does anyone here....

[jimmy g]

..give money to a bum if you see one on the street? IMO I would never give a dollar to a bum. Not becuase I am a mean person, just because I would never give away money that I worked for to a bum that will just use it to buy drugs or alcohol. They all have the potential to get a job and make a living in the world instead of begging for some spare change! Sorry I just had to ask because a couple friends and I go down to chicago sometimes and thats all we here is bums begging for some money. I feel like handing them an application to a McDonalds or Burger King or somewhere so they can get off there butt and make money the same way most of the people in the world do.
I was just wondering what you all thought about this?

 

[gasguzzler]

I cant condemn a bum for buying booze...thats what I do with my money!

 

[pwnag3!!]

i have a simple theory to homelessness...
scrounge and save up at least 5 bucks... take yourself to the thrift store and purchase semi nice attire.
Go get a hot bath or shower at the YMCA and use ask to use someones old razor.
Go to a mc donalds or something else and apply for a job... if you try hard enough chances are you can get somewhere...
while saving money to actually get a home you have to be a bum a little longer (it worked the first half why not now?)
Then move into someplace that you can afford and live with warmth... sure its not a palace and you might not be able to have a couch and a TV.... but hell at least it is a place to live and come in out of the rain...
now if you are a crack addicted alcoholic... just stay with what you are doing... youll die soon anyways.

 

[pwnag3!!]

when i was youjgn i remember going to work with my dad at his hospital....
A homeless lady was out front and asked us for some money... my dad offered to have her come in side with us and he would buy her mcdonalds (in the hospital) she declined and asked for money so she could buy her own food... he told her that if she was indeed hungry she wouldnt mind what she had to eat.... it was for drugs imn sure.

 

[dvs]

I have been volunteering for the past 5 years at soup kitchens and shelters. It not quite that simple to save up five bucks, get something to wear and go out and get a job, especially if you are toting around 2 or 3 small children and youre trying to decide what the kids need more: shoes or winter coats. Obviously no one ever wants to end up in that situation, but it happens. Do I give to 'beggars', no. I help those who deserve to be helped.

 

[pwnag3!!]

well my view may be skewed by lack of addiction and 3 kids... but I do give to good will and canned food drives if that counts...
When i was in scouts we would have a monthly canned food drive... i usually just dressed up in my uniform and went around the neighborhood and got a couple of boxes of canned food.
I understand that it is hard to save up money especially when in a situation where other things prohibit.... but for just the side street beggars no change.

 

[someone400]

Originally posted by DVS
I have been volunteering for the past 5 years at soup kitchens and shelters. ............... I help those who deserve to be helped.
Cool.....:yes:

 

[lefty]

I agree with what one of you already mentioned. Offer to buy them food instead of handing out money. That way, you know exactly what your money's going for.
-lefty

 

[nflnutswif]

I've always been one to dig up a couple of dollars for someone who asked, however get this. . . My husband who was on chemo at the time, bald as a babies butt, was gassing up the car at a large racetract type place. The kids and I were in the suburban when a lady walked up to my husband and asked him if he had a few dollars he could spare so that she could pick up the medication she desparetly needed. she pointed to her car and said she was from out of town and explained she had cancer, hodgkins (like my husband), and was past due taking it and not feeling well, she offered her address phone number, and took ours so that she could repay as soon as she got home!
My husband gave her $30.00!
When he got back into the car he said he wanted to believe her and if she repaid him if would reinstate his faith in human beings!
We never heard from her!

 

[sevenley]

I guess it all depends. If the person asking for money is wearing $60 tennis shoes and looks young and able, I'm inclined to say no. If the person has a sign that says "will work for food" I've been known to go out of my way, go buy a hoagie or something and take it back to him. I'd rather give food.
I've probably been taken a few times myself. (I try not to make a practice of it). My conscious would bother me if I didn't try to help people.

 

[nicky1.8t]

do you have any spare change? absolutly
can you spare some ? yes i can
well will you? no
cuz im afriad youll buy booze with it

 

[someone400]

Hey, at least he's honest!

 

[sevenley]

Now I would tell that guy to get a job!

 

[dvs]

Yes, its refreshing to find humor in someones misfortune isnt it?

 

[someone400]

nflnutswif, tell your hubby not to feel bad. I fell for something just about like that. At a gas station a man comes up to me looking desperate saying that his car ran out of gas just up the road, his wife and kids were in the car and he needed money for gas. Being the sap that I am, I gave him five bucks. As I was driving off I looked across the parking lot and saw him get into a car with no one in it and drive off...

 

[sevenley]

I had someone approach me in front of my house last month and asked if he could shovel my sidewalk for $10. I said no but he didn't want to take no for an answer. I finally agreed to pay him $5 just to get rid of him. He said he needed gas money. He asked me questions like, "why was I shoveling the sidewalk myself?" I replied that my husband just ran over to the store and I said I'd shovel while he was gone. Yikes, I don't have a husband. :thinking:

 

[tony detroit]

When they ask for money, I ask them if they can break a hundred.

 

[pwnag3!!]

i was going to the skate park with my friends one day...
a man was on the side of the road with a sign... and some nasty clothing... so i figured i would give him something.
We had packed food for the day so we would not have to buy stuff... so i just gave him a sandwich i had made...
my friends made fun of me but i felt good for giving this guy maybe the only food he would eat that day.

 

[jacknjill]

my dad refuses to give anyone money because he is a cop. he literally watches them get the money, then walk in someplace and come out with beer. not to say they are al like this but, thats how a lot of them are.

 

[molamola]

I gave a man five bucks once because he said his wife left him and he needed money to get back to Oklahoma, and because my friend that was with me would have sent me on a guilt trip for not giving him something. The next day, that man was arrested for shooting a guy on my college campus. I don't buy that line anymore, but depending on the situation, I would rather give them money than risk losing anything worse.