Why Lie?

[hippietim]

i have a simple system for this:

• young people (particularly males) with no obvious issues (missing limbs, etc.) - they can FUCK OFF
• Old people, women with children, etc. - they can have a couple bucks. Have I been scammed? Probably a few times. Have I helped some folks that could really use it? Absolutely. A few bucks here or there is not a problem for me so why shouldn't I try and help? Despite any reports and exposés you may have seen, the overwhelming majority of people on the streets are not there by choice and certainly no children are. Getting scammed now and again is insignificant compared doing nothing for those that need it.

[lerxstcat]

fuck the euphemistic sensitive term "homeless," these guys are BUMS.

anything you give them is just throwing good money or food down the rat hole.

no one should give bums anything except a hard kick in the ass. and maybe a knock on the fucken head with an axe handle for being such lazy douchebags.

Why not just hustle them into the "showers" for "delousing", huh?

Dude, I lived in Santa Monica for 14 years, I know the pitfalls and aggravation, and outright danger, many represent.

But think about it: many people fall through the cracks, lose their job, lose their homes, for a number of reasons. Once you're on the street, no one hires a homeless person. No addess, or an address that's recognized as a homeless reference point? App goes in the round file.

Homeless and penniless, want to get an apartment? You'll need about $3,000 minimum to get into a halfway decent place, not to mention having a job and passing a credit check. Once they're down, it's very hard to get back up. If you were on the street, even if you were a straight-arrow to start, you'd probably start drinking and drugging soon enough.

Believe me, I hate when I see homeless intimidating single moms with their kids in tow. I've intervened in that situation enough times to have to watch my back on GP. That doesn't change the fact that a lot of them started out as hard-working people who missed a few paychecks and were on the street. You can't just tag them as subhuman bcause they've degenerated under the pressure of the street. You have to be careful around them, but they're still humans, if somewhat feral.

Oh, and I did see a guy with the "Why Lie? I Need a Beer" signe in Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade many years ago. I guess California leads the trends even in panhandling technology!

[Mrs Tekky]

Come to Chicago - we have a lot of "professional beggars". They pay no taxes, get free money, and still take advantage of programs meant for those without. And a number of these people actually make more money than I do. Some even live in nicer places. A number of these "bums" are actually theives - they wait till unsuspecting tourists reach for their wallet to give some change and steal the entire wallet/purse. There are some legitimate homeless people here that are trying to work their way back. And although it irritates a number of Chicagoians - there is a paper called Streetwise that actually "employs" to sell the papers on street corners - I say "employs" because the paper is a donations only kind of thing and the homeless get proceeds for those donations. A lot of the bigger cities have great services and places to help the real homeless people out.

Personally, I money to any of the people on the corner. I have given food to some - usually those that actually ask for it.

[FusionFarmer]

I saw a black guy holding a "car broke down need money,,,,," sign. at an intersection in Pennsacola, I drove past that same intersection an hour later and this time a white guy was holding the very same sign, Tag Team panhandling :ROTF:

[texasfury]

.

[zeegler]

Fuck them all. Bums should be kidnapped by secret government agencies and have scientific experiments performed on them.

[skorb]

Why not just hustle them into the "showers" for "delousing", huh?

Dude, I lived in Santa Monica for 14 years, I know the pitfalls and aggravation, and outright danger, many represent.

But think about it: many people fall through the cracks, lose their job, lose their homes, for a number of reasons. Once you're on the street, no one hires a homeless person. No addess, or an address that's recognized as a homeless reference point? App goes in the round file.

Homeless and penniless, want to get an apartment? You'll need about $3,000 minimum to get into a halfway decent place, not to mention having a job and passing a credit check. Once they're down, it's very hard to get back up. If you were on the street, even if you were a straight-arrow to start, you'd probably start drinking and drugging soon enough.

Believe me, I hate when I see homeless intimidating single moms with their kids in tow. I've intervened in that situation enough times to have to watch my back on GP. That doesn't change the fact that a lot of them started out as hard-working people who missed a few paychecks and were on the street. You can't just tag them as subhuman bcause they've degenerated under the pressure of the street. You have to be careful around them, but they're still humans, if somewhat feral.

that would have been a decent response had you not ruined it from the start with the nazi shower smear attempt.

the fact is, people make their choices in life. bums made bad choices. and I'm all about not rewarding bad choices. or they're insane, and should be in an insane asylum.

the ones I feel sorry for is the little kids in poverty, and I do give to those kinds of charities.

but I have zero tolerance for bums who leech off others. they should all be pushed in front of oncoming trains.

[charvelguy]

your equating mental illness to insanity....there's many mentally ill people who can still function a role in society, they just need help getting there.

[chrisgUK]

i have my own financial problems. whatever i might give to some so-called beggar (or bum as it's known in usa) could be the difference between life and death. so i don't. i get rather pissed off when people ask me for cigarettes or money, and these aren't homeless - they're low life scum who just stay on government benefits and think the world owes them a living. makes me sick how i pay 15% of my wages in "national insurance contributions" and these assholes don't even so much as lift a finger to earn it.

+alot

In the Uk there is no need for anybody to be homeless. People moan about immigrants, but at least they work and contribute to the economy. People who live off benefits for no good reason make me sick.

[lerxstcat]

that would have been a decent response had you not ruined it from the start with the nazi shower smear attempt.

the fact is, people make their choices in life. bums made bad choices. and I'm all about not rewarding bad choices. or they're insane, and should be in an insane asylum.

the ones I feel sorry for is the little kids in poverty, and I do give to those kinds of charities.

but I have zero tolerance for bums who leech off others. they should all be pushed in front of oncoming trains.

So you start your post offended by the Nazi reference, and end it by saying "they should all be pushed in front of oncoming trains"; that's real nice, man.

It can happen to anybody. It could happen to YOU unless you're a trust fund kid or otherwise independently wealthy. And if that's the case, then you have no idea. You simplify the problem so you can have a simple solution - push 'em all in front of the train. You go, boy!

[Annah]

Dude, do you live in Austin? I've seen a homeless guy with a sign that said the exact same thing!

EDIT: D'oh! I just looked at your profizzle... Memphis. Jeez, either that guy gets around, or that particular phrase is working so well they're all using it! LOL

So I'm on my way home a little while ago and I see what appears to be this homeless dude standing on the side of the highway exit. Not unusual really, so I didn't pay much attention to it, but something caught my eye.

He was holding a sign he made from cardboard and black marker that read,

"WHY LIE? I NEED A BEER!"

I got such a kick out this nutty fucker I was going to go get him some beer and then just before the light changed not one, but 2 people handed this old dude some beer.