There's a gentleman who hangs out in the mall that I work at. He's disheveled and carries a battered bag with him wherever he goes. Every morning, when I go upstairs to get my oatmeal at the food Co-Op, he's sitting at one of their tables, nursing a coffee, huddled over old newspapers that he's reading.
This morning, I bought him oatmeal for breakfast. He didn't know that I'd done it. I asked the cashier to tell him when he came back in for a refill that someone had gotten it, and then didn't end up buying it. It wasn't a big deal - $2 - but it would mean hot food for him. I don't know that the guy is homeless, but he's clearly somewhat destitute, and when I went up for lunch, the cashier said that he was grateful for the meal.
I don't generally give money to beggars. I'd rather buy them lunch or a hot coffee. But how does one do that without potentially insulting the person? I'd set up an account for the man and pay it each week if it meant that he got coffee and breakfast every day, but how does one go about doing that not knowing the person's situation?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2up7su7CeMU
The fuck you messing with the 47% for? Woman's lost her mind.
Some day someone will do this for me and then I'll have to go clothes shopping :(
Club hopping?
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 12:16:13 PM
Some day someone will do this for me and then I'll have to go clothes shopping :(
That's actually part of why this is so delicate. I know plenty of men who go out looking a bit... disheveled. :blush:
Quote from: merithyn on October 29, 2013, 12:10:24 PM
There's a gentleman who hangs out in the mall that I work at. He's disheveled and carries a battered bag with him wherever he goes. Every morning, when I go upstairs to get my oatmeal at the food Co-Op, he's sitting at one of their tables, nursing a coffee, huddled over old newspapers that he's reading.
This morning, I bought him oatmeal for breakfast. He didn't know that I'd done it. I asked the cashier to tell him when he came back in for a refill that someone had gotten it, and then didn't end up buying it. It wasn't a big deal - $2 - but it would mean hot food for him. I don't know that the guy is homeless, but he's clearly somewhat destitute, and when I went up for lunch, the cashier said that he was grateful for the meal.
I don't generally give money to beggars. I'd rather buy them lunch or a hot coffee. But how does one do that without potentially insulting the person? I'd set up an account for the man and pay it each week if it meant that he got coffee and breakfast every day, but how does one go about doing that not knowing the person's situation?
I know it's personally more satisfying to give a hot meal to a specific person, it's generally much more socially beneficial to give the money to your local food bank / homeless shelter.
If he didn't want to be poor or destitute, he'd make more money. That's the American Way(tm).
Some people just need to mind their own business.
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 12:18:54 PM
I know it's personally more satisfying to give a hot meal to a specific person, it's generally much more socially beneficial to give the money to your local food bank / homeless shelter.
What makes you think that I don't do that, too?
Quote from: merithyn on October 29, 2013, 12:17:22 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 12:16:13 PM
Some day someone will do this for me and then I'll have to go clothes shopping :(
That's actually part of why this is so delicate. I know plenty of men who go out looking a bit... disheveled. :blush:
Yeah, I was partly joking but many of my friends would meet his description, there seems to be a strong correlation with excellent degrees in maths or physics and a certain disregard for sartorial standards..........or maybe it's just my friends :P
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 12:25:10 PM
Quote from: merithyn on October 29, 2013, 12:17:22 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 12:16:13 PM
Some day someone will do this for me and then I'll have to go clothes shopping :(
That's actually part of why this is so delicate. I know plenty of men who go out looking a bit... disheveled. :blush:
Yeah, I was partly joking but many of my friends would meet his description, there seems to be a strong correlation with excellent degrees in maths or physics and a certain disregard for sartorial standards..........or maybe it's just my friends :P
There's a quiz for that:
Prof or hobo? (http://individual.utoronto.ca/somody/quiz.html)
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 12:25:10 PM
Yeah, I was partly joking but many of my friends would meet his description, there seems to be a strong correlation with excellent degrees in maths or physics and a certain disregard for sartorial standards..........or maybe it's just my friends :P
And we live near a campus of some of the top engineers in the country.... you see my quandary. ;)
Not too difficult to tell them apart downtown here.
I've never seen a professor sleeping on a grate covered in newspaper.
Ask?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on October 29, 2013, 12:47:52 PM
I've never seen a professor sleeping on a grate covered in newspaper.
I have. There was a crazy law prof who decided to take a one year sabbatical and live as a street person playing for money outside liquor stores.
I can see Meri's quandry. But I would solve it differently. She should give the guy the food. If it is a professor then he will get the hint that he needs to up his game and should be grateful. If he is homeless (and not a prof) then he will most certainly be grateful.
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 12:11:52 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2up7su7CeMU
That song is even weirder now that I've managed to pick up some of the words.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on October 29, 2013, 12:47:52 PM
I've never seen a professor sleeping on a grate covered in newspaper.
