Increased begging

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should all be ashamed of yourself! Obviously these people are poor and probably hungry and in need of food. Why wouldn’t you help? Something is very wrong that in our inequitable capitalistic society there are so many poor people who need help and so many cold snobby rich people who think they are better than anyone else.

I agree. We only have one life to try and be a good person, and you and I could be friends. The rest of the people on this thread, I wouldn’t want any part of

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should all be ashamed of yourself! Obviously these people are poor and probably hungry and in need of food. Why wouldn’t you help? Something is very wrong that in our inequitable capitalistic society there are so many poor people who need help and so many cold snobby rich people who think they are better than anyone else.

You are so naive.

Some, sure. Many, no. Especially Roma’s. They’re the ones doing the violin in the parking lots. They do the same scam on the metro in Paris, bring their portable amp and everything.

Yes, you can come up with many examples of this, but there are many examples where people truly need help and I hope you teach your kids to have more empathy than their mom. Being emphatic is not naive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t the police just take them somewhere else where they will fit in more? I don’t feel safe seeing them in our areas.

*snort*

And where exactly do you think they'd "fit in better", princess?

plus a million

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering there was a whole Sherlock Holmes story centering on a journalist who gets sucked into panhandling after discovering how lucrative it is, I think it’s safe to say this is not a new problem.

+1 their “job” is panhandling and they make enough from it to keep doing it. I mean, if you want to give them money, that’s your business. We’re just trying to tell people that they sure as hell aren’t homeless or destitute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Fairfax County. In the last few weeks there’s been a dramatic increase in beggars at intersections. They have a sign explaining their situation blah blah. Women, men, all races. Many places are looking for workers. I don’t understand. There are lots of jobs available. If I wasn’t always in a rush or if it was safe (I’d hold up traffic by just stopping) I’d ask them for their story, just “what happened?” Discuss.

Many places are looking for workers, yes, but do they have an address, ID, email/cell to give to apply? Many times, this stuff will get stolen from them, if they're living on the streets. Also, drugs and addiction are a big factor. Can they work a shift without doing drugs? Can they show up clean and on time? Just talking about the basic person living on the streets or in a tent, not a whole suburban organized begging operation.

[Anonymous]

There are two types of beggars I see around me.

1) the clearly drugged out people. They are sad. Usually younger. Usually with a faithful dog. And clearly on drugs.

2) the lazy beggars who've figured out that by trading their dignity to stand at a corner with a sign they likely can make more money than working at some low level retail position and can do it whenever they feel like it or need to do so and are lazy the rest of the time.

The genuinely in need of money / desperation beggars are pretty rare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering there was a whole Sherlock Holmes story centering on a journalist who gets sucked into panhandling after discovering how lucrative it is, I think it’s safe to say this is not a new problem.

+1 their “job” is panhandling and they make enough from it to keep doing it. I mean, if you want to give them money, that’s your business. We’re just trying to tell people that they sure as hell aren’t homeless or destitute.

Every single one of them is a scammer? Do you paint everything with such a broad brush?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should all be ashamed of yourself! Obviously these people are poor and probably hungry and in need of food. Why wouldn’t you help? Something is very wrong that in our inequitable capitalistic society there are so many poor people who need help and so many cold snobby rich people who think they are better than anyone else.

I agree. We only have one life to try and be a good person, and you and I could be friends. The rest of the people on this thread, I wouldn’t want any part of

Then direct them to the services in this area. If you don’t know what those are, call 211. That will go much further and help them get off the streets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should all be ashamed of yourself! Obviously these people are poor and probably hungry and in need of food. Why wouldn’t you help? Something is very wrong that in our inequitable capitalistic society there are so many poor people who need help and so many cold snobby rich people who think they are better than anyone else.

I agree. We only have one life to try and be a good person, and you and I could be friends. The rest of the people on this thread, I wouldn’t want any part of

Then direct them to the services in this area. If you don’t know what those are, call 211. That will go much further and help them get off the streets.

Or if they are hungry right then, I can afford a sandwich.

[Anonymous]

I offer to buy food for people who seem to be genuinely homeless, and have done so many times. The folks who are clearly professional beggars we can do without.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I buy a banana, a bottle of water, and a candy bar in the grocery store and hand them the bag as I exit. It cost me less than $3 most of the time.

Oohhh. Be careful with that. I’ve seen those thrown back at the giver along with a heavy dose of curses. I stopped doing that after seeing this happen to someone else.

I’ve done it hundreds of times over the past ten years. The worst that has ever happened was the person still asked me for cash, which I declined. Sometimes people decline. But mostly, they thank me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a business like any other, why would they work? They are mostly “Roma travelers” or whatever the PC name is now. They come with those seeking asylum (they blend in well).
There is a whole underground network with its own mostly cash economy and jobs like panhandling and petty crime.
Nothing is done about it because no serious laws are broken and the notion of quality of life for tax paying citizens is no longer a thing. Just like with mentally ill unhoused and petty criminals from pockets of generational poverty, there is no place to hide unless you are in the burbs with no public transportation and/or restricted access.

Always blaming immigrants.

No evidence cited.

Okay.

There are US citizen beggars too, don’t get too riled up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should all be ashamed of yourself! Obviously these people are poor and probably hungry and in need of food. Why wouldn’t you help? Something is very wrong that in our inequitable capitalistic society there are so many poor people who need help and so many cold snobby rich people who think they are better than anyone else.

The rest of us can thank people like you for all the panhandlers we are seeing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should all be ashamed of yourself! Obviously these people are poor and probably hungry and in need of food. Why wouldn’t you help? Something is very wrong that in our inequitable capitalistic society there are so many poor people who need help and so many cold snobby rich people who think they are better than anyone else.

The rest of us can thank people like you for all the panhandlers we are seeing

Aaah, your day is ruined because you have to look at a panhandler while driving by them in your Mercedes. You poor thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I buy a banana, a bottle of water, and a candy bar in the grocery store and hand them the bag as I exit. It cost me less than $3 most of the time.

Oohhh. Be careful with that. I’ve seen those thrown back at the giver along with a heavy dose of curses. I stopped doing that after seeing this happen to someone else.

I’ve done it hundreds of times over the past ten years. The worst that has ever happened was the person still asked me for cash, which I declined. Sometimes people decline. But mostly, they thank me.

I had one lovely fella decline and suggest that instead we get a motel room so I could "service him" lol. Because I'm smart enough to understand that one incident is just that, I haven't let it stop me from helping others, or take my humanity away.