On The Homeless

If people are too persistent, I degenerate quickly from "no" to "F*ck Off". I realize the homeless are people too and often not treated with dignity, but I just don't care anymore. To all the non-aggressive homeless out there, too bad there are so many assholes that ruin it for you.

That's worse than money. The money I can see because that's like the gateway to everything else ... but the cigarettes. Ugh. I usually will give out like 1 a day to a random person if I'm feeling generous but it's likefuck, cigarettes cost a lot of money, you know? Because you see me smoking are we like friends or something? I saw you eating a sandwich but didn't ask you for a bite. I also don't say sorry in this situation either, but rather "no thanks" and is in "no thanks I don't want to pay for your smoking addiction dick."

OTOH, i have rights too. and i DON'T like being threatened or hustled by folks.

Ah, the anguish...

sometimes i do worry about her.

O.k.

Someone asks you for change. You say no. You forget about it. Why harbour all the rage? Is it because you have middle-class guilt or something?

The only time I gave a large sum away was when I did ectasy, MDMA an coke at a party when I was 17. I was walking through the *insert name of big city* at five in the morning. A homeless dude asked me for money. I gave him £50.00. He kissed my hand. I felt his teeth mush against my skin. I was a bit. Oh. Traumatised. Like WTF? Do you think you have POWER because you can gift someone with a bit of cash? Not accusing just a'wonderin'...

The Covent Garden end of Shaftesbury Avenue is full of drunkies and junkies; there's a bit of a needle park behind the cinema. People constantly beg off passers-by and once this really sketchy girl got Ed to give her three pounds 'to get home' and then came into the bar where we were having drinks and actually canvassed him again.

I'm not happy when I see women using their kids as props during fundraising initiatives in tube stations or shoving a note about how shit things are in Bulgaria into the faces of commuters, but that's nothing on the legless vets that used to canvass on trains in NYC. When people ask me for change I'm likely to say 'sorry, I'm skint' whether or not it's the truth, and at least in London that seems to be a reasonable excuse. When I lived in NYC I got into the habit of leaving cheap restaurants with a 'doggy bag' and giving this to the first homeless person I saw.

i mean, if they're supposed to be so wise then how come they ended up HOMELESS??

Jimmy, I think it depends on how often you are asked for money and the manner in which you are asked. Where I live, you cannot avoid being hit up around 10-15 times every day, with some of the panhandlers wheedling and some subtly menacing. Also, it's not so simple as saying "no" and moving on; frequently, you will be followed and harassed or harangued. In fact, the other day I did give a guy some change just because it was below zero outside and he proceeded to yell at me as I walked away because I wasn't sufficiently polite when I gave him the money. If it were a simple case of "can I have some change", "No", "all right then", I don't think this thread would even exist.

this "you MUST have rage b/c of middle-class guilt" is the attitude of someone who lives in suburbs or north bumblefuck (where, like, they don't have homeless people and if any showed up the cops would beat the shit outta them).

Everybody knows that Berkeley Amoeba is the best, anyway. Plus there is the guy that sells jokes just outside. He told me that they would "guarantee [me] pussy".

If you have nothing to do at six in the morning, sleep.

lol the other day a dude asked me for 90p so i looked in my wallet and the lowest substantial denomination i had was a £5 note, so i was floundering when he said 'give me that and i'll give you £2 because i need £3 to eat' so i saw he already had just over £2 in his hand and stupidly didn't say 'ok give me everything you have and i'll give you this', i gave him the note and he slipped me 50p and i was all 'OI you said £2' and he said 'no i said £1!' and then gave me 50p more so i guess i got some money back off a beggar but i certainly didn't plan to give him £4, he must have thought it was his lucky day to have found mugglesworth himself on the pavement outside liverpool street station

anyway if i am less than generous with the homeless for a week or two this is why

you broke the first rule of giving away money on the street

you broke the only rule of giving away money on the street. Which is giving away money on the street.

lol missed out a "not" there

that isn't even in the top 5. rule 1 is don't take out your wallet duh

you saying i should keep 50p coins in a separate pocket and give one away if i'm feeling particularly generous

No just don't give anything is what everyone's saying

including me

if you are someone who likes giving away money, yes. i mostly say no but if someone asks at a bus stop or something i can just go in my pocket. xpost

once in a while is not that bad who cares

it's just that the tipping thread brought this back to the forefront of my mind - maybe i should be harder about these folks - also i only give if i'm alone, in groups it's way easier to say no

how is it hard to say no when you are alone?

if there is sorrow in their eyes and they are following you

yeah it's best not to reward followers imo. maybe you should have a blanket no giving money rule i guess

ok, most of the homeless people I meet are stationary

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