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Do you give money to people on the street? - Page 11

post #151 of 165
5/21/10 at 11:11am
I generally don't; but I won't judge them for spending their money on booze or smokes, since that's what I'm doing with my money anyway.

Perhaps I'll start carrying around minibottles of vodka to hand out to the less fortunate.
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post #152 of 165
5/21/10 at 11:26am
I once gave 2 homeless guys a bottle of tequila and watched them run down the nearest alley and take turns chugging that thing. They were high-fiving, laughing and hugging the entire time. After they finished the bottle they saw me watching and tried to give me hugs too. I wasn't going to let that happen. If you ever want to see someone in a state of pure bliss, give a homeless man a bottle of booze.
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post #153 of 165
5/21/10 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NOLA1 View Post
I once gave 2 homeless guys a bottle of tequila and watched them run down the nearest alley and take turns chugging that thing. They were high-fiving, laughing and hugging the entire time. After they finished the bottle they saw me watching and tried to give me hugs too. I wasn't going to let that happen. If you ever want to see someone in a state of pure bliss, give a homeless man a bottle of booze.

Sorta like giving cheeseburgers to the obese?
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post #154 of 165
5/21/10 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NOLA1 View Post
I once gave 2 homeless guys a bottle of tequila and watched them run down the nearest alley and take turns chugging that thing. They were high-fiving, laughing and hugging the entire time. After they finished the bottle they saw me watching and tried to give me hugs too. I wasn't going to let that happen. If you ever want to see someone in a state of pure bliss, give a homeless man a bottle of booze.

You watched two bums finish a whole bottle of tequila behind their backs? What fetish is that?
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post #155 of 165
5/21/10 at 4:36pm
Only classical violinists or other, more soothing musicians.
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post #156 of 165
5/21/10 at 4:45pm
In general, no. If they're street performers and I like them (which is rare), then I will. That, or if they entertain me in some other way (in Chicago a hobo eavesdropped on me asking my friend what the Water Tower building was and gave me a mini history lesson on it, so I gave him a couple bucks).

The only time I can remember giving money to one for no reason was on the way to a job interview. I did it for the karma. I didn't get the job.
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post #157 of 165
5/21/10 at 4:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by akatsuki View Post
Only classical violinists or other, more soothing musicians.

ah, like Joshua Bell?
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post #158 of 165
5/21/10 at 5:15pm
Only if they're putting forth effort in doing something.

People who just sit there with a sign aren't putting in work.. they shouldn't be rewarded for it.
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post #159 of 165
5/21/10 at 10:35pm
It depends on my mood, I generally help people that are less fortunate than I am.
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post #160 of 165
5/21/10 at 10:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thekunk07 View Post
only if they're brutally honest. some old black dude said to me a few weeks ago: "don;t got no kids, don;t got no aids. but i got no home and no money and i needs to get fucked up." how do you argue with that. oh yeah, and if it's a gypsy near penn asking, i don't give them shit but sometimes spit on them.
Nearly fell off my chair in laughter after that. I very, very rarely give money to beggars. I made an exception last week. Some black guy came up to me at a bus stop and said, "no gay shit, but man you look an awful lot like jimmy (james) dean from those old movies....Can you help a nigga out and give me 60 cents so I can ride this here bus?". He made me laugh, so I gave him the money.
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post #161 of 165
5/21/10 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LucasCLarson View Post
"no gay shit, but man you look an awful lot like jimmy (james) dean from those old movies....Can you help a nigga out and give me 60 cents so I can ride this here bus?".

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post #162 of 165
5/22/10 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ginlimetonic View Post
And giving to large charaties isn't any better either. Look at their financial reports. The best only have a 70% flow through rate from donations to those people in need, and thats if they're good. Most of the money goes to directors, expenses etc.

You have to also consider that the organisation might be worse of without a top director. It actually takes up a lot of resources to run the bigger charity's and organisations. Also, some organisations are better than other organisations that do more work because they are sustainable and don't rely solely or largely on donations.

In Australia we have a welfare system that gives anybody without a job nearly AUD$250 (US$220) a week. Unfortunately the more children you have the more money you revive, and with a baby bonus of $6k for each child paid out in what used to be a lump sum - all payments are higher if your are of native descent.

Even with this you can encounter around 20 bums begging for food on your daily commute and lunch break in the disgusting CBD of Perth, its like they take bums shelter into consideration when planning buildings.
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post #163 of 165
5/22/10 at 1:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jobro View Post
its like they take bums shelter into consideration when planning buildings.

Heck, here in Sacramento there's a huge concern about maintaining affordable housing in the downtown area. That means there are street people and bums all over the downtown business district and every time you try and go for lunch or to a meeting at certain government agencies you get hit up for donations.

Of course, this is also the same area that the city wants to turn into a shopping/dining/entertainment district all the while maintaining the affordable housing - brilliant.
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post #164 of 165
5/22/10 at 1:48pm
my brother noticed the absence of beggars in Vietnam actually. It surprised him. I live here, and hadn't really noticed how seldom I get asked for change (even compared to Australia). What you get instead are touts - who will drive you nuts, no doubt, but as my brother pointed out - at least they are trying to earn a decent living, even if by only taking their one dollar, buying three cokes from a supermarket, and then trying to sell them for a dollar each...then returning and buying nine Cokes, and trying to sell those next... At least they're trying, right?
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post #165 of 165
5/22/10 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bradford View Post
Heck, here in Sacramento there's a huge concern about maintaining affordable housing in the downtown area. That means there are street people and bums all over the downtown business district and every time you try and go for lunch or to a meeting at certain government agencies you get hit up for donations. Of course, this is also the same area that the city wants to turn into a shopping/dining/entertainment district all the while maintaining the affordable housing - brilliant.
Affordable housing in the city? Perhaps plausible if say a bum can't get his phone line working and they need to make a run into the stockbroker. But really, there are way to many benches here in the 'city', and huge canopy's over the top of them. Even grass in the middle of the 'busiest' part of the city, perfect for a sleep in summer, just hope you don't disturb one of them by having a late night commute from work and walking past. This is prime real estate (in Perth's busiest part of the CBD/Biggest Mall) for bums on summer nights and their hangout for in between move on notices during the day (no shortage of spots).
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