Do you give money to pan handlers/beggars?

I agree with you to an extent. You're right about giving money to a charity knowing it will be used for good. But if you have a few extra bucks you can spare, give it to them. I normally try to avoid them b/c I don't want to deal with them. I think your g/f went overboard though with saying if drugs or drinks make them happy then who cares. Drugs and Drinks don't make them happy, they only drown away what pain and problems they have for a temporary amount of time.

 

I'm both ways on this issue....If you don't give them $$, they'll consider getting money by means of violence (car jacking, etc...). However, I do encourage the city governments to give them a place to live and they can work by improving/cleaning up the city.

In addition though, most of the homeless ppl are mentally unstable. Those ones I really have no solution as to what should be done with them.

 

If I gave my answer here everybody would call me a Nazi.

 

First, you're right, give it to charity
Second, get a new girlfriend

I remember a few years ago reading in the paper how someone who worker for the paper statred in NE Indy and walked about half way downtown in one day and made about $400 dress up like a homeless person asking for money. Don;t know how common this is, but if it's true they aren't doing too bad and they're wasting alot of it somewhere. Or maybe they drive MB's and are looking ofr an easy buck, I don't know.

But, give it to the church, homeless shelters, food banks, ect. and you can't go wrong

 

give them a single serving pack of "People-Chow".

 

Any time I have change in my pocket, they get it. It is meaningless to me, but it could mean a great deal to them. While I will admit that there are homeless people out there that will use the money to buy some beer, drugs or scope, there are also just as many who will use it to help themselves. I am not going to judge nor stop giving to them based on the actions of a few.

I am an incredibly fortunate person, I have a wonderful life, and these people have nothing and often times have caught bad breaks through no fault of their own. I cannot, in good concience, walk past these people and act as if they don't exist, or make assumptions about their intentions. I don't worry about what they do with it, if it makes their sad lives easier to deal with, I am glad to help.

 

Ask one of those guys by the freeway holding a "Will work for food" sign to hop in your car, come back to your house and mow your lawn.

Guess what? They'll become a vapor trail headed away from your car every time. SURPISE!

DL

 

It's always sad to see someone resort to begging to support an addiction.....

no, it's not photochop...... can you name the FChatter?
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You need to hit those beggars with a carbon fibre stick.

 

I will not give any money to anyone. I will buy them a Cheeseburger if they are starving but they can make something happen and get off their ass and get a job. I used to hand out employment guides to the people that where begging for money here in the Greensboro NC area. I actually got a Bullsh*t ticket from a cop for disturbing the peace. I took it to the city hall though and got it turned around and the cop was put on probation for a week.

 

I never have. My dad doesnt give money to them, but the one time he thought about it was a guy holding a sign that said "Why lie, I need a beer."

 

You have never been homeless have you? Why don't you tell me how easy it is to get a job when you are? It seems as if you have it all figured out You sound really ****ing cool, handing out employment guides to the less fortunate, that's a class act if I have ever seen one.

 

EN-OH, NO! NEVER! If they are mental cases, I pay the taxes to help them. If they are hungry, there are plenty of food / meal programs in just about every community that will feed them. If they want money that bad, they can get a friggen job. Hell, poor Mexicans hang on the street corners to be picked up to do an honest days work, why can't these bums that are on the streets begging do the same? Ever been panhandled by a Mexican? I have yet to.

I will go out of my way to help a homeless woman with a child, i.e.: Help them find shelter and donate to centers that care for them.

 

Great post Peter.

I always give money to old homeless ladies, even if they do not ask.
It really pisses me off that we live in a society where we are unable to provide dignity to the elderly who have fallen on hard times.

I will never give money to a guy who is able to stand and has two
hands.

 

It's obvious that this owning a Ferrari business has gone straight to some of your heads. I think that assuming that all homeless people are lazy is rediculous. Not all of them are crazy, not all are junkies. Believe it or not, some pan handlers have been completely screwed in life- plain and simple. Not all of them can just get jobs, either. I don't want to be mistaken for some idealistic human rights activist, becuase this is surely not the case. I don't think handing money to people will ultimately change anything, but that is a subjective matter i suppose. The most positive thing any of us can do is look one of those people in the eye and acknowledge them as a human being. If you can't do that, then you are the bum.

 

I'll look them in the eye and acknowledge them as a human being........Then I'll tell them to get a fvcking job!

PS: When I go to a large city (SF, LA, Etc), I will print some small flyers, about the size of a dollar that reads "GET A JOB". When they ask for money, I pull out my wallet and hand them one.

 

That's nice of you, you're a class ****ing act all the way. I would love to be around when you did that.

 

Do what you want with your own money. Give it ALL away and post with conviction how much of a humanitarian you are. Better yet, walk down the Third Street Promenade and have someone stick their hand in your face every ten feet. Someone who is fed and (in some cases) housed by the city and wouldn't take a pay cut by working!

In any case, what Peter does (or doesn't do) is his business and no one else's. Your attitude is BS!

DL

 

Your clearly a classy guy.

 

What's with the attitude? It's Peter's money, and you're getting pissed because he refuses to be extorted out of it? What kind of entitlement mentality is hiding behind the oh-so-righteous anger?

 

Why Tillman, what big teeth you have!!!!!!!

DL

 

Whenever I donate I like to make sure it's trully going to what it is intended for. If a guy needed some money for something to eat for example, I'd say, "sure let me buy it for you," and I would. I have a hard time if I'm given a line and the money is not used for said purpose.

 

Well, first of all, where I live, the law enforcement swoops down on them, tells them to get out or they get transported out. The prim and proper elites in the various HOA's and city council's try to 'discourage' the 'unsightlyness' of beggars on the corners. When I'm downtown, its just part of city life.

There's a place downtown run by people who donate their time and efforts to feed, cloth, shelter the homeless and in some cases get them back on their feet. If they turn down or don't take any interest in the information I've relayed, they must be "career beggars". They're just not at the level to rob a quick mart.

 

Yeah, I'm a regular E-thug

Seriously, I work in a downtown area and see the same guys begging year after year. It's a job for them, and I just don't buy the homeless schtick any longer.