Giving to the Homeless

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EquALLity
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Giving to the Homeless

Post by EquALLity »

I was in the car on my way to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving, when I saw this guy on the road with a sign (I didn't read it but a lot of homeless people stand there). I happened to have ten dollars so I pulled down my window and gave it to him...
"You just helped that guy buy heroin." -my brother

Holy shit... Did I?
I mean, he looked really young and not someone I would think of as homeless like people who've stood there in the past. He was white, we were in the suburbs... ???

I think his sign said something about a ticket... Maybe he was poor and couldn't pay for a ticket. Idk...

What do you guys think?
What do you think about giving to people on the road in general?
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Jebus
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

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I do it when traveling in desperately poor countries but would never do it in a first world country where people have options, like getting a job instead of begging. I actually get angry seeing people giving money to beggars.
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EquALLity
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by EquALLity »

Jebus wrote:I do it when traveling in desperately poor countries but would never do it in a first world country where people have options, like getting a job instead of begging. I actually get angry seeing people giving money to beggars.
Well, that I don't agree with (people have options so don't give money). Just because you're in the first world doesn't mean you can do that.
Why the hell would that make you angry? That seems pretty ridiculous.
My only concern is that they might just be trying to get drugs... Which is why I think giving food is probably better.
Are you against giving them food as well? o_O
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Jebus
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

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EquALLity wrote:Are you against giving them food as well?
Yes, I used to live in Canada and find the number of beggars ridiculous given the opportunities that are available to people. No one likes to have beggars around and the only reason they are there is because people (like you) give them money. You had the opportunity to instead donate that money to The Humane League where it really could have made a positive difference but instead you gave the money to some dude who now will be a little less motivated to learn a skill and/or find a job.
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EquALLity
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by EquALLity »

Jebus wrote:
EquALLity wrote:Are you against giving them food as well?
Yes, I used to live in Canada and find the number of beggars ridiculous given the opportunities that are available to people. No one likes to have beggars around and the only reason they are there is because people (like you) give them money. You had the opportunity to instead donate that money to The Humane League where it really could have made a positive difference but instead you gave the money to some dude who now will be a little less motivated to learn a skill and/or find a job.
So are you against all government welfare programs? This sounds like what people say against things like food stamps which can really help people.
Nobody wants to be in poverty or a beggar. It's not encouraging that, because nobody wants to stay in that situation. It's just HELPING people (unless they're using it for drugs).
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Jebus
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by Jebus »

EquALLity wrote:So are you against all government welfare programs?
No, and one of the reasons is that welfare programs keep beggars off the streets. However, I am against them when the person collecting the welfare is mentally and physically fit to have a minimum wage job.
EquALLity wrote:Nobody wants to be in poverty or a beggar. It's not encouraging that, because nobody wants to stay in that situation.
Somewhat wrong and wrong. No person with a decent job want to be a beggar. However, there are obviously lots of people who would rather beg than flip burgers for minimum wages.
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by PsYcHo »

I have to side with your brother and Jebus here. If you want to really help the homeless, donate money to a charity that deals with them. I do make exceptions for anyone offering to provide a service, such as cleaning windshields or playing an instrument, and occasionally just for honesty.

Back in my cocaine using days, I hung out with several older users who played homeless all the time. They'd make fifty bucks in just a few hours, and would brag about the different stories they used to get money. Mostly claiming to be hungry and not having eaten, to needing money to visit a sick/dying relative. They intentionally play on the emotions of good people. Two of my "friends" were actually homeless, and were given a job and a trailer home upon the stipulation that they work for the man who owned it. They stayed two weeks before stealing the man's checkbook and selling all the appliances in the place.

If you live in a city, they likely have several homeless shelters that feed and house those who are willing to abide by the rules of the house. (Generally no drinking or drugs.) Make up cards with their number and address, and give those out instead.

And a word of caution, while most people begging for money are harmless, giving cash to one lets them know you have money on you. An addict in need of a fix can be desperate, and if they already have violent tendencies the money you give them may not be enough. (She gave me ten dollars, so obviously she has more.....)
Alcohol may have been a factor.

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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by Red »

My health teacher says that people need to start kicking themselves in the ass if they want to earn good money, instead of becoming a pathetic beggar on the street. He told us these 3 rules:
1. If you don't go after what you want, you will never have it.
2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
3. If you do no step forward, you will remain in the same place.
Sometimes, in order to help someone, you have to be mean. While I understand where you're coming from, just giving the guy $10 because he asked for it isn't the solution. You have to tell the guy to get off his ass, and to go get a job, like Jebus says. There's an old Chinese proverb (I think it was Chinese):
"Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime"

If you were in that Health Class, you'll really learn a lot about life.
This one is going to stay with me:
Equality has NOTHING to do with skin color, origins, etc.. Some people can kick themselves to for themselves to do something they don't want to do.
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EquALLity
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by EquALLity »

RedAppleGP wrote:My health teacher says that people need to start kicking themselves in the ass if they want to earn good money, instead of becoming a pathetic beggar on the street. He told us these 3 rules:
1. If you don't go after what you want, you will never have it.
2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
3. If you do no step forward, you will remain in the same place.
Sometimes, in order to help someone, you have to be mean. While I understand where you're coming from, just giving the guy $10 because he asked for it isn't the solution. You have to tell the guy to get off his ass, and to go get a job, like Jebus says. There's an old Chinese proverb (I think it was Chinese):
"Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime"

If you were in that Health Class, you'll really learn a lot about life.
This one is going to stay with me:
Equality has NOTHING to do with skin color, origins, etc.. Some people can kick themselves to for themselves to do something they don't want to do.
That's called being a fucking asshole.
Seriously, what the fuck? Someone is homeless and you think THAT is what you say? Someone is asking for your help and you think the best course of action is to spit in their face? You have absolutely no idea what that person's situation is. You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps when you can't afford boots. Not everyone can get a job. Not everyone can live off minimum wage. Some people don't have access to what YOU have access to. Maybe you should get off your goddamn high horse.

As for your health teacher, he shouldn't be pushing his political beliefs about racism and poverty on the class. Equality has everything to do with opportunity, and not everyone has the same opportunity.
"I am not a Marxist." -Karl Marx
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EquALLity
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Re: Giving to the Homeless

Post by EquALLity »

PsYcHo wrote:I have to side with your brother and Jebus here. If you want to really help the homeless, donate money to a charity that deals with them. I do make exceptions for anyone offering to provide a service, such as cleaning windshields or playing an instrument, and occasionally just for honesty.

Back in my cocaine using days, I hung out with several older users who played homeless all the time. They'd make fifty bucks in just a few hours, and would brag about the different stories they used to get money. Mostly claiming to be hungry and not having eaten, to needing money to visit a sick/dying relative. They intentionally play on the emotions of good people. Two of my "friends" were actually homeless, and were given a job and a trailer home upon the stipulation that they work for the man who owned it. They stayed two weeks before stealing the man's checkbook and selling all the appliances in the place.

If you live in a city, they likely have several homeless shelters that feed and house those who are willing to abide by the rules of the house. (Generally no drinking or drugs.) Make up cards with their number and address, and give those out instead.

And a word of caution, while most people begging for money are harmless, giving cash to one lets them know you have money on you. An addict in need of a fix can be desperate, and if they already have violent tendencies the money you give them may not be enough. (She gave me ten dollars, so obviously she has more.....)
Jebus isn't saying that, he's saying you shouldn't give money or food to the homeless, because apparently he thinks it encourages poverty, not because of potential drug usage.

Yeah... I'll just bring food from now on.
"I am not a Marxist." -Karl Marx
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