duped this morning by a homeless person

[twinrider1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYX-121A7Zc

I've been duped before. I'd rather get duped one day a year than be cold-hearted 365. I just write it up as my act of charity for the month and try to be thankful that I'm not homeless.

 

[SKORPI0]

ATOT looks slow today, waiting for a parody thread. :\

 

[Eug]

Should have just bought him the food yourself

Indeed. I've done exactly that... if I'm feeling generous.

Street person: Spare change for a coffee?
Eug: Sure. I'm going to get a coffee myself, so I'll get one for you too.
Street person: Uhh...

 

[Robsasman]

Homeless people get zero sympathy from me. Life is not fair, tough shit.

 

[Nebor]

I've been scammed by rich kids & other beggers before. I had a guy in Atlanta tell me "the perfect storm" story, where he listed off every begging circumstance at once. This poor guy had the following problems: 1) Flat tire on the highway 2) On the way to take his sick mother to the hospital 3) Was supposed to deploy with the US Army reserve on Monday 4) Had to get back to Alpharetta to deliver a sermon at his church, because he's the minister.

I've seen Afghan beggars shove begging kids to the ground to try to get closer to me. I'm pretty hardened to it all now.

When I was in grad school in Dallas I used to go down to Harry Hines near I-35 every Saturday and take this old Vietnam vet to Whataburger. I'd take him one of the little student hygiene bags from the school health center and we'd sit and talk. His name was John and he was definitely not right in the head but he wasn't mean or dangerous. Then one day after months of this routine he just wasn't there. I drove up and down and around the area but I couldn't find him. I went back the next two Saturdays but never saw him again. I'm pretty sure he died. :\

 

[weadjust]

I was in a bar one time and recognized the homeless will work for food guy that stands on the interstate exit hoping to get some money. I asked him if he was homeless why was he in bar paying $4 for a beer when he could get a six pack of cheap beer at the store for the about the same $4. He said shit I ain't homeless I live at the motel down the street. He said he made out pretty good with his monthly gov't disability payment and the money collected standing on the side of the road.

 

[HeXen]

I asked him if he was homeless why was he in bar paying $4 for a beer when he could get a six pack of cheap beer at the store for the about the same $4.

hey i remember my friend aksed a homeless man similar question once back in HS. but i think his question was about cheeseburgers..anway, the guy just rambled about his horses and something about some indians sitting in a circle....he was obviously loony as could be.
but hell theres all kinds of different types of homeless out there.
sure theres lots of scammers, but its not like they do it to have anything special other than a pack of smokes or whatever extra they can't get from churches and missions.

 

[Kaido]

TBH, if I were homeless I don't think I'd trust food from random strangers, especially some 13 year old kids who may be trying to pull some prank by slipping something into the food for a laugh. There are soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, etc., that have food for the homeless and poor.

We had a social worker come in to do an assembly at my high school when I growing up. He brought in a few homeless people from our city to speak to our class. It was extremely eye-opening. They explained that a lot of them wanted to be homeless and preferred that lifestyle for a variety of reasons - freedom to do what they wanted, a lower-stress lifestyle, not wanting to pay taxes, etc. That was kind of a shocker to me - who would want to be homeless? But for a variety of different reasons, people do choose to be.

I think there are those who are handicap, mentally especially, who are in bad situations and need help and are not homeless by choice. But there's also such a vast array of resources available, there's no reason you should be out on the street if you're not in that particular niche - there are homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc, like you mentioned. Heck, even if you go to jail, at least you get 3 meals a day and a sheltered place to sleep in, not to mention cable TV.

I'm all for helping the poor, but I like the idea of buying them food more than simply giving them money. My high school gym teacher always said to check their fingernails when they held out their hands - if they were dirty, then they were really homeless, if they were clean, they were panhandling for moola and were okay otherwise. I like the concept of educating or training people, or having them do work, in return for food and other things, rather than just handing out freebies - the "teach a man to fish" bit.

 

[CPA]

lol OP, saw the same thing on the bus once. Guy scammed $3 from some lady.

 

[dmcowen674]

Many of them are not even actually truly "homeless".

They live in a communal situation and I have watched a car or SUV drop off these so called homeless on the Interstate ramps where they spend every day collecting anywhere from 200 to 300 cars worth giving them a dollar.

When their take starts slacking off they rotate them to different ramps.

Quite a scam indeed.

 

[Eug]

I liked the guy by my metro station in university. He was always super clean, with the same clean white shirt and same clean jeans. If anyone dropped a candy wrapper or something, he'd run over and pick it and throw it in the garbage.

Unintentionally, he basically shamed all the "normal" people into not littering in that station. I gave him my change on a regular basis.

 

[weadjust]

The homeless guy I talked to in the bar was kind of interesting. He said he was a Vietnam vet and that his disability check was direct deposit so he could access the money from anywhere in the country. Said he didn't like staying in one place too long and he traveled all over the country by jumping freight trains.

 

[shortylickens]

Always, always, ALWAYS buy them the food. And tell them if they dont eat it in front of you that you'll ban them from the eatery forever.
Doesnt matter if you have any influence there or not, it usually scares them away for months.

 

[Fear No Evil]

Many of them are not even actually truly "homeless".

They live in a communal situation and I have watched a car or SUV drop off these so called homeless on the Interstate ramps where they spend every day collecting anywhere from 200 to 300 cars worth giving them a dollar.

When their take starts slacking off they rotate them to different ramps.

Quite a scam indeed.

It sucks that even the homeless are more successful than you.

 

[angminas]

I'm with you guys. You seriously can't tell me a person can't get a job at McDonalds or some other shitty fast food chain. There are places just oozing jobs, it's the fact that people think it's below them. I have more respect for someone working a shitty job and trying to get by then someone begging for money on the side of the street.

There are a lot of people who are scammers, true. But there are also a lot of people who are intensely crazy without it being their fault. Sure, they should be able to keep down a lousy job. Sure, they should be able to stay in a shelter at worst. Sure, they should see that taking their meds and going to their doctor is the best call. To do otherwise would be crazy.

See what I did there?

TBH, if I were homeless I don't think I'd trust food from random strangers, especially some 13 year old kids who may be trying to pull some prank by slipping something into the food for a laugh. There are soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, etc., that have food for the homeless and poor.

Sad but true.

 

[Nebor]

It sucks that even the homeless are more successful than you.

I spent a good 15 seconds looking for a like button for this post.