Get a job, ya fricken hobo!

[UfarkTheRipe]

Have you ever panhandled?

• If yes, why and how did it feel and did you make a lot?
• If no, would you ever and what would bring you to it?

Bear in mind I'm not talking about asking for money from family, friends, or coworkers. I'm talking about total strangers.

 

[Hawkeye]

No because I don't believe in begging when I'm perfectly capable of doing things.

If I need money, I'll fecking earn it.

 

[GodOfOrder]

I have considered busking before. It seems like it would be fun, however begging just seems disgraceful.

 

[r4ch3l]

I consider stripping to be slutty busking, so I answered yes.
Also, I used to give out dollar bills to every hobo that asked back when I danced because dollar karma.

 

[Duxwing]

I needed a few dollars for a subway ticket. This very nice woman gave me the money and said that she understood because she had children of her own; I thanked her, bought the ticket, and felt terribly guilty thereafter. I still want to give her a proper thank-you for her aid.

-Duxwing

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Why beg when you can steal? (Let's kick it up an ethical notch ).

 

[TimeAsylums]

I needed a few dollars for a subway ticket. This very nice woman gave me the money and said that she understood because she had children of her own; I thanked her, bought the ticket, and felt terribly guilty thereafter. I still want to give her a proper thank-you for her aid.

-Duxwing

:O Matthew?!?

Why beg when you can steal? (Let's kick it up an ethical notch ).

Why steal when you can...counterfeit?

 

[Pyropyro]

:O Matthew?!?




Why steal when you can...counterfeit?

Why counterfeit when you can be a politician?

 

[Pyropyro]

Have you ever panhandled?

• If yes, why and how did it feel and did you make a lot?
• If no, would you ever and what would bring you to it?

Bear in mind I'm not talking about asking for money from family, friends, or coworkers. I'm talking about total strangers.

No, it's kind of dishonorable especially if you're capable of doing something. I also consider busking as a legitimate means of providing service (in the form of entertainment) so it's not technically begging.

 

[Cherry Cola]

No, it's kind of dishonorable especially if you're capable of doing something. I also consider busking as a legitimate means of providing service (in the form of entertainment) so it's not technically begging.

I think a lot of people also enjoy how it gives them temporary control over another person and his fate, and eases their conscience.

But I think its a lot funnier to throw huge chunks of bread to birds and watch them go bonkers and start fighting over it : D

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Have you ever panhandled?

[*]If no, would you ever and what would bring you to it?

Nope. My inner survivalist tends to kick in and I pursue work that tends to be unconventional.

Why steal when you can...counterfeit?

Why counterfeit when you can count cards?

Why counterfeit when you can be a politician?

Ask Anthony Weiner.

 

[Cavallier]

I've always managed to scrape together a job. Living in a rural community actually helps as farmers and ranchers are always looking for manual laborers. They along with manufacturing plants will usually take a chance on anybody regardless of race, creed, or criminal background.

I spent one summer during college picking dirt clods out from potatoes because all of my other job leads had fallen through.

 

[Pyropyro]

Ask Anthony Weiner.

Well, he didn't expect the head of state to pop in

 

[Pyropyro]

I think a lot of people also enjoy how it gives them temporary control over another person and his fate, and eases their conscience.

Yeah, it's a sort of morality and guilt wanking on the giver's part.

But I think its a lot funnier to throw huge chunks of bread to birds and watch them go bonkers and start fighting over it : D

You should really watch pigs when it's feeding time. It gets really messy really fast.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I can imagine, but with birds they can do them midair battles which is awesome, you just throw up a huge chunk of loaf into the air and then they start tackling each other and even though the bread gets dropped several times it never hits the ground!

Now I sound like a meanie... I also look for weakened individuals and feed those specifically. But thats evil towards the species in question at large, fucking with Darwin and all.

 

[Pyropyro]

I can imagine, but with birds they can do them midair battles which is awesome, you just throw up a huge chunk of loaf into the air and then they start tackling each other and even though the bread gets dropped several times it never hits the ground!

Now I sound like a meanie... I also look for weakened individual and feed those specifically. But thats evil towards the species in question at large, fucking with Darwin and all.

Avian dogfights I would like to watch that! Unfortunately, we don't have "wild" pigeons here. They're usually bred for meat or some sort of pet. I don't think they will want me messing with their birds.

It depends on the context. If said individual is simply down and out and just needs some boost to get back on track then it's beneficial to us. However, if the same person just want to be a parasite and use the money for booze then that's another story. The problem is, we can't see which one is which...

 

[doncarlzone]

I can imagine, but with birds they can do them midair battles which is awesome, you just throw up a huge chunk of loaf into the air and then they start tackling each other and even though the bread gets dropped several times it never hits the ground!

