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Almost everyday I see this large African American homeless man at the train station. When it's crowded he seems to hide in a corner sleeping, but around 1 PM he wakes up and starts begging people for money. Usually I try to avoid him but last Thursday I had an exam so got out of class early and was standing at the station platform and I didn't see him coming from behind me. He asked me for some money and I realized I only had a few $20 bills in my wallet. I had two choices: either say sorry I don't have any money, or give him 20 bucks
I felt bad about it later that day that I didn't give him anything after looking in my wallet for 30 seconds. I should have just given him $20 it would have made him very happy but if he ever saw me again he might target me knowing I give away lots of money
   
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don't pull out your wallet around homeless people...
really you aren't obligated to give him anything just cuz he asked, hes using human empathy for his own gain so don't feel bad about it, that was his goal. Panhandlers can make decent money if they are good at it in crowded areas.
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$20 seems a bit much. You really shouldn't be giving homeless people cash anyway, because many of them (not all, but many) have drug and alcohol problems. Since businesses could make change for you, it probably would have been best to ask him if he wanted you to buy anything nearby for him such as food, a train ticket, etc.That way it wouldn't even matter if you only had 20's.
Oh by the way be careful what you show around people that are begging. The beggar could be distracting you and getting a feel for how much money you have while his buddy plans something more nefarious. Though if the man is there every day it is unlikely that he is stealing/scamming, you should still be careful.
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I don't think it was wrong to give him 20 dollars at all. He's going to enjoy a nice 40 Oz later.
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Offer to buy him a meal instead.
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ONLY a few 20$ bills? You know what's in my wallet? 5 1$'s and a couple nickels.
He also probably woulda ben happier if you bought him a pack of cigs and a lighter (cheaper than 20$ too !)
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why would you give street beggars anything.
I dont know how it is in NA, but in germany you actually have organized groups pretending to be poor homeless beggars. They come from poor Eu states and sometimes even use their children for it.
Its better to donate something to charity for africa or something where people get it that actually need it to stop suffering that they have to endure simply by being born in the wrong continent.
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On December 16 2013 05:23 LaNague wrote: why would you give street beggars anything.
I dont know how it is in NA, but in germany you actually have organized groups pretending to be poor homeless beggars. They come from poor Eu states and sometimes even use their children for it.
Its better to donate something to charity for africa or something where people get it that actually need it to stop suffering that they have to endure simply by being born in the wrong continent. Yeah I don't get this guilt thing at all. If I felt that shit where I live I'd be broke giving out change considering there's like 2 homeless on every block. Just gotta learn to say no.
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Instead of giving him $20, you could probably get him a sandwich and make him just as happy.
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If you were in a small town (under 20k) then maybe give some money, 2 or 3 dollars is enough. Otherwise don't give them any money. If they have money then they won't work because they won't starve to death.
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Russian Federation3631 Posts
I dont know how it is in NA, but in germany you actually have organized groups pretending to be poor homeless beggars. it legitimately happens here in US too, apparently during certain events people are known to make over $1300 in a single weekend
Its better to donate something to charity for africa or something where people get it that actually need it to stop suffering that they have to endure simply by being born in the wrong continent.
lets be fair, it'll probably just enrich some african dictator ~~~~
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It's best to desensitize yourself so that you don't feel bad about not donating to homeless people. This way you don't spend 30 seconds looking in your wallet deciding if you should donate.
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I only give (remotely attractive) homeless women money because it's like prostitution. Unfortunately they are rare for obvious reasons. Grown men should not beg for money, giving them is just idiotic. You are most likely just getting fooled by beggar groups. And even if he's a genuine homeless a real man would have enough pride not to beg.
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"should" is such a strong word, be i would have been quite nice, yes
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On December 16 2013 05:23 LaNague wrote: why would you give street beggars anything.
I dont know how it is in NA, but in germany you actually have organized groups pretending to be poor homeless beggars. They come from poor Eu states and sometimes even use their children for it.
Its better to donate something to charity for africa or something where people get it that actually need it to stop suffering that they have to endure simply by being born in the wrong continent. The beggars in NA (at least around where I live) are different from yours, I think. All the beggars I saw in EU looked like they were from India or gypsies and they all had some stupid gimmick to try to get your money (playing music, waving their children around). They wouldn't leave you alone if you paid any attention to them.
The beggars in the US are much less aggressive about asking for money. I'm pretty sure a lot of them are mentally ill people, not necessarily scammers.
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T.O.P.
Hong Kong4685 Posts
You know when you go to a park and they tell you to not feed the animals because they don't want the animals to grow dependent on human food. It's the same thing with homeless people. If you give them money, they're going to grow dependent on a stranger's handouts.
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This is how the rich and powerful see us.
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If you see this man on a regular basis, maybe you have an idea if he would probably "waste" the money or if he would use it "well". I occasionally donate some money to people that are begging in the city, but not to those I consider to be who seem to come from an organized/travelling beggar group. But there are a few you can see there almost every day, and who do not beg in an aggressive way.
I think it is rather arrogant to assume that beggars are a homogeneous group, and if you just assume that anyone begging could just work instead, try to get some imagination. To assume that every beggar is part of an organized group just serves to confirm a point of view that easy for yourself.
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you're either really generous or incredibly dumb.
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On December 16 2013 08:50 gg_hertzz wrote: you're either really generous or incredibly dumb. or he is just a sensible human being
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