You just can't help some people.

And then asked for his "piece of the pie".
Sad days are upon us.

Matt

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Support your local Scouts!

It is a snapshot of mental illness...

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~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

If he has gone over the edge hopefully someone will stop him before he destroys his feet in the cold.

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To have what we want is riches, but to do without is power.

Some people give what the can when they can and when they see a need.
Sometimes for different reasons it doesn't work out like it was hoped to.
That does not mean it was the wrong thing to do.

One man cared enough to do something for another person. That is good.
One person was not able to make the best use of another's kindness. That is sad.

One person could not help how he felt when he saw a person in need.
One person could not help that he couldn't react like others wanted him to react.

Just because you can help everybody doesn't mean that you can help some. If I see a need I try to help but what the person does afterwards is not my problem.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

If someone is indeed mentally ill, it does not mean, that they have necessarily lost all of the traits, everyone else still possesses.

PJ, you just can't help some people.

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Vicker
If you're born to hang, you'll never drown.

I'm well aware of that truism.

My point was, that in many ways, homeless, possibly mentally ill people, are still just like you and I.

They still have to have their survival instincts, sometimes even more keen, than we give them credit for.

What most people don't know is that sometimes doing nothing is the way to help.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

When I was in law school, I came across a woman sitting on a stoop in jeans and a tank top panhandling. It was fall, and while the days were warm, the evenings were very chilly. I had just come out of a store having bought a much needed light jacket/windbreaker. It was on clearance and I was proud of my find as I was quite broke and very much needed a jacket.

When I saw the woman I put the few spare coins in her cup and walked on. Feeling the chill in the air, I turned around and asked her if she was ok. She said yes. I said, "But do you have something to wear? It's getting very cold." I had every intention of just handing her the bag containing my new jacket because no matter how broke I was I wasn't as broke as this woman. I changed my mind when she pulled a watch out of her pocket and said, "No, I'm good. I have to let the baby sitter off soon, so I won't be out here much longer. I'm going home soon."

I found out even further how naive I was after working in the legal aid clinic at school. Most of the panhandlers in the neighborhood came through the clinic, and I found out they lived in govt subsidized apartments and were not homeless at all. It turns out this shoeless man in the OP lives in VA housing and is not homeless at all (though I have no doubt he has mental problems that put him in his situation and bless him for his service to our country...he earned his housing).

It's people like that woman I desrcibed who give those truly in need a bad name. I know my experience years ago with that woman and the many similar experiences after that made me much more wary of giving my hard come by dollars to panhandlers.

On the other hand...nothing is more gratifying than helping a person in need. Now I offer food. Once, when stopped by a panhandler for money, I said 'no, but I'll go to that McDonalds down there and buy you a mess of hamburgers." He looked disappointed but said ok. I came back with a sack of them and his eyes lit up and thanked and thanked and thanked me as he started gobbling one down. That was a man truly in need. If they won't take food instead of cash, they are scamming you or an addict.

Anyways...just some of my experience I thought I'd share, take what you will.

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"Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."

People tend to assign their own beliefs to anyone they see. If they would not beg unless desperate, then they will tend to assume that the beggar is desperate. But it is rarely true.
What giving money does is to make the giver feel like a generous person while the beggar just is earning money.
In my job of many years, I dealt with sincerely insane people frequently. In that time I never saw one I knew on a corner begging. Most of the really unbalanced people are too paranoid to beg- they are much more likely to avoid you if you try to help them.

As one man said in a comment on this story- "yeah- he was sitting barefoot just outside a shoe store." This was probably this particular man's way of increasing his take.
Children were becoming a "schtick" for beggars around here until the police started questioning them routinely about endangering infants. Suddenly no more children begging. I would not be surprised to find there is a website called "Best Begging Tips."

If you really want to help someone, do some gardening for a cancer patient or take an old person to a doctor's appointment or dish up food at a shelter (although the shelter would prefer money,) or simply spend some time listening to a lonely person. Keep an eye out for those around you who need something. Buy equipment for a Boy/Grils Club. Make sure your neighbor is OK. There are a bazillion things that need doing. Unfortunately they tend not to have the easy 5 minute feel-good high of giving a dollar to a beggar.