Now I sound like a meanie... I also look for weakened individuals and feed those specifically. But thats evil towards the species in question at large, fucking with Darwin and all.

You heartless bastard!

I used to have this ignorant approach when I was younger, where I would never give anything on the street because in an ideal world such behavior should be discouraged, leaving the government and my tax money with the ultimate responsibility.

I should perhaps add that I grew up in Scandinavia, in one of the most equal countries in the world, however, I do realize today that I was doing nothing but stroking my own ego.

 

[MissQuote]

When I was a young teenager, 13 and 14, I was homeless for a while. (Runaway. I was actually homeless for a much larger portion of my teens, just not literally under a bridge homeless like during that time).

I survived by panhandling (begging) and mild stealing (shoplifting food and other necessaries, stealing recycling I could turn in for cash from peoples porches)


How I feel about it is that I was fourteen living on the streets and I did what I must.

I wouldn't do those things now. I am an adult and capable of meeting my needs, and the needs of those dependent on me, by many other means.

 

[Lot]

I don't think I could ever ask a stranger for money. It would be too hard.

I never give money to homeless people. I'll give them food, water, or cigarettes. There are so many tweekers and heroin addicts in Phoenix. I agree with their right to do the drugs, but I don't agree with their decision to do them. And you can tell the difference pretty easy here. Who is legit and who is just a druggy. But I still will give the druggies food if I can. The legit people are usually crazy, though, and don't usually want help. They just want attention.

I hate people trying to force my emotions to feel. I hated it in church when they would play soft uplifting music when the pastor prayed, and I hate it when panhandlers give me puppy dog eyes. It's bullshit! I'll feel what I feel, and don't try to force my heart. I some times want to punch then in the face when they come up and beg like little pathetic people. Then they turn on you when you ignore them.

I know that there are people in other countries, and times in history, that need to beg to live. I have even done charity work in Mexico before. Those people where fucken poor. Living 6+ people in a 10' x 10' cement room. Hoping that when the harvest season is up, they'll be able to find work in the next town (migrant farming help). Where one very basic medical check up was a months wages. Now those people needed help.

 

[UfarkTheRipe]

Have you ever panhandled?

• If yes, why and how did it feel and did you make a lot?
• If no, would you ever and what would bring you to it?

Bear in mind I'm not talking about asking for money from family, friends, or coworkers. I'm talking about total strangers.

What an excellent question!

No, I have not.

Yes, I would if it was the last resort, but I would be looking for some way to get out of begging. I had to do day-labor for about a month once and I worked hard to get out of that situation quickly.

Giving money to a begger/taking money as a begger may feed the begger for that day whether it be food/drugs or whatever immediate 'need,' but it won't help his character at all.

 

[Cavallier]

How I feel about it is that I was fourteen living on the streets and I did what I must.

I wouldn't do those things now. I am an adult and capable of meeting my needs, and the needs of those dependent on me, by many other means.

I place children, the crippled (mentally or physically), and the elderly in their own class. If a person is healthy then panhandling is despicable but if they fit into one of the groups I listed then it's different.

Society is only as healthy as it's weakest and most dependent members. Its how we treat our poor and huddled masses that sheds a light on how healthy we are as a society. I hardly ever have cash on me but I usually have an apple or a sandwich. I'm always willing to give that away. Back when I had a lot of bottle and can recycling I would go down to the local recycle box and give it to whoever was there getting their deposit.

 

[ummidk]

Society is only as healthy as it's weakest and most dependent members

And giving them stuff makes them stronger and less dependent?

 

[Duxwing]

And giving them stuff makes them stronger and less dependent?

The answer to that question depends on what, how, and to whom.

-Duxwing

 

[UfarkTheRipe]

What are you emotions about this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...-florida_n_3743250.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

 

[Wolf18]

What are you emotions about this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...-florida_n_3743250.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

She's not lying, but it's, well... weird, not to mention more than a bit idiotic.

I sometimes give some change to really talented street performers, but that's about it. When I lived in New York City, there was a man at 42nd St (the A line, if I remember correctly) who would sing along with CDs. He was brilliant – I've seen people who'd never met before in their lives dancing with each other on the platform when he sang. He deserved to be paid – I saw no reason not to give him a bit of money.

SW

 

[Hadoblado]

No. I hate myself everytime I give money to people to go away. There is nothing stopping people in Australia from getting welfare, which means most people begging on the street likely have the money to not be homeless, but opt to spend it on addictions instead. The only alternative I can think of is that they're severely mentally ill and don't have the capacity to turn in a welfare form. It would be difficult to tell the difference.