I don't give change to Michigan fans

[vrbryant]

Never had a problem giving bums money. I've probably given Help something like $40 over the last five or six years. It's a hustle like anything else. If he's getting his (and I hope he is), then more power to him. Can't stand it when friends of mine give me shit for throwing a bum a couple bucks. "He's just going to go get drunk!" No shit, Professor Obvious. What, poor black men don't have the right to get hammered?

As for the whole, "McDonald's and Wendy's are always hiring," bullshit, sorry. You need a driver's license, a social security card, a place of residence and whole host of other shit that most people take for granted. Assuming one of these guys can just waltz into a restaurant or a temp agency and find work is silly.

 

[BB73]

I came out of the McDonald's on High Street many years ago, when I would actually eat their stuff, and a guy was begging. I gave him a warm burger right out of the bag. I still had 5 for myself (I had a good metabolism back in the day), so what the hell!

He gave me a funny look back. I don't know if he ate it or not.

 

[BUCKYLE]

my problem isnt bum's or the homeless in general. it is the signs they carry. if you want to work for food, offer to push my car to the next light. i might believe you. but if you just want to get blitzed, thats cool too. just make sure the sign is accurate.

 

[DaytonBuck]

One of my good friends worked at the UDF on High near Lane we would hand out 40's to the bums. Employs there started the tradition of hooking bums up with beer, smokes and food to keep them from bugging the customers coming and out.

 

[jc_ultimate]

I really think these stories are slightly unfair. If all homeless people drive BMWs and sleep in hotel rooms, then who the fuck are all the people I see sleeping on benches on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">High St.</st1:address></st1:Street>?<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

Here is an interesting story about homeless people from my own first hand experiences.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

When I was in undergrad at <st1:City w:st="on">Miami</st1:City> I had a girlfriend who went to Ohio State<ST1:p</ST1:p. I parked over by the stadium to go see her at Morril tower, and a man approached me and said his car ran out of gas and that he needed money so he could get home. I figured he was probably lying, but then he said he want to law school and since I wanted to go to law school it struck a nerve and I gave him a few bucks. <O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
Fast forward a few years to when I moved to <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pColumbus</st1:City>. I quickly learned that this I ran out of gas, and need a few dollars can you please help my wife and I are cold thing is just a simple routine. I think I heard it about three separate times. <O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

One night after leaving OutRInn on mug night (I was of course highly intoxicated) a man approached me with this same story... I got really pissed and said something like, "Oh that's funny because I've heard that story about 4 times now." So he started to walk away, but I being drunk decided to chase after him. I went up to him and asked why he had to lie, and that if he just wanted some money I would give it to him so long as he admitted he was lying. He did and then I gave him a dollar...<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

Soooo, I was kind of annoyed with this whole thing, but I decided from then on I would only give money to those that honest. The next time I went out, to a concert I believe, another man approached me for money. I decided to stop to talk to him. I asked him what he needed money for, and he explained to me that he wanted to get enough money so he could buy room at a shelter on <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">4th St</st1:address></st1:Street>. I believe he said these cost around 5 dollars a night. I didn't believe, and being again somewhat intoxicated I informed him that if he just wanted some alcohol I was going to the bar, and that he could join me and I would buy him a drink. He politely declined, and said that really all he needed was some money. I then decided to ask him if he wanted some food, and he accepted. So I bought the guy some Apollos and he proceeded to tell me his life story.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

Basically the man had been arrested for armed robbery. He said that it was his friend who had committed the robbery, and although he knew that his friend was up to something that he didn't actually do it. His friend if I remember correctly had a cut deal, and this guy did most of the time... Anyhow he had served his time, I believe seven years in <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pMansfield</ST1:pl</st1:City>. When he got out of prison he experienced some carnal urges, and went out with a woman. Unfortunately he was late in reporting to his parole officer. He told me that he was afraid that he would have to go back to prison, so he ran away and had been living on the street ever since trying to get enough money each day so he could stay at this shelter.
<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
I saw this guy several more times, and each time I tried to convince him that he needed to turn himself in. I tried to tell them that it was unlikely he would have to serve very much time if any for such a small mistake, and that it was still better than simply begging for money the rest of his life. Eventually, he told me one day that he had talked to his parole officer and that he was not going to back to jail. I haven't seen the guy since, so hopefully he is no longer asking for money on the streets of Columbus or anywhere else.
<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
The reason I am writing this story is because too often people look at the homeless and they see the same story, but that is simply too simple. These are human beings, each with unique experiences. You can't say oh they are just all lazy, and brush them under the door step. <O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

I don't think it's necessary to give money to individual beggars, but ignoring the problem completely is not the answer either. Often I've found that if you just take the time to acknowledge that these are PEOPLE they seem to care more about that than if you throw a quarter at them in disgust. <O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

 

[CleveBucks]

As for the whole, "McDonald's and Wendy's are always hiring," bullshit, sorry. You need a driver's license, a social security card, a place of residence and whole host of other shit that most people take for granted. Assuming one of these guys can just waltz into a restaurant or a temp agency and find work is silly.

Maybe, but I highly doubt a lot of the Wendy's employees are legal anyways.

 

[BuckBackHome]

JC Ultimate - Very nice post and excellent reminder that we are human and each one has his own story.

I spent a semester living in DC years ago. One girl studying down there with us used to carry apples with her every day. I asked her why the first time I saw her packing some in her backpack. She said she gave them to the beggars instead of money.

