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do you ever give homeless people money?

i tend to agree.

some people get pretty wound up when defending their shitty tipping habit or the fact that they refuse to help out the homeless because they obviously know what's better for that person than they do themselves. then they'll rant about 'you liberals' and the nanny state and how government has no business deciding what's best for them. and the irony is totally lost on them.

i just comfort myself in the fact that they'll be reborn as service workers who live a miserable life because nobody tips them. then they'll lose that job and live hungry and more miserable as a homeless person to whom nobody gives money.

all for the sake of a couple of bucks.

alasdair
 
One Thousand Words said:
I save it for the buskers
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there's a girl downtown that plays violin. she dresses up like it's a recital, smiles, and is good at her instrument. i give her money because i think she adds to the city and i appreciate her being there. she's out a couple days a week, and has been for the past two summers. so pleasant to pass by her during my post-lunch stroll. and yeah, that's not giving away money; i'm voluntarily paying for a service that i enjoy.
 
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here's what y'all are missing - giving money to the homeless has jack shit to do with the homeless. they might as well be alien transvestite robots. 'what they do with the money' is your excuse. you do it as an exercise in compassion, you do it for the joy of it, for being the kind of person who does that shit. it's a better life, and its worth your change. feel the karma when you do it - do engage the person as a person, treat them like a human being instead of garbage. and when you do, be sure to thank the person you're giving money to. that's how it works - he got $1, you get freedom/bliss, an opportunity to be a better person, so thank him for that chance.

btw, i've never been mugged or robbed or personally assaulted, except for that one time when Jehovah was pretending to be a crackhead and got belligerant. once someone broke the window in my truck and took my bag....which might have been VERY bad as it had a large bottle of unlabeled liquid BZP in it. i went around to the homeless guys (with herbs) and handed out my number and talked about the bag. the next day i got it back, everything intact and paid a pint of cheap rum for the effort. the po-lice don't get your shit back, fear doesn't keep you safe - karma, that works.
 
I usually tell them I'll buy them a sandwich or some food from somewhere close by. They usually tell me they aren't hungry/need the money for "the bus" (but when I offer to go get them a bus pass they decline and say they just want the money because they aren't sure when they need the bus? which really doesn't make sense b/c I always offer to get a day pass for them). If I ask them what it's for and they tell me straight up "Crack" or "booze" I usually give them a buck or 2.

There are a couple of guys/girls in my area that are genuinely in need and I'll sometimes slip 'em a buck or two if I'm out on the town and feeling generous.
 
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I give them anything I can if they are willing to listen to a few minuets of me telling them they can get better and have a good life. I tell them about my own times on the street and what I did to get back on my feet. I could never turn someone who is down and out away, no matter why. I was at a wedding down town Boston a few months ago having a smoke outside. A young lady approached me for a hand, all I had was a twenty and gave her that, she began to cry and explain her troubles. I talked with her and told her my story. I saw her at a down town AA meeting a week ago looking well. She had no idea we had met before and I didn't bother her but it was nice to think she may have been listening
 
No, only because I live in a small rural town and we honestly have no homeless. When I lived in Melbourne I used to though :)
 
I haven't ever given money away but during a trip to the city last year I did buy some coffee and snacks for a young girl as she looked much younger than myself, it was the middle of winter and I was freezing in my 3 layers nevermind her in one!
 
I have, and I have also bought them food as opposed to just giving money. In my opinion, it's not for me to assume how/why they are in that position or how they will spend the help I give them. I know my intent is pure, so if they are scamming then the bad karma is on them. I'd hate to know that I could have really helped someone who really needs it because I assumed they were junkies (and also not for me to judge their choices). If I had been judged for everything I'd ever done, none of you would want to even speak to me. I've even once taken a pregnant lady with a child that the grocery store I used to work at were trying to kick her off the premises. I happily pissed of my old managers by saying that I was a customer and therefore she is with me and went through and bought her groceries, like meats, milk and cereal....stuff she could use for the children (she said she had been staying at a hotel and sounded like her husband had left her). She was non-american so her accent was thick.
 
kvsouth69 said:
I have, and I have also bought them food as opposed to just giving money. In my opinion, it's not for me to assume how/why they are in that position or how they will spend the help I give them. I know my intent is pure, so if they are scamming then the bad karma is on them. I'd hate to know that I could have really helped someone who really needs it because I assumed they were junkies (and also not for me to judge their choices). If I had been judged for everything I'd ever done, none of you would want to even speak to me. I've even once taken a pregnant lady with a child that the grocery store I used to work at were trying to kick her off the premises. I happily pissed of my old managers by saying that I was a customer and therefore she is with me and went through and bought her groceries, like meats, milk and cereal....stuff she could use for the children (she said she had been staying at a hotel and sounded like her husband had left her). She was non-american so her accent was thick.
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you rock. let me guess - you enjoy life, right? happiness, even bits of joy, are normal for you. and luck treats you fairly well, too.... ;-) when i was the night cashier at kroger, i was supposed to throw all the rotisserie chicken in the dumpster at 1am. i gave them away to anyone on foodstamps or WIC. had this one old black lady tear up, telling i was doing god's work....til they found out and transferred me to stocking. i'm vegetarian, i'm not throwing a perfectly good chicken in the dumpster to rot - its disrespectful to the chicken. i'm serious, that's like speaking ill of the dead, you don't do that shit. have like voodoo chicken spirits on yo ass for all time and shit.
 
