I used to beg for money. I was a homeless heroin addict. I learned some interesting stuff begging for money. Being white myself. When I asked white people for money they would often look at me with disdain. Ask black people and they’d usually help ya out. It always seemed crazy to me that the white guy with a suit would treat you like garbage, but the black guy with gang tattoos on his his face and a car that needs work would throw ya a couple of bucks. I’ve heard black people say it works the other way around for them, but I had no way to test it heh.
I’m completely opiate free now for better or for worse. I say it like that because I suffer from crippling depression. Life is not enjoyable to me anymore. But, there are a lot of homeless guys where I live. I give them money, and blankets in the winter. Honestly, I give zero shits what they spend that money on. I don’t care if it’s drugs, alcohol, toothpaste, or socks. The money, once it leaves my hand is theirs to do with as they please. As long as that money brings them even a moment of happiness. As long as I make their life a little more bearable. I’m fine with that.
Consider growing some magic mushrooms to help enjoy life again. Good on you for crawling out of that spiral.
You know what? I did grow some and did the whole micro-dose thing. I loved it. But, it made my migraines more frequent. I’m currently working on the migraines with the local charity hospital. So, I want to give it another try soon.
As a matter of fact. I have 3 Petri dishes with mycelium right now that need grain.
Exactly! Even if they spend it on drugs, what’s the problem? Let them have their moment of relief/happiness.
As an ex opiate addict myself, maybe I can relate to them too well for most people to understand. Also, what are they to do with 5 dollars if they aren’t hungry and have everything else they need at the moment?
my biggest concern with the skyrocketing opiate deaths is: if I go into the store and draw cash just because I feel real bad for this person, are they going to turn that $10 into the hit that kills them.
fentanyl is killing people like crazy, all over the place. I’d give them a joint or a beer, but the rare times I deal with cash for that uncertainty?
Are those reports of people panhandling and walking home with a few hundred bucks a day at all accurate? Always seemed kind of like bullshit propaganda to me. I’m sure location matters quite a bit.
The world is a huge place and people suck. I’m sure it happens. But, in most places it’s hard to accomplish that. Here, if you’re spotted begging by the cops they’ll run you off, or arrest you.
Here we have laws that keep people from begging on the side of the road. So, that leaves gas stations. Gas stations are usually ok with it for a little while. There is an etiquette to it. Like, only ask people AFTER they go in and get what they need, and don’t go to the same spot more than like once a week. Don’t be there all day. Get what you need and leave. Bonus points if you can buy something from the gas station before you leave.
I personally only did it as the very last resort. It’s humiliating and you always have a chance of seeing someone you went to school with.
A couple of decades ago I gave a dollar to a guy begging in front of a grocery store. When I was leaving I overheard him telling the security guard that he’s taking his family on vacation next week so he won’t be around. Then I watched him walk all the way to the very furthest spot in the parking lot, get into a brand new van, and drive away. I was pretty pissed off because I was poor myself and a dollar meant a lot to me. This dude was taking from poor people by acting poorer, when he actually had enough money to own a brand new van and take his family on vacation.
heard black people say it works the other way around for them, but I had no way to test it heh.
I can think of one way you can attempt to test it but I really really do not recommend it. If you do however please later on claim on Twatter that it was a social experiment that got misinterpreted.
Have you though if leaving to another place?
I have, but it’s more complicated than that. Everyone, had abandoned me, and I was homeless. Then, one night at a liquor store I ran into an ex of mine and her girlfriend. My ex and I talked for a while and went our separate ways. She called me a couple of weeks later and she had broken up with her partner and asked me out.
While on our date she said that if I was serious about getting clean I could live with her and she’d pay for my methadone. I took her up on that deal.
Things were going great. I started my own business. She has her own business. She got pregnant and we found out it was going to be a boy. 9 months later she gave birth.
Our son wasn’t even a year old and we realized something was wrong. At first we thought he was deaf, but after taking him to several doctors we found out that he is severely autistic. Like, on disability for the rest of his life autistic.
My partner had the more established business, and our son required/requires so much attention that I had to give up my business. I am his full time caregiver now. Plus my partner said that she didn’t want to deal with all the appointments and stuff.
TLDR I owe this woman my life. If I left her now… Well, it’s just not an option, and our livelihood depends on us being where we are. Also, I refer to her as my partner because not only are we not married. I’m actually married to someone else even though I haven’t seen her in 13 years.
Yes, out of this world if that’s what you mean.
So right back to drugs, gotcha.
If a gift of money comes with requirements on how to spend that money, it’s not a gift.
Nice try, Justice Thomas.
Are gift cards not gifts then?
No. They’re a fucking burden.
