23 replies to this topic

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

This is sort of related: yesterday I was walking into a store to buy food, and this guy stops me outside, and asks me for 25 kroners (4 bucks). I only had 150, which is barely enough to buy anything at all, so I'm like 'sorry, I have it all on my card'. Amazingly, he kept going, and actually asked me to go inside, take out 25 kroners and then give it to him. What the hell. I tell him I only have 150, and he looks at me as if I'm the worlds biggest dick.

 

I can't help but hate this kind of begging. Listen, if you're a guy sitting on a corner with a cup, fine. If you're playing music or something cool like that, I may even give you some money if I actually can afford doing so. But don't approach people for money, that's... it really makes me want to punch people. We have a ton of Romanian gypsies over here right now, and I won't speak of the other problems surrounding this, but there's people within their groups that force the less fortunate of them to beg for money. Money the beggars don't even get to keep, it goes directly into the pockets of thugs. It has left this huge stigma on all beggars in Oslo, because these people are probably punished if they don't bring in certain amounts of money. They will come up and harass you for money, you can tell them no, but that doesn't matter. They will shake the cup into your face, they will grab your jacket to make you stay, they will gang up on you and pick your pockets while begging for money.

 

So yeah, I have a big bias here. But this shit needs to end, yet absolutely nothing is actually happening. These last two months, we've had a crazy surge of robberies, a lot of them cases like this. But this is one city in one country, I don't know if it's the same way in say, Stockholm or whatever.

[Dark Ice Dragon]

maybe i'm bad, but for me is really hateful  wake up all morning at 6:00 AM for go to work and found a guy who never worked a single day in his life ask me money..you are sit in the road and beg for money ? lift the butt from the sidewalk and search a job!

Edit: OK, i know, is not so easy found a job, but form me beggars never even try to search it

Edited by Dark Ice Dragon, 19 November 2015 - 04:28 PM.

[Nathaniel]

maybe i'm bad, but for me is really hateful  wake up all morning at 6:00 AM for go to work and found a guy who never worked a single day in his life ask me money..you are sit in the road and beg for money ? lift the butt from the sidewalk and search a job!

Edit: OK, i know, is not so easy found a job, but form me beggars never even try to search it

 

The thing is, you don't know the person's background.  You don't know their past.  To assume that the person never worked a single day in his or her life is quite a large one.  In many cases, it's their fault that they got where they are, but in some cases that isn't entirely true.  I once worked in a homeless shelter, teaching a math class.  You get to learn that a lot of these people are not much different than the rest of us.  Sometimes they are a victim of unfortunate circumstances.  Many are war veterans who have mental health issues as a result of the perils of war, or from head injuries, and in some ways they can't function rationally as a result.  It's easy to get mad and tell people to get a job, but before they can even do that, it's a process to get back on their feet before they can even start employment.  Some have drug problems and need to be cleaned up, and that first starts with admitting that they have a problem in the first place, getting help in the right place, etc.  Begging for money is certainly their only way to accomplish their short term goals, outside of proper outlets for food and shelter.  The thought of becoming homeless to me is a scary one, but some people have to live it and it's a hole that's harder to crawl out of than most people think, especially among those with mental health issues.

[MaeioParty]

I'll happily offer a homeless person a drink or some food but not pure cash.

[Deedee]

Honestly, if the person is doing it not out of need, but of selfishness, then no. No, you don't get my money, I worked to get this money, therefore I get luxuries. If you want luxuries, get a job. If you really need food, find a soup kitchen or something.

Edited by Dimentio, 21 November 2015 - 09:12 AM.

[Astromeow]

I don't always help people out

 

but when I do

 

it's only my family and friends.

 

Stay wealthy my friends

[Golden Guardian]

I don't live in the U.S. but I'm assuming the homeless situation up there will be similar to here.

 

While I wish I could give all the homeless a home, I can't. So, I give them what I can, hopefully enough to get a meal. The only issue here is that, like many others have pointed out, I can't know what they'll use it on. Regardless, I will give them what I can and trust them from there not to be idiots and waste their lives away on alcohol or drugs instead of getting what they actually need to live.  Most times, I can't stop and question what they plan to use the money for as I'm going somewhere in a taxi or a car and don't really have a say in whether or not I'm staying or going. That's all there really is to it. When I can give, I will, not questioning their motives and not questioning their past. From there... it's up to them not to kill themselves, not much I can do about that.