tantric said:
you rock. let me guess - you enjoy life, right? happiness, even bits of joy, are normal for you. and luck treats you fairly well, too.... ;-) when i was the night cashier at kroger, i was supposed to throw all the rotisserie chicken in the dumpster at 1am. i gave them away to anyone on foodstamps or WIC. had this one old black lady tear up, telling i was doing god's work....til they found out and transferred me to stocking. i'm vegetarian, i'm not throwing a perfectly good chicken in the dumpster to rot - its disrespectful to the chicken. i'm serious, that's like speaking ill of the dead, you don't do that shit. have like voodoo chicken spirits on yo ass for all time and shit.
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And I LOVE YOU for doing that! It KILLS me to see good food go to waste like that when so many are hungry...found out the reason is bc they are afraid of lawsuits if they get sick. WTF is wrong with this country??? Actually, luck has been extremely horrible, but i'm learning over time to enjoy the little things and live in the moment. For every hard time, there has been a solution or way out. And you wouldn't believe all the stuff going on right now. I used to be a very negative person, and I think that had a lot to do with my life being negative. Now I'm changing that, and, although it's not changing circumstances, it's changing my perspective. But I feel we should all be responsible to help each other out. You never know when you may need it yourself. I've been helped in life in different ways, and this is my small way of giving back. I'm not expecting that life will bring me rewards bc of it (bc it's only brought me misery regardless
of the good I've done) but at least I know I thought about someone other than myself. And I do believe in an afterlife where God is going to recognize little acts like this over acts like "following policies" or "being financially successful", ya know? And man, you and I would be so in tune with each other bc ,, while im not vegetarian but wanting to become one, I hardly ever eat meat still. And I absolutely DO NOT believe in killing for sport or voodoo...I can't even watch those shows. It breaks my heart and really bothers me for years. I believe all life is valuable....my husband won't even kill bugs in the house...instead scoops them up to live outside. Which I can't stand bugs--but I still will walk out of my way to not step on one. And that's just a bug! I love your values. I'd be doing the same thing as you. I worked for Publix and they would donate their food--which I do respect. But never just throw away. Restaurants are horrible about it.
 
ive given homeless people cigs/food/money/clothes, i feel for em ive been in rough places in my life and personally dont care if they use the money for drugs, not all of them use drugs, most are pretty friendly just gotta be careful and street smart.
 
Sure, not all the time though. The hustling types I don't usually. I used to work in downtown Denver and you start to get hassled all the time, sometimes a bit aggressively. Depends on the circumstances. I was walking down colfax one time heading to a show and this asked me me if I had some change. I wanted to give him a couple bucks but only had 20s. I said 'fuck it' gave one to him and he took it without looking at it, I was going to see my favorite band so I was in a good mood. A couple minutes later he comes chasing after me and it totally made his day. He was super stoked and even asked me if I wanted to smoke the crack he was going to buy with him. I wasn't trying to smoke crack but I appreciated the offer. I think that may have been the happiest I've ever made somebody lol.

I but a girl 20 bucks worth of flowers I don't get a response like that. Dude was truly grateful.
 
I don't ever pass someone in need unless I just don't have money or food on me. Even if they don't ask, if it is obvious they are in need I do it. Yesterday I was at my local car wash and two teens came out of the woods behind looking pretty scruffy. I know there is a homeless camp back there. So I gave them 5 bucks and some food. I had just left the grocery store and had some good stuff. It used to drive my husband crazy, bc if they are seriously in need I have run into the local store and made them little packs with juices, nuts and filling snacks lol so it sucks if we are in a rush. I don't have time to do any serious volunteering, so it is my own way of giving back to the community. I get so angry when I hear someone comment on it like "they probably are just drug addicts" or whatever non sense they think. IMO there is no telling what send them there and I would rather err on the side of compassion.
 
Yes I always do, whenever I see them. With that being said, where I live they are far and few between. I haven't come across any that really give me a bad vibe. Every time I have given them anything ( usually spare change, any small bills I have in my wallet, a couple cigarettes, food) they are incredibly polite and grateful.

It's nice to be able to help a fellow human being out, I would want the same for me if I was in that situation. I honestly don't care what they do with the money I give them , be it to buy cigarettes, drugs, food, or whatever. I don't think it's my place to judge.
 
Not normally but the last time I did the bloke had a hat sitting on the ground next to him with a sign that said "Salary Cap". So I gave him some money for his creativity.
 
when I have too many silver coins in my wallet I give em all to homeless peeps.
but I never give money to them if they ask for it.
I'm weird like that :S
 
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