bums

T

Thorn Bird

Forum Mom
May 24, 2005
14,767
22
533
Marklar
₥65
we went to mobile this past weekend and noticed an abundance of homeless people, begging with signs. it always makes me sad/anxious to see them, and i'm a wuss and can't make eye contact. after all, i'm in clean clothes and a mini-van, and they...well, aren't.

so anyway, we ended up at one point handing one of these guys a coupla granola bars and a pack of pb crackers. it got me wonderin' just how many people do stop and offer anything, and what the overall feel for homeless people is. do you find them a nuisance? do you feel bad? do you think they are choosing that life...do you think they could just go find a job? how do you feel about people giving handouts? does that encourage them to stay on that exit ramp with a sign? do you think they are really hungry, or are they waiting for money to go blow on booze? what would you think if you saw someone drive by and give them food? money?
 
90% of panhandlers you see really aren't homeless.

I can't tell you how many I've seen begging for money only to see them 10 minutes later counting a roll of bills over 4 inches thick. (mostly not ones)

That being said, I will always offer food but never cash.
 
I once went through the drive-thru ATM of my bank late one night and sat behind a guy and his grocery cart as he withdrew cash.
 
so you think these people are bums by job? do they have homes and bills and cars and lives with money? i find this fascinating (the reporter's coming out in me, wanting to do a story!) seeing this behavior from bums, does that affect you every time you see one? do you just assume they are working and not living?

coqui, have you ever offered food and had the offer turned down? (spange has.)
 
Thorn Bird said:
so you think these people are bums by job? do they have homes and bills and cars and lives with money? i find this fascinating (the reporter's coming out in me, wanting to do a story!) seeing this behavior from bums, does that affect you every time you see one? do you just assume they are working and not living?

coqui, have you ever offered food and had the offer turned down? (spange has.)
Click to expand...

There are the ones that are capitalizing on it and then there are the crazies. The crazies can't keep a job, nor do they want one. They choose to be left alone.
 
Thorn Bird said:
coqui, have you ever offered food and had the offer turned down? (spange has.)
Click to expand...

I had that happen quite a few times actually. They were just begging money. Finally one of the beggers were just so hungry you would have thought he won the lottery when I gave him my leftovers. those are the ones I feel truely sorry for.
 
I used to do "take a bum to dinner" nights in Baltimore. I'd go to a popular bar district and offer the first bum I saw warmth and a meal. Sometimes they'd turn me down, but I'd keep trying until I found one that was interested. Then I'd take them to a cheap cafe, buy them whatever they wanted on the menu and eat with them and chat. I'd get to hear all kinds of stories about why these people were the way they were. Very few were really hard luck cases.

Some bums in Baltimore have actually been arrested for fraud and tax evasion. A couple of guys working at the Inner Harbor were making $250,000 a year each by panhandling for money. They'd drive their beautiful caddy to "work" every morning, change into their "uniforms" and pretend to be miserable all day.
 
Thorn Bird said:
so you think these people are bums by job? do they have homes and bills and cars and lives with money? i find this fascinating (the reporter's coming out in me, wanting to do a story!) seeing this behavior from bums, does that affect you every time you see one? do you just assume they are working and not living?

coqui, have you ever offered food and had the offer turned down? (spange has.)
Click to expand...


Yes numerous times. In one 8-hour shift, in the right area, you could easily make $1000
 
I used to work with the homeless people. I worked with some street kids and I was also the on-site crisis counselor/property manager for a small apartment complex that would give places to people who had been on the street and were mentally ill.

Through that time I have learned not to give cash to people on the street. Even the ones who have the signs "I need cash for booze". I give props for them being honest, but I can not contribute to their illness.

Many cities...not all of course, but many cities have shelters and other types of programs for the "street people". They know where those places are and they know what they need to do to get help.

That said, I still have a lot of pity for the people who can not help their situation. There really are kids out there who are better off on the street then with their parents or other family members. There are also people who are just beyond whacky and no amount of medication, or treatments will allow them to live a "normal" life. It sucks that all people like that are not instantly found and put in a place where they can be taken care of. Of course, some of the places that take care of street people or mentally insane people.... could be worse then their life on the street.

Wow...that was a jumble of thoughts that sort of spewed out in a mishmash way.
 
dbzeag said:
I had that happen quite a few times actually. They were just begging money. Finally one of the beggers were just so hungry you would have thought he won the lottery when I gave him my leftovers. those are the ones I feel truely sorry for.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Once in a while, you get a real one.
 
I saw one the other day on my way home and his sign said he was hungry but as he paced down the side of the street, he stumbled worse than Candy after 2 glasses of wine. I knew if I gave him money it would go to booze so I had no pity. While in Chicago a few weeks ago, I had some extra to go food that I gave out to a homeless guy you could tell was hungry and cold, which made me feel good. Then there was the not so homeless one who asked me several times since we were on this street for a bit. Feeling funny, I quickly beat her to the punch and asked if she had any change. :D What a funny look I got hehe.
 
 
at one point, we were under an overpass. i looked over off the street and noticed three or four guys just chillin', right on the railroad tracks. it was weird, like i had "found" a bum hangout. it makes me want to talk to these guys and find out what exactly is going on. i think there are some who are not motivated and refuse to put forth the effort to get a non-begging life together. but i really feel, like dream pointed out, that there are sooo many of these guys that have mental problems and can't keep a job or money or whatever. and i feel like there are probably a few that have had such bad luck, and they would really take advantage of a turn of luck -- that they are just waiting for a break.
so what do you do? do you approach every bum with food, knowing that nine out of ten are not going to be genuinely hungry? do you ignore them all because the majority aren't bad off? how do you choose to deal with this?
 
Like Dream said, don't give them money. They know where to go get help at shelters, so donate food there I would assume.
 
I like to assume that most are that way because they got screwed out of their shelf stocking pensions.

As a result, I just chalk it up to capitalism getting the best of them. God bless america.
 
Last edited:
There is a huge difference between bums and panhandlers. Around here anyway.

Bums are "homeless", crazy, and addicted to drugs. In other words dangerous. Panhandlers are generally just out there earning a buck, usually quite professional.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back