 

[JXC]

Awesome post roomie. Sometimes people get stuck in tough situations, and they aren't as easy to get out of as somebody may think. We've all done it...but most of us just haven't been there in such an extreme case such as homelessness. Maybe it is lying to a parent or friend, or whatever...but we've all been in situations before where we don't know how we got there, and we can't really find a good way to get ourselves out. And even though everyone tells us "this is what you need to do" it isn't always that simple.

 

[Guy Incognito]

Nice stuff jc.
Its a little off the topic of homelessness, but a great book to read is The Working Poor. It basically focuses on people who have the desire to work and make it and how hard it is to rise above poverty. Things like substandard housing cause the children of these people to get sick causing these people to miss work causing these people to lose their jobs.
One doctor even enlisted the help of lawyers to convince a landlord to shape up the condition of his rooms. Of course he did. It seems that only when those with money try to get something done, something gets done.
The rich and poor in life make many mistakes. Its easier for those who are born into wealth to survive those mistakes.

 

[BUCKYLE]

The last thing I want to do is say that homeless people got that way by being lazy. But, the thing about this country more so than any other is if you have the drive, the ambition, and the guts, you can make your life what you want it to be. IIRC, I remember reading a story a few years back about a homeless woman who ended up graduating from Harvard. The only people i actually feel sorry for are the mentally handicapped. they arent afforded the same opportunities as everyone else.

 

[Sdgobucks]

I want to give GD a little support. I used to feel very sorry for a man in tatty clothes who held up a sign, day after day, asking for work or a "donation" at an intersection near my office. So, I was rather pleased when an unskilled job, with a growth path to a skilled job, became available at the University. I went to recruit him.

I got there just as he was folding his sign for the day and watched in stunned silence as he disappeared into a culvert beside the intersection, only to emerge in nicer clothes than I could afford. When I approached him about the job, I found that he earned more on that street corner than I did! An investigative reporter later went undercover and found that the guys on street corners generally made a good living from it, far more than they could working.

A reporter in my area went undercover for a week, and found that on average he got about 300 dollars a day for 8 hours of begging.

 

[BB73]

The last thing I want to do is say that homeless people got that way by being lazy. But, the thing about this country more so than any other is if you have the drive, the ambition, and the guts, you can make your life what you want it to be. IIRC, I remember reading a story a few years back about a homeless woman who ended up graduating from Harvard. The only people i actually feel sorry for are the mentally handicapped. they arent afforded the same opportunities as everyone else.

Oh sure, make this all about you!

 

[Sdgobucks]

I used to have people come up to me when I was on break at work all the time with the same "My car broke down and my wife is with my new baby, will you give me a couple bucks to fix it" line. I gave some money to the first guy and I got this sickening feeling that I had been cheated. After that I never gave them another dime, because they all had the same story. A year or so later I had another job, and was traveling to another city on work, and me and my co-worker stopped to get directions at a gas station. This scraggly looking guy was outside and he stopped us as we were going in. He told us, "I'm not going to tell you some bull shit about my car breaking down, or my wife having a kid, I just want a couple bucks to go in and buy a hot dog and a beer." That day I broke my ban on not giving beggars money, and I gave the man five bucks, and I didn't feel cheated at all. If another beggar comes up to me and tells me a truthful story, or even something amusing, then I would probably give them money too. If you respect me enough to tell me the truth then I will respect you enough to give you some money.

 

[BUCKYLE]

I used to have people come up to me when I was on break at work all the time with the same "My car broke down and my wife is with my new baby, will you give me a couple bucks to fix it" line. I gave some money to the first guy and I got this sickening feeling that I had been cheated. After that I never gave them another dime, because they all had the same story. A year or so later I had another job, and was traveling to another city on work, and me and my co-worker stopped to get directions at a gas station. This scraggly looking guy was outside and he stopped us as we were going in. He told us, "I'm not going to tell you some bull shit about my car breaking down, or my wife having a kid, I just want a couple bucks to go in and buy a hot dog and a beer." That day I broke my ban on not giving beggars money, and I gave the man five bucks, and I didn't feel cheated at all. If another beggar comes up to me and tells me a truthful story, or even something amusing, then I would probably give them money too. If you respect me enough to tell me the truth then I will respect you enough to give you some money.

hey SD, whats up man? you wouldnt happen to have a few extra vbucks lying around would ya? its been rough lately. I never fully recovered after the texas game. I aint gonna gamble it away. I just wanna buy a vburger.:tongue2:

 

[Pheasant]

I really think these stories are slightly unfair. If all homeless people drive BMWs and sleep in hotel rooms, then who the fuck are all the people I see sleeping on benches on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">High St.</st1:address></st1:Street>?<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

....

First off, great post. That award is much deserved.
I wasn't suggesting that every bum on the street drives a BMW, just that I saw one that did.
I also saw this:
When I was working at a hotel in downtown Columbus, we had a policy of not letting the 'street people' use the bathrooms. I didn't like that policy, I thought it was bullshit. So when a guy came in and asked if he could use the bathroom I said sure. I got busy and didn't see him come out. Ten minutes later one of my employees came walking up with the most foul look on his face and told me to go look in the bathroom. There was shit everywhere. All over the floor, smeared on the mirrors, smeared on the walls and thrown on the ceiling. My employee had been on the telephone in the lobby, and watched the guy go in and come out. Nobody else was in there.
I'm sure there are a lot of people with sad stories who have given up on life for whatever reason. There may even be things that would cause me to give up on life in a similar way. Knowing all this is the reason I allowed him to use our restroom. Treating people like humans doesn't always help though. Just ask the housekeeper who had to clean it up.