Yes, gift cards are gift cards. Gift cards, however, are not money as you can’t spend them anywhere.
Gift cards are gift cards.
Yes, but that wasn’t the question. Gift cards are to gifts like butterflies are to butter.
You can buy anything you want with a gift card. Whatever you choose to buy, that’s your gift. But no matter what you do, you’re never gonna get butter out of a butterfly.
Maybe I don’t feel like enabling a total stranger? Maybe I want to make sure I’m helping a problem with food and clothes rather than making it worse? Call it whatever the fuck you want Imma keep doing it and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it
The best thing you can do is donate to food banks. Either with actual donations of food or money donations.
It’s actually a good idea to give food banks money because they get no end of cookies but no fruit or vegetable.
I volunteered a food bank occasionally and we have enough pasta to survive the apocalypse. And every week people bring us even more bloody pasta. We could probably give it people to build as a shelter for themselves and still have more than we knew what to do with.
Also we have 40 bags of kale. Which I don’t think anyone wants to eat even if they are starving.
Not to mention money to the homeless is subject to sales tax. Your dollar goes farther in non-profits.
I’ve never heard of a drug dealer charging sales tax
Missing out on profits. Extra 5-10% on top in “sales tax” is the greatest marketing a dealer could ask for.
Smart dealers know they can shake the police of their back, but the IRS? Hell no, once they’re after you - game over.
Then don’t give them money directly. You can’t control how they spend it.
But if you just offer to buy them food, then people on the internet will complain at you denying them agency.
Can you provide an example of such complaining?
I mentioned it on a Discord server and got such responses as “Oh shut up. Let people have agency.” and “It’s just restricting more control from societies most vulnerable group.”
So a couple of people on a Discord serve said that and you extrapolate it to the entire internet?
Let’s take an informal poll. Who here would criticize someone who offered to buy a homeless person a meal? Please speak up.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen anything that aggressive about it outside the Discord server, and it’s the only one that really sticks in memory, but I’ve also seen a few comments in threads here and there sharing the sentiment less aggressively.
But it’s also worth noting that any time you talk about doing something selfless, there will be people trying to poke holes to diminish it.
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You silly. He’s obviously gonna put your $5 into the stock market, wait for it to grow 1000x and then use that money to buy drugs.
Funnily enough, that’s almost exactly what I did, except stock market = crypto.
And then I lost everything as smb rugpulled an crypto exchange market
And you deserved it for keeping your crypto in an exchange
Always move it off the exchange ASAP!
🚀🌙
Same story, but I turned around and gave him another 5 bucks with the words “oh, sorry, I know that stuff’s expensive, have a nice evening”
Not everyone knows this but you can actually combine multiple notes to make a bigger purchase
No way, I’ve been looking for a £150,000 note for years so I can buy a house and you’re telling me I could have bought one by adding others together???
That’s something big notes wouldn’t teach you.
Legitimately? Spend some time homeless in a US city and you will get fentanyl for free or next to nothing. I do not recommend it.
I’m curious, why would that stuff be passed around for free? My first thought was conspiracy-theory like nefarious suppliers want to addict & ruin & eradicate the homeless population, and doing it via addictive pleasures would be an indirect innocuous-seeming way to do it. Watching the homeless population drop like flies: “THeY DiD iT tO tHeMsELvEs!”
Its just super potent compared to other opioids/opiates using the same source material (opium). Its like 100x more potent than morphine and 50x heroin.
If you were slinging heroin and have a lab to make the stuff you just increased your production rate by that multiplier.
I’m sure there are some geopolitical PvP factors as the other commenter eluded to, but the economics of supply/demand were the enabler.
He’s not spending only the $5 on drugs! Responsibility means financing your hobbies with proper budgeting: it’s called Adulting.
Them: don’t give money to the poor and destitute, they’ll just use it for drink and drugs!
Me: what do you think I was going to use it for?
The old lady gender swapped pretty quickly
They confronted the homeless guy, not the lady.
Some beggars make bank. Like, more than you do.
If it’s such a good gig, nothing is stopping you from doing it yourself?
Self respect and morals as mentioned in another comment.
Money has no morals. The amount of money you have is probably the worst way to judge a character. More often it’s circumstances and I see no reason to kick someone when they’re down like you do.
I’m not big on relying on charity to pay my bills. If you could get it by doing an actual job and just beg because it’s easy you’re stealing from those who actually need it.
So what? If they can, good for them. Why is that a bad thing?
They aren’t doing it on their own either. They usually live with family, or families. Are also on assistance, and that 2009 Mercedes that they drove the lot over, is the family car, registered to their cousin. It’s not a glamorous life, like OP thinks.
