nicer car than mine, and the biggest decision he has to make is, What corner should I sit on today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I knew someone that claimed at a gas station, they gave some guy $5, and asked why they didn't have more success getting a job... the response was "I make more money doing this"... I dont believe every panhandler is rich and famous though, I'm sure that there are various "success stories" out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 27, 2002 Author Share Posted December 27, 2002 while i agree with you guys, and abide by the same logic, for some reason this was different. which is why i gave him money. i can't justify it, i don't know why. there are these guys on hte same corners every day i go to work. this guy i've never seen before, and i doubt i'll see next few weeks. i can't explain why i made an exception to the rule. hey, maybe karma will swing back my way or something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 Aux...LOL.. if you see the bum again ..demand your $20.00 back. Just be thankful that you are not out there begging for survival. You could have really p*****d away your $20.00 on lottery tickets instead of investing it in the local traffic of substance abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE MONEY! You should see Milwaukee, they are all over the place! I used to give whatever change I had in my pocket to these "sorry looking" people, but then I actually met one of them and started talking. He let me in on who he was and what he did for a living. This guy had a full time job, a wife, two kids, a house, 2 MERCEDES and he was college educated. People, HE BOUGHT THE MERCEDES WITH THE MONEY HE MADE PANHANDLING!!! He took me out and showed me his ride parked a few blocks away, nice car... I will never trust another one of them again, no matter how sorry they look. He told me that he met one or two out of the lot of them that was mentaly retarded and really couldn't make it in the real world. You want to know the reason he does this? He said it like this, "Because people are naive." Sorry Auxilary, chances are that you were taken advantage of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 27, 2002 Author Share Posted December 27, 2002 ok, obviously you guys didn't read what i wrote. i said i never give money for ALL OF THE REASONS YOU HAVE LISTED. and i don't feel guilty about it. but for some reason i had a compulsion to do it just this time. Not counting today, I would say that I did not give more than $5 total in my life to panhandlers. The only time I gave money was to random people that would walk up to me at a gas station - simply so i could avoid a possible conflict and just to get rid of them. I pass 4 different bums panhandling on 3 corners on my way to work. They have their territories marked, and staked out. They are in the exact same spot with the exact same sign every day, doing the exact same thing. For some reason, my gut told me this ONE particular guy was an exception. Big deal, i'm out $20. I didn't take lunch today, so I can consider breaking more than even with an extra hour of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I`m not knockin what you did. I`m sure that there are plenty of people out there that really do need some temporary help, But I personally would rather not perpetuate the problem by randomly handing out cash. Someday I too may run into someone that looks sincere and be compelled to do the same as you did. My .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 Aux, Obviously there are a lot of issues involved in giving: economics, politics and spiritual (athiest or not). The important thing is that you gave out of the kindness of your heart...that means you still have a heart. If/when you [give] you cannot put conditions on that gift or else your gift is no longer a gift. You did a good thing. I too am skeptical of beggars; however, when I am approached by beggars I always think of the Bible verse, "Whoever gives unto the least of these has given unto me" (paraphrased). Whether you believe in God or not-you still did a good thing...as far as the beggar being a liar is up to him. My decision to give to a beggar is also based on individual accounts-and my gut instinct....but once I give it is behind me. Dont second guess yourself. Good is good and bad is bad: what you did was good, so good for you As far as feeling good about giving-who knows; you did a kind act. Dont let the possibility of that beggar not being a true beggar ruin your good deed. Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 Alex, you probably gave him the money because he looks like you. You said he looked like an ex dot-commer. We always have the deepest sympathy for those that remind us of ourselves. Next time you feel like helping the disadvantaged, and want to be sure your money goes to help those who really need it, send $20 bucks to City Team in San Jose. An excellent organization that I have had personal ties with. They do more to help people in the south bay get off the streets and into a meaningful life than all other charities in that area combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted December 28, 2002 Author Share Posted December 28, 2002 thanks kevin and dan. (the following is not directed at you guys) I originally made the post to vent some dilemmas though, not to seek approval or disapproval from the hybridz family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 i used to work office jobs in some of the worst neighborhoods in san francisco. tenderloin, mission district, and financial district-not inherently bad, but as far as the homeless and crime ready to take you under very quickly-just as bad as mission and TL. i used to intermittantly give the homeless some money, but quit because i got so numb to their situation. instead, i give out food if i have any, that way i dont support their drug habit, and i can support mine. you can tell whose really in need by their response to recieving food, the fakers will just take the food and say nothing, the ones who need it will be just as thankful as if you gave them money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8dats Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 wow that was right around the corner from me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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