Ever give money to bums?

[bl0nde]

some guy at the skytrain station asked for a quarter. i only gave it to him cuz i was scared. :s

[sidekick]

why rag on the guy for giving money to a homeless person. sure, there is a chance that they could have used the money for drugs, but maybe they used it for food too.

all those people that are saying "how do you know she didn't use it for drugs?"...well, how do you know she didn't use it for food? i know a lot of people on the street are into drugs, but some of them aren't.

i try to buy food most of the time for people i see. but there was this one girl i saw on Robson street a lot who would always be reading stephen king books (my fav author) so i used to bring her books and money. i don't know where she is now though :(

not every homeless person is a heroin-shooting crack ho...just like not every raver is a pill-popping brain dead idiot.

[veN]

^ Well said :)

All of it - So very well said!

Kaaaaarma!

[mapleleaf4ever]

Originally Posted by Sidekick

not every homeless person is a heroin-shotting crack ho...just like not every raver is a pill-popping brain dead idiot.

Although the percentage is small. Us un-brain dead idiots are the trimmer portion of the Pie. Just like the Street People, the ones that are clean and only want food are fewer than the addicted. It's hard to tell when looking at them unless it's brually obvious with track marks etc.

[sidekick]

Originally Posted by mapleleaf4ever

Although the percentage is small. Us un-brain dead idiots are the trimmer portion of the Pie. Just like the Street People, the ones that are clean and only want food are fewer than the addicted. It's hard to tell when looking at them unless it's brually obvious with track marks etc.

yeah i agree that the percentage of people on the street who use drugs is probably higher than the percentage of people that don't. however, i was just trying to point out what you said - it's almost impossible to tell which is which.

so yeah, if you don't feel comfortable giving money to a homeless person, that's cool, it's your choice. but all i was saying was don't make someone feel bad because they decided they wanted to donate some money.

[Custard]

"do you have any spare change?"

"i work, i only have plastic."

[gnosis]

I never give my money away.

Occassionally, if a busker is playing some music that is worth listening to, and it's enhancing my walk down the street, I'll drop off a dubloon.

What I do is make the street people _earn_ their money.

I just leave all of my returnable bottles and cans in a bag in the alley.

The way I look at it is that I'm paying for a recycle service; I pay the deposit on the bottles when I buy them, and the street people who grab the bottles I leave get the money for returning them.

A symbiotic relationship, as it were.

Frosty
(Who needs to visit a "Third World"?)

[Anjew]

i've given bums breakfast, dinner, lunch, sometimes for two .... I give money to creative signs.
and
if i have time i'll talk to them cause most of them just wanna chat they're constantly getting looked down on...
sometimes all they want is someone to talk to.

I saw a bum on the street with his head down and almost praying ... very young guy... I gave him a hot dog and some money.

First time I ever saw an asian homeless guy I took him to Mcdonalds and told him to get whatever the hell he wanted. I then gave him my church phone number and told him that we would do everything to help him out. He ended up crying right in front of me. This guy was probobly around 19 or 20. I don't know what has happened since but you have to realize each person has their story on how they got to the point that they are at.
And like you should be taught when you are a kid. - Don't take everything for granted. SHIT happens, who knows... maybe one day one of you will be on the street and begging for food. but unforetunately people will turn you away cause they think you wanna get high.


Homeless people don't choose to be on the street. They have nowhere else to go. A lot of them DON'T do drugs. If you have the time ask them how they are doing and if they would like some food. If they say Yes then by all means get them something. You'll feel so good doing it.

[wum]

^ that's pretty cool mang

[ja_raul]

my policy on even considering giving money to a homeless person includes the following rules:
-must be on 2 feet (sitting on your ass and begging for money? i dont think so)
-must be coherent and sober (if youre already fucked up, then youre already good for the day, youre not saving up money for tomorrows fix)
-cant be persistent (if i told you no the first time, ill just ignore you the second time you ask)
-homeless person CANNOT be smoking while asking for money, i dont think i need to explain that one

otherwise, i might toss em the change that i get from my meal at mcdonalds.

am i an asshole?

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by ja_raul

my policy on even considering giving money to a homeless person includes the following rules:
-must be on 2 feet (sitting on your ass and begging for money? i dont think so)
-must be coherent and sober (if youre already fucked up, then youre already good for the day, youre not saving up money for tomorrows fix)
-cant be persistent (if i told you no the first time, ill just ignore you the second time you ask)
-homeless person CANNOT be smoking while asking for money, i dont think i need to explain that one

otherwise, i might toss em the change that i get from my meal at mcdonalds.

am i an asshole?

A lot of people make money while sitting on their asses. Why on earth does that bother you? Like the guy doesn't have enough money to feed himself; he's tired and hungry but you won't help just because he isn't standing up?

What do you do for work? Something physical, or do you do it sitting down?

[sidekick]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

A lot of people make money while sitting on their asses. Why on earth does that bother you? Like the guy doesn't have enough money to feed himself; he's tired and hungry but you won't help just because he isn't standing up?

What do you do for work? Something physical, or do you do it sitting down?

that's exactly what i was just thinking. plus, these people are probably pan-handling for hours each day. i would want to sit down at some point as well. especially if you aren't eating/drinking enough.