Only if they're caught fucking their 19 year old students. Their delicious, soft-skinned yet hard-bodied, unwrinkled and incredibly flexible 19 year old students that smell soooo good.
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 12:18:54 PM
I know it's personally more satisfying to give a hot meal to a specific person, it's generally much more socially beneficial to give the money to your local food bank / homeless shelter.
Yes, nothing like seeing your contribution going to "overhead costs".
I see Tricky has already alluded to the sartorial elegance of a certain type of British person. :bowler:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 29, 2013, 02:38:25 PM
Only if they're caught fucking their 19 year old students. Their delicious, soft-skinned yet hard-bodied, unwrinkled and incredibly flexible 19 year old students that smell soooo good.
No grates in the Rockies.
Might not be any newspapers either.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 29, 2013, 02:44:32 PM
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 12:18:54 PM
I know it's personally more satisfying to give a hot meal to a specific person, it's generally much more socially beneficial to give the money to your local food bank / homeless shelter.
Yes, nothing like seeing your contribution going to "overhead costs".
Food banks and soup kitchens are the ones most likely to be run by volunteers and religious organizations.
Not every charity is Susan G Komen.
Besides, this way Meri's paying the overhead costs of the restaurant. Oatmeal doesn't cost $2 per bowl.
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 02:57:43 PM
Food banks and soup kitchens are the ones most likely to be run by volunteers and religious organizations.
Not every charity is Susan G Komen.
Besides, this way Meri's paying the overhead costs of the restaurant. Oatmeal doesn't cost $2 per bowl.
It's a food co-op, not a restaurant.
When you guys say "oatmeal" is that the same as porridge?
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 03:14:31 PM
When you guys say "oatmeal" is that the same as porridge?
Yes, but only made of oats.
I prefer direct aid, just like Meri. Then again, I don't meet many homeless people.
Thanks. Perhaps because we are so close to Scotland "porridge" and "oatmeal porridge" are more or less synonyms here.
I don't care much for homeless people. That may be because many of them stink.
The good kind of homeless you can't really tell from a norm just by looking at him. There is no law that you have to stink just because you're homeless, there are homeless people who shower at work etc.
There's no law that you have to shower regularly either. :sleep:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on October 29, 2013, 12:47:52 PM
I've never seen a professor sleeping on a grate covered in newspaper.
Yeah? Five years. That's all they've got.
Quote from: merithyn on October 29, 2013, 03:01:39 PM
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 02:57:43 PM
Food banks and soup kitchens are the ones most likely to be run by volunteers and religious organizations.
Not every charity is Susan G Komen.
Besides, this way Meri is paying the overhead costs of the restaurant. Oatmeal doesn't cost $2 per bowl.
It's a food co-op, not a restaurant.
Ok, this way Meri is paying the overhead costs of the co-op restaurant. Oatmeal doesnt cost $2 per bowl.
Quote from: Ideologue on October 29, 2013, 03:26:33 PM
Yeah? Five years. That's all they've got.
You talking about tenure? :unsure:
Some of the most heartless people I have ever met were socialists. They didn't give to charities or to beggars because, by their lights, the state should provide. I think there is a lot to be said for helping people on the personal level; and, if someone asks you for a petty sum of money, have some compassion and think about why they may have been driven to that extremity.
(disclaimer........of course when I last lived in London I had to restrict my good Samaritan act to one person per day)
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 03:33:14 PM
Some of the most heartless people I have ever met were socialists. They didn't give to charities or to beggars because, by their lights, the state should provide. I think there is a lot to be said for helping people on the personal level; and, if someone asks you for a petty some of money, have some compassion and think about why they may have been driven to that extremity.
(disclaimer........of course when I last lived in London I had to restrict my good Samaritan act to one person per day)
There are a lot of problems with giving money to apparently homeless people (which I freely note is not what Meri did). Panhandling, if you look pathetic enough, and are aggressive enough about it, can be very lucrative. That can then feed into drug and alcohol addictions, and create a disincentive for the person to make any lifestyle changes. Plus panhandlers tend to turn other people off from attending an area, which decreases property values and foot traffic.
Big believer in charity, but not in giving money on the street.
From what I recall, this is illegal to do in Chicago. Someone was giving food to homeless people with poison in it.
Actually a quick google search reveals that it illegal in many places.
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 03:39:19 PM
There are a lot of problems with giving money to apparently homeless people (which I freely note is not what Meri did). Panhandling, if you look pathetic enough, and are aggressive enough about it, can be very lucrative. That can then feed into drug and alcohol addictions, and create a disincentive for the person to make any lifestyle changes. Plus panhandlers tend to turn other people off from attending an area, which decreases property values and foot traffic.
Big believer in charity, but not in giving money on the street.
Socialist Nanny-stater.
