by Princess 26 Replies latest jw friends
Ray-Ray, an APA researcher who manned a downtown Atlanta street corner for 120 hours in January, found that not only does virtually no one got 50 cent for the D line, man, ain't hardly nobody who can even spare a little change toward gettin' something to eat.
Now there's some fine journalism...just an example of how the level of vocabulary used in newspapers is dropping. I think where I lived in maryland it was around a 4th grade reading level.
I think you may want to crank your irony detector up a bit. This is taken from a satirical article in The Onion.
haha...it did seem a bit unusual theonion is a funny site
Princess and others...
That is indeed awful when you see someone in those conditions. There are scam artist, but I know many are genunine. I work at an Information and Referral network and many of our calls in a day are for homeless people looking for shelter. They call us from a pay phone or one of the day stop over centers in the cities. There are limited shelters in the city and they only have so much space. Many times all we can do is tell them the shelters are full and give them the numbers to call themselves and try to get in. The person that came up with that resource packet had a great idea.
The fact that I found to be most horendous, we usually think of the average homeless person to be older gentleman, when in fact the average homeless person is a 9 year old child. Food for thought....
I am curious as to where that number comes from (ie; the average homeless person being a 9-year old). I can't understand how one would arrive at that figure. I'm not claiming that you are incorrect in citing this as something which was put forth as a valid number, but I would be interested in seeing the data behind it.
A large percentage of homeless people are folks who, prior to the early 1970's, would have been in psychiatric facilitles. I deal with many of them every day at the hospital where I do volunteer work, and can tell you that many of them are simply not capable of taking care of themselves.
If I feel the person will be helped by a small donation from me I usually give them something.
I know some will just buy drugs or alcohol, but hey it's only a small amount of money I give them.
Lately I have been thinking of volunteering to work at a soup kitchen for a few hours a week. Just have to find one near me.
Join the Watchtower or you will die.
Only Jehovah's Witnesses have the TRUTH all other religions EVIL and from the Devil.
You must beleive the Watchtower or you're going to die a painful death forever, isn't that really GOOD NEWS?
This is a great thread.
Eddie, that story is a crack-up! When I was younger my parents tought me to buy food and give to them, not give them money. They've already demonstrated that they can't handle their financial affairs, why would you throw good money after bad?
There is a guy here in Fresno, named Mike. My daughter calls him "Our Mike"--like we collect homeless people, LOL. Anyhow I met him because he came up to me one day when I was on lunch break--he had the dirtiest old rag you ever saw and he offered to wash my windshield for--what else--50 cents. I told him I just got the car washed (true) and didn't need his help. Well, he said "God bless you" and turned to walk away. I asked him if he was hungry and his answer was "Very". So, I invited him to join me for lunch! Imagine the scene, a ton of professionals and me in my suit, eating with Mike--dirty and smelly. All the guys who were looking at me like I was crazy might have caught a glimpse of pride in Mike's eyes,LOL. He was eating lunch with a BABE, for God's sake!
Mike is a 50-ish white guy with the bluest eyes you ever saw. He told me his story, he's an alcoholic. He prefers to detach and live on the fringes of society in recovery than deal with the pressure of everyday life and resort to the bottle.
Being an older guy on the street, he is frequently attacked or even robbed by the younger punks. All he owned was a bicycle, and when he was asleep under a tree of course they stole it.
So I hooked him up with Rotary International and he got a new (to him) bike, cause they give them to those who can't afford cars. Then we went and bought him the best bike lock in the world, a pump, a patch kit, etc. He was so happy.
He is the only person I will give money to--the rest I refer to the resources of the city. And, like Hyghlander, I very rarely have cash on me, so I can truthfully say I have no cash.
Once I was accosted at an ATM, and was taking some money out so I couldn't use that excuse, LOL. Well I told the guy no and he got belligerent. Well excuse the hell out of me but I'm almost 6 feet tall and *I* attacked *him*. He tried to run but it was too late. I attracted a whole crowd by yelling at him and telling him how pitiful he was for asking a WOMAN for some money. Gimme a friggin break dude.
We contribute a ton of money and resources to the shelters around here so I don't feel a bit guilty aboutn not giving them money. Believe me, if they live on the streets they KNOW where to go for help.
Lisa
I watched a news program one time where they approached those guys that had the signs that say "Will work for food". And all but one came up with some excuse as to why he couldn't actually "work". They just figured that if they pretended that they would be willing to work that people would just hand over the cash.
Shimmer
I used to see a woman outside the Costco parking lot, with a box, and a sign asking for food. I think she was asked to leave, but usually people would hand her something. I know she couldn't return it to Costco, because of the sizes of the containers, and they knew her. I think she was really in need.
One time I was in Provo Utah, on business, with my brother, and a man approached us asking for bus fare. He was on a bicycle. My brother came him $5. The man almost cried. I asked him why on earth he did that, when the guy was on a bike. He told me to turn around, and I saw the bus pull up, the driver get out, and he helped him with his bike. He really was waiting for the bus.
I think you should follow your heart. If it's a scam, you usually aren't giving up much, and you have a clear conscience, and maybe REALLY helped someone in need.
Marilyn (aka Mulan)
"No one can take advantage of you, without your permission." Ann Landers
LOL Shimmer, that reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw on a truck:
I DO work for food!
Lisa