 

Am I being shallow or having a high view of humanity? Not really. I've got pretty low views of the human race to be honest. But can I hope? Yeah. Maybe someday that money I gave will actually help someone, but I'll never know, now will I? 

 

EDIT: I feel I didn't properly explain my opinion on this matter, let me give it another shot. 

 

Let's look at what we know: Many homeless people are hungry and want money for food, but many also want that money for drugs and alcohol and other things that will just put them in a worse state. Assuming you don't have time to ask about how they became homeless and why they aren't trying to find work to get money, what do you do? This is more a moral dilemma than anything else and I'm sure some would even call it a moral grey area. The question isn't the main problem, but the statement before the question: "...helping homeless people is always a gamble..."

 

Here we find the main problem of the whole thing. Do we gamble our money in the hopes that they are indeed asking for it for a just cause, or do we keep it to ourselves with the knowledge that many will spend it on things that will just kill them faster than they are already dying? This is why it is a moral grey area. If one assumes that most will use it for drugs, then it is morally correct to keep the money from them and not feed the addiction. If one assumes they will use it for food, then it is morally wrong to keep the money from them, as you just cause them starvation. This is the gamble, and that is the problem.

 

From there, it is up for you to decide which you choose. If you do have time to ask, maybe question what their motives are, but otherwise, I find the first option to be much better in terms of truly helping the problem at its core. I will give, taking the risk that they will take it for granted, but hoping that they will use it to help themselves stay alive. I would hope that their lives are not so miserable that they wish to die and I never want to place someone in that state simply because I couldn't give them a few centavos. Overall, I'll take the gamble, because one small donation could save a life. Likely? Absolutely not. Possible? Yes. 

Edited by Golden Warrior, 19 November 2015 - 06:27 PM.

[Dark Ice Dragon]

The thing is, you don't know the person's background.  You don't know their past.  To assume that the person never worked a single day in his or her life is quite a large one.  In many cases, it's their fault that they got where they are, but in some cases that isn't entirely true.  I once worked in a homeless shelter, teaching a math class.  You get to learn that a lot of these people are not much different than the rest of us.  Sometimes they are a victim of unfortunate circumstances.  Many are war veterans who have mental health issues as a result of the perils of war, or from head injuries, and in some ways they can't function rationally as a result.  It's easy to get mad and tell people to get a job, but before they can even do that, it's a process to get back on their feet before they can even start employment.  Some have drug problems and need to be cleaned up, and that first starts with admitting that they have a problem in the first place, getting help in the right place, etc.  Begging for money is certainly their only way to accomplish their short term goals, outside of proper outlets for food and shelter.  The thought of becoming homeless to me is a scary one, but some people have to live it and it's a hole that's harder to crawl out of than most people think, especially among those with mental health issues.

I admit that I had not really thought that some could be war veterans or victims or unfortunates incidents, but in my country if you are poor you may get free meals, if you are too sick for work you can get disability pensions, and the almost of  all medical care are free, so they really don' t need money for eat, of course there are the " smart ones" benefiting from all this despite not needing.

You think is not possible that someone ever worked a single day, but i see many times young people ( 20 years or even younger )  who pretended to limp with a crutch ask money to people and then runaway whit the agility of a hare when a policeman is in the nearby, and these are the ones I can not stand, i'm still convinced that they never even looked for a job.

in any case, your post made me realize some things, even if I do not agree 100%

Edited by Dark Ice Dragon, 20 November 2015 - 04:35 PM.

[SpikeReynolds]

I have my own rules for this. If they won't tell me what they need money for, they don't get my money. If a homeless dude was honest and told me he wanted alcohol money, I'd probably buy him a tallboy for a buck and change. If he wants food, I'd bring him some gas-station taquitos (most homeless around here flock toward gas stations for some reason.) I very rarely hand them straight-up cash and I never hand off very much cash. If they get dodgy about you paying for what they asked for money for, don't give them your money; they're lying. I believe that we need to help other people, but I'm not going to give you a crack-rock worth of cash. If you need a bus ticket and you're a few bucks short at the bus station, I'm only gonna give you the money when you go up to buy the fucking ticket.