It's illegal in many places for any random joe (or even random organization) to just start passing out food. That's because even a charity is supposed to have people with food handler permits, submit to some level of inspection and such. There was a charity in North Carolina that got into a bit of trouble because they were cooking biscuits/other breakfast food every Saturday morning or something then hauling it all out to a local park and giving it away to free to homeless people. [Talking about prepared food here, I don't think there are laws anywhere against giving away packaged food or that would make Trick-or-Treat illegal.]
But what's happened here is someone paid for food at a business (or co-op, which is just a type of business organization BTW), and instructed said business to give the food to another person. So the entity that prepared/handled the food is probably legit and wouldn't get in trouble for serving the food as they are a properly licensed food vendor.
@barrister
Yes, I know what you are saying and at least partially agree, but when people ask I feel obliged to at least consider and feel like shit if I don't.
BTW the number of beggars on the streets of Preston has fallen to zero (unless one counts the accordion playing dwarf and the big issue seller outside M&S), it is different in major cities where begging can be a lucrative career but, really, I think very few people choose to do it.
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 03:27:10 PMOk, this way Meri is paying the overhead costs of the co-op restaurant. Oatmeal doesnt cost $2 per bowl.
Raw materials wise, correct. But if they pay staff or overhead then you can't sell oatmeal at product cost.
FWIW I just checked and I can get a one serving of oatmeal for about $0.16 cents (a 10 pound bag from Amazon for $18.69 yields about 113 single bowl servings of oatmeal.)
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 03:49:37 PM
@barrister
Yes, I know what you are saying and at least partially agree, but when people ask I feel obliged to at least consider and feel like shit if I don't.
BTW the number of beggars on the streets of Preston has fallen to zero (unless one counts the accordion playing dwarf and the big issue seller outside M&S), it is different in major cities where begging can be a lucrative career but, really, I think very few people choose to do it.
You don't have enough first nations people. :(
More homeless, not so many beggars. A few years ago so-called "aggressive panhandlers" were a big problem - they'd approach cars stopped at a red light, creating quite the hazard.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 03:49:37 PM
@barrister
Yes, I know what you are saying and at least partially agree, but when people ask I feel obliged to at least consider and feel like shit if I don't.
BTW the number of beggars on the streets of Preston has fallen to zero (unless one counts the accordion playing dwarf and the big issue seller outside M&S), it is different in major cities where begging can be a lucrative career but, really, I think very few people choose to do it.
Yeah it seems like you'd be quite broke and/or depressed in a larger city with that mindset. :D
IIRC London had a problem with "squeegee merchants" a few years back, belligerent buggers who would wipe your windscreen at traffic lights and try and charge you a fiver :mad:
I also recall a plague of begging women with cute babies on the London Underground while the Yugoslav civil wars were going on. By rights i suspect that those women should probably have been paying the top rate of tax.
Giving money is certainly a complicated business :(
A fiver for a squeegee?? :lol:
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 04:00:53 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on October 29, 2013, 03:49:37 PM
@barrister
Yes, I know what you are saying and at least partially agree, but when people ask I feel obliged to at least consider and feel like shit if I don't.
BTW the number of beggars on the streets of Preston has fallen to zero (unless one counts the accordion playing dwarf and the big issue seller outside M&S), it is different in major cities where begging can be a lucrative career but, really, I think very few people choose to do it.
Yeah it seems like you'd be quite broke and/or depressed in a larger city with that mindset. :D
Oh I just had my one beggar a day rule when I lived in London and Brighton. But yes, the disparity in incomes and wealth in places like London can be distressing; the North of England is poorer but the incidence of utter failure and misery seems to be less.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on October 29, 2013, 04:07:53 PM
A fiver for a squeegee?? :lol:
It was extortion rather than begging, you had to face them down..........which was bloody irritating when driving through suburban London which is misery anyway.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 29, 2013, 02:38:25 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on October 29, 2013, 12:47:52 PM
I've never seen a professor sleeping on a grate covered in newspaper.
Only if they're caught fucking their 19 year old students. Their delicious, soft-skinned yet hard-bodied, unwrinkled and incredibly flexible 19 year old students that smell soooo good.
Your post arouses me.
Over the years I have been able to identify the usual scammers from the folks that are genuinely desperate. I often see the scammers. I rarely see the later folks as they have to be very desperate to come out and ask for money. There are a couple of folks I have gotten to know over the years. I have already told some stories about them and I wont repeat them here. most times when I see them they just say hi. Occasionally they will ask for money and I give it to them.
Only the truly moronic give money to beggars. In Stockholm there are beggars everywhere. Most of them are Eastern European gypsy career beggars. The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:13:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Dont worry Brain. If I saw you with no shoes, no socks, and it was clear you hadnt eaten probably in days, I wouldnt give you any money. :)
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:19:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:13:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Dont worry Brain. If I saw you with no shoes, no socks, and it was clear you hadnt eaten probably in days, I wouldnt give you any money. :)
Good. I find it extremely unlikely that if I end up like that I have even basic money management skills. I'd much rather you give to the Salvation Army or similar so they can provide real aid to me.
