Do you give to bums?

[BioAlien]

It depends.. I don't like pushy ones who comes to you asking for every single cents you have on you. But if it a elderly/handicapped, I may give some money.

Though I rarely see any.. And the last one I saw.. wasn't really on the bright side.
This happened 2 weeks ago, lets call the bum "Bob".
Bob thought about doing a good deed and decided to clean the floor inside a Metro waggon. Problem is, he was doing it with some dirty rags that may have been socks one day and his spit. I don't know what was going on in his head, but that's just pass beyond stupidity. I would never give any cents to someone like Bob.

[Assertn]

In the US anyway, bums have places to go if they really want to seek help. I don't give them anything.

[Ryllharu]

On principle, if I give them anything at all, I give them food, typically fast food. (Because who would trust a sketchy ham sandwich from a stranger?) But I live in the country, so I don't see many unless I go on trips.

When you give bums money, they probably won't use it for anything but booze or drugs (probably crack).

As a side note, I do give generously to talented street performers. There were some really good ones at Pike Place Market when I visited Seattle.

[Animeniax]

It depends.. I don't like pushy ones who comes to you asking for every single cents you have on you. But if it a elderly/handicapped, I may give some money.

Though I rarely see any.. And the last one I saw.. wasn't really on the bright side.
This happened 2 weeks ago, lets call the bum "Bob".
Bob thought about doing a good deed and decided to clean the floor inside a Metro waggon. Problem is, he was doing it with some dirty rags that may have been socks one day and his spit. I don't know what was going on in his head, but that's just pass beyond stupidity. I would never give any cents to someone like Bob.

See that's what I felt too when I saw this bum last night. I was thinking, if he comes over and demands shit, I won't give him anything, because who is he to demand shit from me? But then I thought, how fair is it to put my judgments on him? Whatever has happened in his life to make him this way probably rendered normal social conventions meaningless, like showering regularly and not sleeping on the sidewalk. None of that matters to a bum anymore, he just wants to eat, maybe get his fix, and not die (I imagine). I don't think there's a "proper" way to beg. It's a little silly that we'll help only if we think they are a "good bum", as if there is such a thing.

[masamuneehs]

i usually do. i know they are probably in it to buy drugs or booze or whatever, but, honestly, is it really any of my business what they use it on?

I'll never forget one time I gave a homeless guy half of my sandwich while on the way back from a lunch break. He was just pretty pitiful on the sidewalk with a cup, so I gave him the sandwich. A few steps later I'm shocked, as the sandwich suddenly hits me in the back. I look back (others were staring too) and the guy mumbles something that sounded like "If I wanted food I'd ask for it". So, yeah, unless I actually get into a conversation with a bum who I won't give money to and he says he just wants to buy something to eat, I don't give them food anymore...

[Assertn]

i usually do. i know they are probably in it to buy drugs or booze or whatever, but, honestly, is it really any of my business what they use it on?

perhaps you should try that rationalization on pigeons and see what happens.

[XanBcoo]

This one guy I always see at this intersection has a sign: "Why Lie? I need a beer"

He's also got it in Spanish. He does not discriminate.

Edito: What? Pigeons??

[Genma]

Bob thought about doing a good deed and decided to clean the floor inside a Metro waggon. Problem is, he was doing it with some dirty rags that may have been socks one day and his spit. I don't know what was going on in his head, but that's just pass beyond stupidity. I would never give any cents to someone like Bob.

I read somewhere that the majority of homeless people have some sort of disability (be it mental or physical), and the fact that you refuse to give money to an obviously deranged man simply because he shows signs of stupidity makes you a total prick.

Obviously none of you deal with the mentally handicapped on a regular basis. I don't either, really, but my mom specializes in kids with "special needs." Her best friend has three kids, one normal, one that is in the special ed. classes at school, and one who is severely retarded. Whenever my mom asks her friend what she'll do with the latter when she passes on, she can never come up with an answer.

Thus, many mentally handicapped people have nowhere to go once the ones who took care of them die or disown them. Usually by this time they're adults, and unless they have a Mother Teresa relative who will pay the thousands of dollars it costs to keep them in a home, they're off to the streets. And for all you dorks who think they should "get a job," a lot of them can't. My mom's friend's kid who I was mentioning earlier is like, 15 now, and he can barely even spell his own name.

So next time you see a guy like "Bob" cleaning the floors in a strange manner, try to picture telling an infant to clean the floors... instead of being a total douchebag and claiming that they don't deserve your money. If anything, they deserve your money more than those capable of getting a job, because at least with booze or drugs they can forget about their problems for a while.

As for me paying the homeless here, uh... there's honestly not too many around. The only one I see consistently is some lady who holds up an illegible sign at the corners of stop lights, and since I'm usually driving I can't just stop my car, get out, go pay her, and then get back in. People in SoCal are total pricks and I'd probably get yelled at. The rest of the homeless are usually driven out by stringent cops with nothing better to do. When I'm in other cities and walking, though, and the homeless guy doesn't look too sketchy (like, he'll pull a knife on me if I go for my change or wallet), then I'll usually cough up a little bit of cash.