Why I don't give anything to panhandlers.

#52
#52
f77f00 said:
Yes and sometimes they are not able to overcome whatever demons or illnesses they are dealing with.

There are resources in most cities and that can be a path back to normalcy for some people. Others are never going to seek that kind of help for a multitude of reasons.

The population runs the gamut. Not everyone grows up with traditional family stability. Some kids are not safe at home and never will be. They run and it usually doesn't end well. You have vets with mental and physical issues, women with kids, "normal" folks that end up homeless due to illness, loss of income, massive bills, what have you. Straight up junkie low-life types that are happy to take your hard earned money, etc. All kinds of folks are out there.

Not everyone is living with a safety net. Not everyone is capable of functioning in a normal society.

Help if you like. Use money to help if you want, volunteer to help if you want, or ignore them if you wish. All valid options.
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How dare you have compassion for these folks and present Christ-like understanding.
 
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#55
#55
John Stossel dressed like a homeless guy in NYC and made a funny sign asking for money. He only did it for one hour. He got $90 in that time span.
 
#57
#57
CopperHead_Vol said:
I stop and help people if they are broke down or in need from time to time. But about 5yrs ago I was driving home from work. As I exited off of I-40 at Straw Plains I saw a man sitting on a bucket panhandling right on the edge of the road at the traffic light.

I was driving my jeep with the top off and turning left which put me right beside him at the red light. He stood up as I came to a stop. I took a look at him and noticed that his entire face was heavily tattooed. The sign he was holding said "please help, cannot find work". I turned the radio down and told him he might should have considered that before tatting his entire face. Save the cost of the ink and he would have been able to make it through a job interview.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. Then he mumbled some cuss words at me, I paused and then spit tobacco between his feet, broke eye contact and drove off.

Wife said it was a dick move, but I felt ok about it overall.

Be safe,

CH_V
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gangster-rap-7.jpg
 
#60
#60
Nerd-Vol said:
How did any of your actions help his situation? It's a bit late to tell him about the tattoo issue.

I agree with your wife.
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In some cases it is not our responsibility to help rectify peopleÂ’s poor decisions. It is not like he accidentally took himself out of the public facing workforce. He was about to try and solicit money from me and I just explained my thoughts on it.

Life is about choices and those choices shape your life. Like I told my oldest son, " do not call me to pay to turn your electric back on two days after posting pictures of your new PS gaming system on Facebook".

With all that said, if I had seen this man who was panhandling broke down on the side of the road. I would have bought gas and drove it back to him to get him on his way and never said a word to him about anything.

Nerd, agreeing with my wife is a solid position. She is usually more dialed in on what current society deems acceptable. I am more old school, I do a lot for others in need but I also strongly believe in personal accountability.

CH_V
 
#61
#61
I'd say, "do a cart wheel across moving traffic and if you make it, i'll give you this one-hundo dolla bill".

Then take off.
 
#62
#62
CopperHead_Vol said:
In some cases it is not our responsibility to help rectify peopleÂ’s poor decisions. It is not like he accidentally took himself out of the public facing workforce. He was about to try and solicit money from me and I just explained my thoughts on it.

Life is about choices and those choices shape your life. Like I told my oldest son, " do not call me to pay to turn your electric back on two days after posting pictures of your new PS gaming system on Facebook".

With all that said, if I had seen this man who was panhandling broke down on the side of the road. I would have bought gas and drove it back to him to get him on his way and never said a word to him about anything.

Nerd, agreeing with my wife is a solid position. She is usually more dialed in on what current society deems acceptable. I am more old school, I do a lot for others in need but I also strongly believe in personal accountability.

CH_V
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The problem with your story isn't that you helped or didn't help the homeless fella...it's that you badgered him.
 
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#64
#64
CopperHead_Vol said:
In some cases it is not our responsibility to help rectify peopleÂ’s poor decisions. It is not like he accidentally took himself out of the public facing workforce. He was about to try and solicit money from me and I just explained my thoughts on it.

Life is about choices and those choices shape your life. Like I told my oldest son, " do not call me to pay to turn your electric back on two days after posting pictures of your new PS gaming system on Facebook".

With all that said, if I had seen this man who was panhandling broke down on the side of the road. I would have bought gas and drove it back to him to get him on his way and never said a word to him about anything.

Nerd, agreeing with my wife is a solid position. She is usually more dialed in on what current society deems acceptable. I am more old school, I do a lot for others in need but I also strongly believe in personal accountability.

CH_V
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Or you could have just said "no".
 
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#71
#71
Nerd-Vol said:
Yeah, that's my take on it. You were simply being "that guy".
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Nerd and other's... based on your responses, point taken. I do understand now that my response was uncalled for. I still do not think it is my responsibility to hand him money due to his unique self impose limitation. But I should have / could have handled it better.

Good talking with you and thanks for your insight.

Later,
 
#72
#72
There are certain people whom I'll give a little money too from time to time because we've shared the same city for a long time and their continued presence adds a touch of personality. Plus it's good to be charitable at the one on one level. You can't take it with you.
 
#73
#73
I generally will not hand out money to panhandlers (exceptions usually being around the holidays) but also try not to be judgmental either.

I think most people would be shocked to find out how widespread mental illness is in the homeless population. Many of these people are literally incapable of caring for themselves and have just been thrown out like society's garbage. It's really sad how badly we've failed as a society in dealing with mental illness.
 
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#74
#74
This is a video my wife and I saw a year or 2 ago, and we've always planned on putting this together, but we haven't yet. It's a good idea.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6fkyf9UGAE[/youtube]
 
#75
#75
Giving is better than receiving. Unless it's a sexually transmitted disease, that's no good for either party!
 
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