Today....

WookieeForLife · #1 10-16-2009, 09:29 PM

A guy walks in Subway and hands out these pins. I was hungry and i didnt read it. He then came around again and he held his hand out. I gave a questioning look and he points at the card that reads,"I am a deaf man selling these pins as a living. Anydonation helps." So I gave him a dollar and he was on his way. Then after thinking about it, I thought is he really deaf or really desperate for money? What do you guys think? I would have helped him out if he was that desperate to beg for money in a subway even if he wasnt deaf.

L-A · #2 10-16-2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

A guy walks in Subway and hands out these pins. I was hungry and i didnt read it. He then came around again and he held his hand out. I gave a questioning look and he points at the card that reads,"I am a deaf man selling these pins as a living. Anydonation helps." So I gave him a dollar and he was on his way. Then after thinking about it, I thought is he really deaf or really desperate for money? What do you guys think? I would have helped him out if he was that desperate to beg for money in a subway even if he wasnt deaf.

It's common practice. IIRC, there are some prerequisites to get the said cards. Out of copying them, of course.

WookieeForLife · #3 10-16-2009, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-A

It's common practice. IIRC, there are some prerequisites to get the said cards. Out of copying them, of course.

This was the first time Ive ever seen it. I did feel good after it

ADbassman · #4 10-16-2009, 09:37 PM

Call me cynical, but I never give out money to people like that. There are far too many grifters out there and I don't want any of them using my money.

Jimmy Bones · #5 10-16-2009, 09:38 PM

It's common enough to have been lampooned by Family Guy.

Problem I have with that particular practice is that it feels like begging rather than sundry sales. I'd feel less bad if they were selling pens, notebooks, something useful.

Around here, the destitute and disabled sell discounted newspapers.

Jeff K · #6 10-16-2009, 09:47 PM

When I was still working, I used to work a lot of disability fraud cases. One case involved a guy who was purportedly deaf; but we had good reason to believe he wasn't.

I had one of my hot female agents walk past him on the street. She caught his eye all right. After she got past him, and he was facing the opposite direction, she turned around and said, "Who would like to see my _____ (breasts)?!" The dude whirled around like a hungry dog who just got a whiff of a steak cooking on the grill...

bui · #7 10-16-2009, 09:49 PM

We had guys like that walk into the Walmart where I worked every once in a while...since I was the youngest and least likely to have my hip break in a confrontation, I always had to force them to leave :/

WookieeForLife · #8 10-16-2009, 10:36 PM

I just hope that if i ever turn deaf or poor, I hope that some kid will give me a buck.

casualmadness · #9 10-16-2009, 11:25 PM

I lived in Hollywood for a while. This was a daily thing down there. I went to school five blocks from my front door and the walk was littered with people pan handling, begging, trying to sell me crap, supposedly deaf and blind people selling everything from pens and pencils and newspapers, to cigarettes to drugs to anything else you can imagine. I became pretty desencatized to it after a while.
However when I moved to NYC I longed for the days of people actually "asking" for your money.

ErebusBass · #10 10-16-2009, 11:25 PM

The only time I've given money to a bum was when one told me he need $1 to buy a 40.

At least he was honest.

Indiana Mike · #11 10-17-2009, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErebusBass

The only time I've given money to a bum was when one told me he need $1 to buy a 40.

At least he was honest.

10-4

I bought two bums some beer that were hanging around a liquor store and asked " can we have some money for beer". I went back inside and bought them a cheap case of beer. I didn't give them cash because I didn't want them buying food with it.

Hey , it was two days before Christmas .

emor · #12 10-17-2009, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErebusBass

The only time I've given money to a bum was when one told me he need $1 to buy a 40.

At least he was honest.

When I lived in NYC (80's) a friend and I were walking down 5th Ave., and a guy about our age was sitting on a park bench, very relaxed with his arms outstretched and his legs crossed. He called out to us, "Hey, guys, I'm in a bit of a quandary about dinner tonight; spare a couple of bucks?"

At the time, begging and homelessness and desperation were everywhere and you just had to shut it out. You would be hit up countless times on the subway and on the street. However given that this guy's approach seemed so relaxed, plus the fact he used "quandary" in his spiel, we gladly gave him the couple of bucks. Interesting, really--he didn't come up to us and invade our space--he drew us into his.

Jeff K · #13 10-17-2009, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana Mike

I bought two bums some beer that were hanging around a liquor store and asked " can we have some money for beer". I went back inside and bought them a cheap case of beer. I didn't give them cash because I didn't want them buying food with it.

Ground Pounder · #14 10-17-2009, 12:12 PM

When we were teenagers way back in the '90s, there was a local down-on-his-luck freeway-sign guy who would buy beer for us in exchange for a couple bucks or a few cigarettes. We offered him a bottle a few times, but he always said he didn't drink and would rather just have a dollar or two.

Nice guy - always brought back our exact change, never complained if we were running low on cash and had to short-change him. He also had a very good rep with the store owners, and was a total gentleman, so it was a dream scenario for a bunch of degenerate teenagers trying to score booze.

DigMe · #15 10-17-2009, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WookieeForLife

I just hope that if i ever turn deaf or poor, I hope that some kid will give me a buck.

Huh? Do you think that you would go homeless just from becoming deaf or do you think that people should give you money if you turn deaf? Why couldn't you just keep working and making your own money?

bc

WookieeForLife · #16 10-17-2009, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

Huh? Do you think that you would go homeless just from becoming deaf or do you think that people should give you money if you turn deaf? Why couldn't you just keep working and making your own money?

bc

The whole idea I was getting at was if I ever was at the point where I had to beg for money, I hope someone would atleast give me a dollar.