[ja_raul]

i dont see how what i do for a living is relevant, but if you must know, i work in construction. im going to stick by my statement because i feel that someone that is on their feet must want free money more than the guy sitting down (unless he/she unable to properly stand or walk)

[~god~]

Im sure there are tons of restaurants that would give you food if you agreed to clean for them.
how hard is it to find food?
(i'm not addressing this to the ones that are diseased.)

[~god~]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

you won't help just because he isn't standing up?

yeeeaah!? I work my ass off for the money i get. most people do. Even the people who work in offices don't just sit down and ask for free money. They work. And to get to these jobs, you need shit years of hardwork, studies, and experience.

Sure its not easy to sit and beg, but i really don't think its that hard to find a way to a decent living.

[Only_Glory]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

A lot of people make money while sitting on their asses. Why on earth does that bother you? Like the guy doesn't have enough money to feed himself; he's tired and hungry but you won't help just because he isn't standing up?

What do you do for work? Something physical, or do you do it sitting down?

i know what you are saying, but when a bum puts in an effort to get change, such as dancing or one thumb push ups they will probably get more than the other guy who is sitting down.

we as people just tend to give out money to those that stand out or actually seeming to work for money somehow. and even standing somehow shows a slight effort.

anyways extremely rare that i give out money. once when i was young and dumb, at the point where i believed bums only need money for food and there was no such thing as drugs, i felt used when i gave my money away. what happened is i gave quite a lot of change to some bum, probably around 20 seconds later i see him buying drugs infront of my eyes.
been giving away only my food ever since

[Jeaninah]

In most cases the only thing I give a homeless person is food. I'll walk into mcdonalds and buy them a big mac before I would give them $5.00.

Its shitty that some people are on the street because they're lives are taken over by/heroin/crack/whatever, and then theres some people on the street because theres nowhere else to go. And the thing that upsets me even more is that they have safe injection(and the crack smokers are asking for safe inhalation) sites, when they could be using those places for people living on the streets that have valid reasons(disabilities, broken homes, etc).

You can't just feel hateful towards someone when you don't know their story.

[acidic_liquid]

It depends for me. Sometimes I give them change, other times I go get them food, or go in somewhere with them and buy their food.

Getting a job is NOT easy. There are billions of qualified people out there that still find it hard to get jobs, imagine if you're homeless or just have nothing going for you. It's also hard to be homeless and find an organization, etc. to help turn your life around. There are too many people in need of help and not enough willing to help them.

I don't judge homeless people because I really don't know their life story. Sure, they could be junkies that ended up there because of their addiction. And even if this is true, it does not mean that they don't deserve any help. What if they ended up there because they were addicted and their families and friends decided to give up on them? What if they were raised by idiot parents and never really knew how to take care of themselves? There are endless questions you can ask.

Sidekick pretty much said what I think about the situation.

As cliché as this line is, you don't really know anything about a person until you walk a mile in their shoes.

[acidic_liquid]

Originally Posted by ~god~

Im sure there are tons of restaurants that would give you food if you agreed to clean for them.
how hard is it to find food?
(i'm not addressing this to the ones that are diseased.)

The restaurant I worked at doesn't do this. And I don't know of any who would. I think it may be against the law.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by ja_raul

i dont see how what i do for a living is relevant, but if you must know, i work in construction. im going to stick by my statement because i feel that someone that is on their feet must want free money more than the guy sitting down (unless he/she unable to properly stand or walk)

Maybe, but who cares that the guy standing wants it more? I want free money, too; I'm definitely willing to stand up to impress you if it means getting more crack. Maybe the guy sitting down is too unhealthy or too run-down to spend his entire day standing up. Maybe it's fuckin' cold sleeping outside on concrete in the winter and he's trying to keep himself warm. I don't give out money to people because they really, really want it; I try to help people who look like they need it. And they sure as hell don't have to live up to my set of expections and etiquette for the homeless before I deem them worthy of my spare change.

[Two_Six]

I give money to bums whenever they ask me and when I have change on me. It doesn't matter to me what they use it on, that $5 means nothing to me, but to the homless person it means a meal, or a fix which is stupid, but oh well. Either way the need the money more than me, so why not give it to them. The homless people that go out of their way to do something, like hold the door open/give directions/climb trees/sing I feel like they are earning their money, so I usually give them alot more.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by acidic_liquid

The restaurant I worked at doesn't do this. And I don't know of any who would. I think it may be against the law.

Despite the philanthropy of it all, I don't think that kind of publicity would appeal to customers. It wouldn't be worth it for the restaurant just to save a few bucks.

[J o e l]

I only give money to the ones that are doing something, like playing music, no matter how bad they are....if they just sit ther looking all messed up annoying me they get nothing....expecially the ones that dont believe u so they follow and tell u this whole story that you dont care to hear

[acidic_liquid]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

Despite the philanthropy of it all, I don't think that kind of publicity would appeal to customers. It wouldn't be worth it for the restaurant just to save a few bucks.

Yup this is true too. Seeing a bum at a restaurant, would definitely turn most people off from eating there.

[~god~]

Originally Posted by acidic_liquid

The restaurant I worked at doesn't do this. And I don't know of any who would. I think it may be against the law.

well you don't go to cactus club n shit. and fuck the law.

I'd go and ask 100 foreign restaurant owners for a job. I'm sure you'd find one, where you get food in return. Thats a hella good deal for them, as they don't have to pay some prick $8 an hour to do it. food doesn't cost them shit.