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Responding to Beggars

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Re: Responding to Beggars

#91

Post by twelvechairs »

jakobe wrote: post #83

When someone asks me for money, I just give them money. I dont care what they do with it. I think people complaining about being deceived are just looking for excuses for being greedy. The end result is the same, no matter if the beggar is honest or not: i'm more happy because I feel generous, the beggar's more happy because he got money. The first time I relised that the story I got told was a lie I was upset, but I…

Thats great of you :) I agree completely. I don't think we should believe that we have the right to judge others just because they are poorer than ourselves. Too many people do.

Even if they use my money to drink themselves into oblivion, thats their choice and I'm happy that I can provide them with the means to do whatever they want with their lives.

That said, I do prefer to give to certain types of people. It can be hard to really tell how needy someone is, but generally I don't give to children (this encourages parents to not send them to school), those who occupy prime locations (main street, outside a supermerket etc. - as I've seen these being worked by groups who muscle others out of their patch - and besides they make plenty of money from others there), and those who hassle every passing stranger.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#93

Post by Panoramix »

Muzza wrote: post #47
wilfra wrote: post #29

In Thailand this situation is quite terrible. The Mafia collects people with missing limbs and other disfigurations, basically the people who will elicit the greatest sympathy, and forces them to sit on the same corners begging day after day, month after month and year after year - and turn all of the money they collect over to them. If they steal any, they die. In return they are provided with the bare minimum subsi…

The situation is similar in Sweden, but I have thankfully not heard of anyone disfiguring someone else for these purposes. Yet. One of the glorious benefits of being a member of the EU is that we now have to put up with organized gangs of beggars coming in from Romania, Bulgaria etc harassing us on our streets. (The leftists have proposed that we add these people to our welfare rolls and give them their own apartment…

The situation is not similar in Sweden. In fact, from the entire planet, Sweden is one of most dissimilar places.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#94

Post by corry »

jakobe wrote: post #83

When someone asks me for money, I just give them money. I dont care what they do with it. I think people complaining about being deceived are just looking for excuses for being greedy. The end result is the same, no matter if the beggar is honest or not: i'm more happy because I feel generous, the beggar's more happy because he got money. The first time I relised that the story I got told was a lie I was upset, but I…

I guess some people's problem is that we "care what [the beggars] do with it" when we give money.

i.e. I don't want to give someone money that they'll use to further destroy their life with drugs/alcohol/whatever. I don't want to be complicit in that action. If that's too 'morally' or 'judgemental' for some people, so be it.

Now, I'm more than happy to buy them some food, transportation, etc. Or even better, spend some time with them (when possible) and treat them like a real person for a few minutes.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#95

Post by fogol »

Muzza wrote: post #47
wilfra wrote: post #29

In Thailand this situation is quite terrible. The Mafia collects people with missing limbs and other disfigurations, basically the people who will elicit the greatest sympathy, and forces them to sit on the same corners begging day after day, month after month and year after year - and turn all of the money they collect over to them. If they steal any, they die. In return they are provided with the bare minimum subsi…

The situation is similar in Sweden, but I have thankfully not heard of anyone disfiguring someone else for these purposes. Yet. One of the glorious benefits of being a member of the EU is that we now have to put up with organized gangs of beggars coming in from Romania, Bulgaria etc harassing us on our streets. (The leftists have proposed that we add these people to our welfare rolls and give them their own apartment…

I fail to see how the gypsy beggars are the problem and not your legislation or enforcement. If hostile begging is an issue, legislate it out of the streets. Pass a law that would criminalise it once you've been caught three times.

Instead of complaining, you better appeal to your fellow citizens and solve it

Re: Responding to Beggars

#96

Post by mark_l_watson »

I used to do the same thing while I was commuting to San Francisco to do an expert system for PacBell. Lots of homeless people begging and the people I worked with lectured me on not giving them money. That was in my pre-vegetarian days and I had a serious hamburger addiction; occasionally when I bought a hamburger, I would buy a second one to hand to an apparently homeless person.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#97

Post by fogol »

mehulkar wrote: post #11

This has been a huge problem for me. I recently moved to San Francisco after many years of living in the Midwest. I was born and lived the first 10 years of my life in Delhi where poverty was no big deal. It was accepted and not questioned. After living in the States and doing all the chores that someone else would normally do for me in India (dishes, laundry, etc.), it became difficult for me to see people as anythi…

I appreciate your candor and honesty. Ther are beggars and beggars. I suspect those in India wer truly poor and the solution was to go numb onthem. The ones mentioned inEurope are begging for sport. It is actually organized crime type of thing. The can and should be policed.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#98

Post by v0cab »

jakobe wrote: post #83

When someone asks me for money, I just give them money. I dont care what they do with it. I think people complaining about being deceived are just looking for excuses for being greedy. The end result is the same, no matter if the beggar is honest or not: i'm more happy because I feel generous, the beggar's more happy because he got money. The first time I relised that the story I got told was a lie I was upset, but I…

It might just be someone doing it as a 'job', to supplement their trust fund, or their government benefits, for instance. Or they might be using the money to buy meth and support meth dealers.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#99

Post by v0cab »

twelvechairs wrote: post #85
Muzza wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The situation is similar in Sweden, but I have thankfully not heard of anyone disfiguring someone else for these purposes. Yet. One of the glorious benefits of being a member of the EU is that we now have to put up with organized gangs of beggars coming in from Romania, Bulgaria etc harassing us on our streets. (The leftists have proposed that we add these people to our welfare rolls and give them their own apartment…

Downvoting because its ridiculous to compare the situation in Sweden with that of Thailand (the difference is immense), because it engages in leftist bashing (I'm sure there must be very few 'leftists' if any who really say "lets build new apartments for foreign criminals whilst Swedes get nothing", although this is exactly what you imply they say), and because you claim to answer a complex and nuanced issue with a s…

His comment was relevant to the discussion, and was a relevant comment reply (talking about organised gangs using begging to further their goals).

I'm guessing you just want to shut out views that are at all critical of immigration, or even just seem to be. You want to shut down that discussion entirely.

I'd downvote you, but that button doesn't appear for me.

Re: Responding to Beggars

#100

Post by dorian-graph »

shocks wrote: post #87

In the UK we have The Big Issue. It's a magazine only sold by homeless people, for £2.50 per magazine. The sellers buy each magazine for £1.25. The sellers are trained, sign a code of conduct and wear badges so you can recognise them easily. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Issue I like this approach because I know that they have some degree of control. For example, they can't spend all the money on booze/drugs beca…

They do this too in Australia and out of those who I see regularly in the CBD I don't mind them as they're usually friendly and honest.

The idea of getting them work, as small as selling magazines is, is a great idea.

I personally follow a similar approach to Stallman here in Australia and I agree that it definitely is hard when you go to another country. I spent two years in the Philippines where poverty is common and at first I had no real idea what to do as we were constantly being asked for money, every day.

Another idea I stand by is not too judge too quickly the homeless or so in saying "Oh, they'd just go spend it on drugs or alcohol."

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