Panhandlers: What do you do AND how do you feel afterword?

[skydiver30960 0]

How often this comes up depends on where you live and where you work and a lot of other factors. BUT, when you are faced with/ approached by someone asking for a handout, how do you reply?

Unfortunately (I wonder about what it says about my personality) I feel bad no matter what I do. If I give, I'm pissed. If I don't, I'm pissed. Although lately I've found that I'm pissed for slightly LESS time if I give something than if I don't.

Elvisio "would call myself the poll master but that sounds REALLY bad" Rodriguez

[mutumbo 0]

they are on damn near every corner here in pensacola. since the police do nothing to control them. i just walk/drive by.

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

[Squeak 17]

what about dont give them anything and dont feel good or bad, just dont give them anything.

different for people doing stuff, make an effort to actually do something useful you'll stand a better chance with me.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[d_squared431 0]

Every day I get off the hwy there is the same guy there with a sign that says "traveling need help, god bless." Pisses me off he is too damn lazy to get a damn job instead of expecting others to just hand him money.

Why do people give money to those holding signs anyways?

Don't get me wrong, i am all for helping those who are truly in need of help if i can but not just handing them cash on the side of the road.

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[mutumbo 0]

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Every day I get off the hwy there is the same guy there with a sign that says "traveling need help, god bless." Pisses me off he is too damn lazy to get a damn job instead of expecting others to just hand him money.

Why do people give money to those holding signs anyways?

Don't get me wrong, i am all for helping those who are truly in need of help if i can but not just handing them cash on the side of the road.

couldnt agree more.

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

[jonstark 8]

I used to keep Clif Bars in the car for when somebody at an exit ramp claimed to be "hungry". Some guys were grateful for them while others kind of snuffled a grunt with no thank you. Made me feel good when they appreciated it but I felt like a dupe when they were really after a beer instead.

jon

[AggieDave 6]

Just about every single panhandler I've professionally encountered were not down on their luck. They are leaches on society preying on the weak to get money for nothing. By and large they have had ample opportunity to get their lives turned around. They have chosen not to. They prefer free hand outs to buy their beer/cigarettes.

If you want to see one of them get really pissed off at you, give them a can of food.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ryoder 1,590]

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I used to keep Clif Bars in the car for when somebody at an exit ramp claimed to be "hungry". Some guys were grateful for them while others kind of snuffled a grunt with no thank you. Made me feel good when they appreciated it but I felt like a dupe when they were really after a beer instead.

jon

I was driving through a Western 'burb of Denver one day and saw one on the corner with a sign that said something like:

"No excuses; Just need money to buy a cold beer."

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[jrmrangers 0]

There wa a guy that used to hang around outside a club i worked at many moons ago. He would come up and tell you a joke ( usually good ones!) and just about everyone would pony up something for him. I didnt mind that and i didnt feel bad about helping him out

Wait , I pull what first?

[BillyVance 34]

I can be an asshole sometimes, but every time some bum comes up to me looking for a handout, I point to my ears and shrug, then drive off.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[dirtbox 0]

The only thing they can spend it on is alcohol, drugs, food and hookers. If you live in a box or under a bridge you are not going to be saving for wall unit or a plasma.

That said I don't give them anything - in most developed countries there are so many programs (church, NFPO, NGO, and tax payer funded) to help people who are down on their luck - if they won't help themselves why should I? I would rather give money to a non-religious NFPO or NGO.

Side story I was in the Seoul train station when a bum tried to rob me of the Burger King I had just purchased (got into into a wrestle with the guy and if some other guy had not pull him off I was about the king hit the fucker). For a moment I felt bad and considered giving it to him anyway (had crushed it all anyway) but then I realised Korea is a country that imports workers from all over SE Asia to do unskilled work (and pays well) - there were plenty of jobs available but he was living as a bum by choice. While America isn't as lucky to have plentiful employment like Korea at the moment the same still applies to most bums - it is a choice.

[masterrig 1]

I quit paying any attention to panhandlers after seeing a story about them on 20-20 or 60-minutes (I forget which). They showed a guy driving a Mercedes park the car. The driver looked around and then got out and walked to a corner a couple blocks away. The guy was dirty looking and shabbily dressed and un-folded a sign which had a message looking for a hand-out. He'd work that corner (near a wealthy neighborhood) 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. When interviewed, he stated that he made thousands of dollars on that corner. Since seeing that program, how do I distinguish the 'real' down and outer from the fraud?

Chuck

[Squeak 17]

a bunch of years ago on of our "current affairs" type shows sent out an actor to play street beggar for the day in the CBD, the dude pulled in about $300 TAX FREE for the 8-4 shift, this was at a time when i was earning good money at about $120 per 8 hour day (pre tax)

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[masterrig 1]

It's guys like that that make 'real' bums look bad!


Chuck

[stitch 0]

Andy Copland just sits out in front of manifest looking pitiful. I think we all have a soft spot for lazy Brits.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[Andy9o8 2]

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Panhandlers: What do you do AND how do you feel afterword?

I'm pedantic; I take language too literally.

I thought the thread was: asking people their personal panhandling techniques, and whether they felt degraded afterward.

Hey, hear the one about the college students who put up a donation box labeled "Fund For the Blind"? After a week of donations, they replaced it with a sign saying, "Thank you to everyone who donated. Our new venetian blinds have been purchased."

[SpeedRacer 1]

Speaking of language, why are they called panhandlers and not beggars?

Speed Racer
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[Nataly 38]

In London, homeless people can pick up a stack of magazines called the Big Issue and sell them. I think they get them free and keep all the profits. I buy those magazines and if I don't have change I give more - no problem. I consider that they are working, and feel they deserve my money... 'Cause selling a magazine is actually bloody hard work. It's harder than asking for money, because no one actually *wants* those crappy magazines!!

Otherwise, beggars don't get my cash or my pity. I have worked for my money - why should I give it away to someone who contributes nothing to society??

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

[ryoder 1,590]

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I consider that they are working, and feel they deserve my money... 'Cause selling a magazine is actually bloody hard work. It's harder than asking for money, because no one actually *wants* those crappy magazines!!

Their counterpart in the US is life insurance salesmen.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Bertt 0]

Where's the option for "hand 'em the leaflet you got from the religious fanatic a block back down the street" ?

You don't have to outrun the bear.

[SpeedRacer 1]

In Boston they actually sell a magazine called Spare Change.

Speed Racer
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[Andy9o8 2]

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Speaking of language, why are they called panhandlers and not beggars?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhandlers#cite_ref-0

When done in the context of a public place, it is known as "panhandling", perhaps because the hand and arm are extended like the handle of a cooking implement, and not infrequently, a kitchen implement such as a pot or cup may be used.

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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080528063611AAr67o2
Where did the term "panhandler" originate ?

[jackwallace 3]

I look at their shoes. That will usually tell you if they need money or not.
I've also offered half a dozen people jobs over the years. None have been there when I went to pick them up.

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[warpedskydiver 0]

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Andy Copland just sits out in front of manifest looking pitiful. I think we all have a soft spot for lazy Brits.

That is his pikey stealth move.

[Galenis 0]

In the town I live in they go and buy a permit to panhandle and then they are allowed to sit out there all the time. They are on every freeway exit around the city. I never give them anything because I have yet to see one that looks disabled or unable to work. If you can sit outside in 90 degree weather all day long with no shade and beg for money then you are healthy enough to go out and get a f**king job. If I ever saw someone who really was diabled then I would give them my spare change but since I have yet to see someone like that then I don't feel bad about ignoring them or telling them to get the hell away from my car.

It's time for my nightly ritual: Pleasure myself, weep, and repeat.