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:21:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:19:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:13:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Dont worry Brain. If I saw you with no shoes, no socks, and it was clear you hadnt eaten probably in days, I wouldnt give you any money. :)
Good. I find it extremely unlikely that if I end up like that I have even basic money management skills. I'd much rather you give to the Salvation Army or similar so they can provide real aid to me.
Oh, does your soul need saving?
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 05:33:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:21:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:19:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:13:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Dont worry Brain. If I saw you with no shoes, no socks, and it was clear you hadnt eaten probably in days, I wouldnt give you any money. :)
Good. I find it extremely unlikely that if I end up like that I have even basic money management skills. I'd much rather you give to the Salvation Army or similar so they can provide real aid to me.
Oh, does your soul need saving?
Don't you read my posts here on Languish? :(
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 05:33:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:21:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:19:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:13:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Dont worry Brain. If I saw you with no shoes, no socks, and it was clear you hadnt eaten probably in days, I wouldnt give you any money. :)
Good. I find it extremely unlikely that if I end up like that I have even basic money management skills. I'd much rather you give to the Salvation Army or similar so they can provide real aid to me.
Oh, does your soul need saving?
No, but if he's shoeless, his soles probably do. ;)
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 03:41:36 PM
From what I recall, this is illegal to do in Chicago. Someone was giving food to homeless people with poison in it.
I'm fairly sure that poisoning people is illegal almost everywhere.
:D
Quote from: dps on October 29, 2013, 05:45:50 PM
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 03:41:36 PM
From what I recall, this is illegal to do in Chicago. Someone was giving food to homeless people with poison in it.
I'm fairly sure that poisoning people is illegal almost everywhere.
:D
There's a loophole: blueberries.
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:36:04 PM
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 05:33:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:21:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:19:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:13:26 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 29, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
Quote from: The Brain on October 29, 2013, 05:09:20 PM
The rest are addicts and nutjobs.
I think giving to homeless people that are there primarily because of they have mental health issues and they have, for some reason, slipped between the cracks, is a very good reason to help them out.
And helping them out means giving them cash? lol
Dont worry Brain. If I saw you with no shoes, no socks, and it was clear you hadnt eaten probably in days, I wouldnt give you any money. :)
Good. I find it extremely unlikely that if I end up like that I have even basic money management skills. I'd much rather you give to the Salvation Army or similar so they can provide real aid to me.
Oh, does your soul need saving?
Don't you read my posts here on Languish? :(
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg2.timeinc.net%2Fpeople%2Fi%2F2010%2Fgalleries%2Fbestquotes%2F100628%2Fjewel.jpg&hash=bebfcfaacd5c09fec8bbc474bb88f1c6c0b6f746)
Quote from: garbon on October 29, 2013, 05:51:58 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg2.timeinc.net%2Fpeople%2Fi%2F2010%2Fgalleries%2Fbestquotes%2F100628%2Fjewel.jpg&hash=bebfcfaacd5c09fec8bbc474bb88f1c6c0b6f746)
Somebody didnt get braces when they were a kid.
Great. Who will save your soul just popped into my head.
Want me to sing Godzilla to drown it out? :D
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on October 29, 2013, 07:56:45 PM
Want me to sing Godzilla to drown it out? :D
I am impervious to that song now.
Quote from: Ed Anger on October 29, 2013, 07:48:58 PM
Great. Who will save your soul just popped into my head.
:hug:
That is unbelievably mean-spirited, CC. I bet her elbows are too sharp too.
CC's thoughtless words are breaking her heart. He's breaking her heart.
Quote from: Barrister on October 29, 2013, 03:39:19 PM
Big believer in charity, but not in giving money on the street.
Yeah I agree. I buy the Big Issue but I always buy it from the same guy.
I think there are companies that could do more with their waste. I've a lot of time for Pret and M&S who both give their food wastage to homeless charities and shelters.
I also normally give money to Roma beggars because the can curse you.
They'll turn you into Lon Chaney Jr. :cheers:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 29, 2013, 12:14:17 PM
The fuck you messing with the 47% for? Woman's lost her mind.
Your a walking sterotype. CountDeHommie :P
Set up the account and dont worry or be bothered by his circumstances, Meri.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on October 29, 2013, 12:20:02 PM
If he didn't want to be poor or destitute, he'd make more money. That's the American Way(tm).
Some people just need to mind their own business.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi560.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss45%2Fthmsbrownlee%2F24HRC%2Fyuacr135bs.jpg&hash=29ce7cd30e9b835545b025225c40c2529249c073)