...What do you Do,when People Ask You for Spare Change?... (page 4)

Theredeemer

Kind of off the subject but, I dont think Ive ever seen an Asian homeless person.

A tinker is the name of folks who began in Ireland. There are a lot of stories about how they began. They did begin as itinerate groups. They've been around for centuries, some say. Some say the Famine years made them grow.

I stayed for a day with a small group in their wagons at the side of the road near Limerick when i took a messenger boy's bike across from Dublin wandering toward Galway that spring after the beggar episode.

I had a stretch of time off while the College of Art and Design was on break. (I finally got money working as an art model) The tinkers had horse drawn caravans then (I don't know about now) they spoke no English I could understand but "smokes" or something like it--they wanted me to pedal to the local news agent for cigarettes for us all. I smoked then.

In the country, they had a separate world from settled folks in the towns. The children I saw in the camp were like wild rabbits. You can find pictures of them on the net. Sometimes they are called the travellers.

But they do/did settle in Dublin and some(at least true for a tinker boy who i got to know slightly)return to the country in the spring.

there is pretty much a "we vs. them" attitude between tinkers/travellers. They are fringe dwellers by necessity and choice.

There are stereotypes of them. The kid who I knew was one I went to when my purse was stolen. He couldn't break through to help me, though. I only wanted my bag back (couln't easily buy another) even if I hadn't lost anything of value in it. He knew who had taken it.

Beggars sometimes just see others as a "mark". Nothing personal in it--the havenot may make stereotypes of anyone with a penny more than they have.

No one likes feeling like an object, either way. City tinkers were a little more "prejudiced" in my experience than the families I found that spring. But I don't know it all.

redvip2000

Drug addicts do this all the time. Usually they will ask $1 to "take the bus" or another brilliant excuse. They usually don't say that it's for food because they know that most people will just offer to buy them food only.

Since 99% of them are looking for money for drugs or alcohol, i never give. It's nearly impossible to weed out the the ones who actually need to buy a bus ticket.

More annoying than this are the windshield cleaners. You stop at a red light and 2 guys run to your car and immediately begin to clean your windshield before you cay say you don't need it. Within 30 seconds they are done and request a small donation. Being that they actually did something for you, you feel like a total jackass if you don't give them something.

wasblind

I live in a Rural town, so the only time I see that is when

I drive to a larger city

.

Not to say we don't have poor unfortunate people

but bein' in a small town, family tend to take care of their own

even their mentally unstable

.

quellycatface

ThereDeemer, hey, I've never seen a black or asian beggar either. Whassup??

OUTLAW

.

Humbled..

You gave a very good description..Thanks!..

Here we call them Gypsys..

.

but bein' in a small town, family tend to take care of their own..even their mentally unstable....WasBlind

Hey Wuz!..

All my mentally unstable family are/were in Kingdom Halls..LOL!!..

..............................OUTLAW

Band on the Run

I had the windshield wiper game. They received no donation from me. The police broke it up. Also, I commuted to NJ thru the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is not a glamour spot. There was never a problem hailing a taxi in front of Port Authority. One day about fifteen men took over the hailing of taxis. They demanded one dollar fee. Well, I refused to give them money. No one asked them to get a taxi for me. The taxis just drove past. It wasn't one of those areas where you need to work to get a taxi. The fiend tried pulling me out of the taxi. The driver sped away.

Within two days, it was the front page story in the New York Times. The police chased them away. I can understand tourists not knowing the local culture. Why would any regular commuter give them a dollar.

They were very aggressive.

There was the Hare Krishna Santa scam. During the holiday season, a bunch of them entered the subway car dressed in Santa outfits. This was before cell phones. I knew who it was immediately. When they filed past collecting money I even asked them for their official NY State charities badge. I practically screamed that it was illegal to collect money without it. Most of the train gave to the good Santas. I kept looking for a police officer in vain. Once they left, friends were turning on friends for giving them money. We were all too afraid to say anything that might cause some violence.

Paralipomenon

I really don't carry cash and if I do I just politely say "no thank you"

A funny story, I used to live in Victoria, BC and there are so many beggers out there. Rumor has it that one year Calgary set up busses in the winter to drive all the homeless that agreed to Victoria due to the warmer climate. They also all had very skinny dogs. The city would give a small monetary amount to homeless people to buy food for their dog, so they all had a dog.

One we called the Angry Poet. He would walk up about inches from your face and start yelling random words. After he finished he would hold out his hand for money. If you refused he would follow you as you walked shrieking that you stole his poetry. Some of the friends I was with would give him money and justify why after, mainly because they didn't want to be yelled at.

I have only given money to beggers twice, once was to a street performer that was playing beautiful music, not homeless, but still asking for money. The other was a man that set up a small box in front of his belongings and asked for donations of either cleaning supplies(broom heads or garbage bags) or money. He was under a bridge in Calgary and would spend the morning commute sweeping up and collecting litter along the path. He didn't have a job, but was working, not at getting handouts, but trying to improve a small area of the city.

Bruja-del-Sol

Two years ago I went grocery shopping and when I was finished I walked back from the car to return my shopping cart. At that moment a shabby woman my age approached me and asked if she could have the euro that was in the cart. I told her 'no, you can't...'. She looked disappointed and wanted to walk away... but then I asked her why she was begging for money. And she told me her story which was very plausible. She'd lost her job, could barely afford to stay in the house where she lived and had not enough money for food for herself and her dog.

I didn't have a lot of money either, but I told her I would join her into the Aldi supermarket and she could do some shopping for 25 euro. That's enough money to buy food for a couple of days. You should've seen the look on her face! She couldn't stop asking "is this for real?" In the supermarket she asked if she could buy cigarettes as well, but I told her that I didn't want to pay for her cigarettes. I only wanted to buy her food, and she was okay with that. After I'd paid we hugged and she thanked me again and again. And she asked me if I would be offended if I would see that she would turn to other people to ask them for money to buy some cigarettes... Of course I told her I wouldn't be offended. I wished her luck and really hope that she's got her life back on track again.

Magwitch

I am such a sucker for anyone in need. I was giving out way too much money and food to these poor people. I finally made a decision to give to one cause and ONE cause only. So I now only give and donate to animal causes. I also carry baggies full of dog food in my trunk for the homeless person who decides to exploit some poor canine for sympathy. Every once in awhile there will be some young person on Pearl Street that really tugs at my heart strings and I will break my rule, but I am getting a lot better.

...What do you Do,when People Ask You for Spare Change?...