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For we used to ask when we were little, thinking that the old men knew all things which are on earth: yet forsooth they did not know; but we do not contradict them, for neither do we know.

It is hard to say whether it is better to be Scrooge and let the poor be dealt with in workhouses, prisions and such or if it is better to be generous as Scrooge's nephew was.

Perhaps we just need to let nature thin the surplus population a bit. Where is a hard winter when you need it?







By the way, I am being a bit sarcastic. That is my disclaimer.

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I would challenge anyone here to think of a question upon which we once had a scientific answer, however inadequate, but for which now the best answer is a religious one. – Sam Harris

I like the idea.
At one time we had the survival of the fittest.
People kept improving.
Now it just about the opposite and look where we are at.

One time in downtown Seattle I passed by a girl who had sunglasses on, holding a sign. The sign said, please help, Im blind and I was raped and am just trying to get a bus-ticket home. So I gave her $5.
People were giving to her left and right. I happened to be going back by that way later.

I saw her take off her 'blind glasses' fold up her basket and walk off down the street. It was all I could do to keep from chasing her down and smacking her upside the head a good one.

I figured why bother, I would be the one to get in trouble. Im a generous sort, it was a long time till I gave anything to anyone. It is people like that that have done more harm to the truly needy, than anything else I can think of.

Now I give. What the person does with it is up to them. If I get fooled, oh well, I tried. If they are deliberately fooling people, God or karma will deal with them.

It is not that there aren't people who need help- there are but unfortunately there are lots more people who will take advantage of the desire to help someone. I believe that virtually every person who holds up a sign asking for money is almost always a con artist. Clothes choses, location picked and story in place. I suppose if I saw someone standing in the driving rain, looking miserably wet and cold, I might think they really needed something but I haven't ever seen that. Don't feel guilty for passing them by. If you can't stand it, keep a jar for the money you would have given and donate it to a recognized charity

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For we used to ask when we were little, thinking that the old men knew all things which are on earth: yet forsooth they did not know; but we do not contradict them, for neither do we know.

There are some highway off ramps and intersections that are "prime" locations for panhandling. For a time, there was a phase of having dogs with them. I saw several 3-legged dogs. They know how to tug at our heartstrings. Some people are mentally ill/unstable, some are addicts/drunks, and some just can't conform enough to live within the boundaries of society. I would offer food but never cash.

Saw a John Stossel bit one time, he became aware of a spot that attracted begging with the "will work for food" sign. So, he offered them work for a nice hot lunch. Come over to my house and do some yard work for an hour. I'll have a good hot lunch ready for you. It's only a couple of blocks away. He made the offer to several, nobody showed up.

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It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with the simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

I saw that too. Shortly after the incident in Seattle, the Seattle times ran an article on pan handlers. They had a picture of a man, who looked well off, not a begger, and the story followed.

This was probably 15 years ago, he called himself a professional pan-handler.
He estimated he made about 60,000 a year tax free. He lived in a real upscale neighborhood in town too. He dressed up in grubby clothes, took his guitar, got to his prime corner, and played music, and left the guitar case open for donations. Mon-Fri, 9-5. At least to his credit, he didnt give any one a sob story. Just said Thank you, and played requests on occasion.
His magic was letting others project what they thought a bum was, and then helping him out

Im okay with that though. Its just when they give you a hard luck story that isnt true.

Looking at details may help determine the sincere from the professional pan handlers.

I see a lot of men who wear grungy looking shirts and pants, but there are no holes, no mud stains, shoes are whole and usually as clean as mine, and I notice things like they'll have beards, but the beards are well trimmed week after week. Skin may be tough and tanned, but usually uniform in color, and nails are usually clipped and clean.

In contrast, I once saw a hitch hiking couple both with longish hair, not so clean looking, clothes were in definite need of a wash, and the girl's legs were un-shaved. They weren't offering a sob story as far as I'm aware; they were simply traveling.

Regardless of what they look like, or what their circumstances really are, I offer each of them a silent prayer and gratefully count my blessings.

The original beggar might have neuropathy. The cop should have given him gabapentin!

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US Army veteran, military retiree spouse, and military; civilian; British NHS; and VA doctor.