I'm so pissed. I can't believe what I did with this guy.

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i try to give change or a buck or two when i can to someone who asks.

they probably all scam me, but if i helped one person who needed it, i don't mind. i keep a few dollars in one pocket seperate from any other money i may have, so even if they try a grab and go, they are getting no more than 5 bucks.

i pity anyone who thinks scamming people for money by begging is a good idea. if someone thinks they really got the better of me for 50 cents, i'll let them laugh it all the way back to their sad excuse of a life.
 
"As much as you do to My children,you also do to Me."

Just use your judgment if they're legit or not. Maybe I'm just young and naive,but I believe that kindness will be rewarded one way or another.
 
I understand that some people do need the help.

But it drives me nuts.

I was on business in Louisville KY and my hotel was not far from the downtown bar/resturant strip. So I would walk down there to get dinner and a beer after work. Since this is the main drag there are all types of people. Some look like they need the help other do not. Since I was on business I was there for a few days and would make the trip to dinner and see the same people every day asking for change.

The best one was I was walking infront of some guys who just happened to be heading to my hotel(other out of towners coming back from dinner).

I could hear them behind me so I knew others were around. I tend to follow close to groups so I don't stick out.

well as Im walking a guy approaches from my 11o'clock and get my attention.
His first words were " are you in the military?" I said no and that i work for a health care comapny. he then said "well I don't feel so bad for asking but can you sapre some $, I need to get a bus ticket back home".

I think that I am gonna start helping some of these people out. but with a catch. I will request and song and dance. If you want my dollar I want a good laugh.
 
MRE Mexican

I was out the door and locked from my studio which opens onto the sidewalk going deerhunting when I decided to add a couple of old MREs to the deercamp pile in case I spent the night. I had seen this Mexican guy coming down the sidewalk and when I came right back out he started talking about walking here from Mexico and being hungry. I stopped and started to talk to him, but instead just handed him an MRE and said "Vaya con Dios, primo". Hope he didn't try and eat the heating pack.
I did make sure he moved on down the block before I left the area.

I think you just try and do the best you can. He didn't have a hat. I started to comment to him, (en espanol), Mexico es un paseo major sin sombrero, hombre.
 
Seems to me that you did fine. If he had meant to hurt you, things would have gone a lot differently. There are a lot of slimeballs out there preying on people's generosity, but does that mean we should stop being generous? That's what is happening nowadays, and i don't think it's helping anyone. You don't have to give them money, just buy whatever they say the money is for. Maybe that $10 you give goes for booze and smokes, or maybe it gives a starving man a meal, or a place to sleep for the night.
 
So heres a twist of the law for you....The city of Minneapolis has made these guys a protected species. Seems some Liberal do gooder decided that they were "excerising their constitutional right to free speech, expressing themselves as beggers" or some such nonsense. I drive Taxi, and every day as I pull up at the gas station for coffee, the same "urban Outdoorsman" is standing under the No Loitering sign asking for money. Every time I pull up he hits me up for cash with the line "you got any money?" My standard response is "Not enough to be worth you dieing over it."

Maybe one of these days he'll get the point.

Stay Safe
---Mick
 
Though I generally don't trust anybody or bodies I don't myself know(Government, You, etc.) I do from time to time help someone asking for help even if they are scaming me, it makes me feel good inside but dumb at the same time.

Life's a risk, who know's maybe some bum you encounter turns out to be a generous wealthy guy looking to share his/her wealth or most likely some loonie looking to do you harm. Choose your destiny.;)
 
As another gentleman mentioned above, I always offer to buy food, but I NEVER give out any money, not even the quarters in the ash tray. I was at the pharmacy late last night over at the drive through window which is always located on the side of the building in the back. I always try to watch my mirrors and I keep enough space between my vehicle and the one in front in case I need to get away quick. All of a sudden from nowhere this kid wearing baggy shorts and an over sized tank top starts walking up. I immediately reached under my shirt and put my right hand around my Glock 19. I had already reached for my surefire light and had that ready in my left hand. The guy walks up to my car & knocks on the window motioning me to roll the window down. He got the surprise of his life when I shined that bright light in his face. He covered his face from the bright light as he started to step away. I'm happy to report, there was no further incident.
 
When I lived in big cities, I used to carry McDonalds gift certificates. Once I was at a convention, staying at a hotel right next to Disneyland. While walking to a restaurant, some well dressed guy comes up with a repair manual and greasy hands saying they had just spent the day at the park and when they were leaving, their car broke down. He needed help to buy a part. My reply (which was true) was "I only use plastic these days. If you're at Disneyland, you should have plastic, too." Now that I'm back living in a small town, we don't have that problem much. The police still chase them off around here - and just about everybody I know CCWs.
 
A few years back, a guy came up to me, told me he was outta gas on I-64, and it was the day before payday, etc., etc... Pointed to the car. I tell him that I'm on the way to get gas, and I'd be happy to meet him at his car. I had a gallon can in the back of the Critter Gitter, and he put it in his car, handed it back, and after a few moments of cranking, merged into traffic.

I don't mind honest folks.
 
Another reason I moved out of New York City. Didn't like being pan-handled twice every block and at least that often every train ride.
 
I wonder if your approach changes depending on where you're at? I don't know that it's smart, but I find that when I'm up in Chicago I've VERY VERY wary of helping people out . ..but down here in small town USA I tend to stop anytime I see someone broken down on the side of the road. If they hit me up with a sob story at the gas station I'm pretty sure I'd throw them a few bucks. (if I had it)

About 2 years ago I was driving from Chicago back home and was about 50 miles out and saw a guy with an AMC Eagle broken down on the side of I-55. It was brutally cold out so I stopped and asked him if he needed any help. He said that if I could give him a ride to the next truckstop it would be good. I was a little leary about letting him in the truck (non-commercial, private vehicle) but I did and gave him a ride. Along the way I let him borrow my cell phone to call his family. Just listening to the conversations with 3 different family members (one-sided) I could tell that he was the black-sheep of the family and was having a pretty hard life. At the next truck stop (I had to refuel) he got out and said thanks and that his ride would be there in 3-4 hours. (They were coming from Indiana) I paid my bill and on the way out saw that he was still just sitting there on the curb. I asked him if he had any money and he said no . .so I gave him $10 and told him that he should at least be able to get a burger or something while he was waiting.

Should I have done it . . . probably not . . . but you know the guy was in a pretty sad state. I can't imagine trying to travel even 100 miles without some cash in my pocket but here was this guy trying to drive from Chicago to St. Louis and all he had was a tank of gas in his crappy AMC Eagle. I guess life's been pretty good to me and I try to help out when I can. I definately avoid the pan-handlers in chicago though.

Have a good one,
Dave
 
My brother used to do a lot of cross country driving and would sometimes stop at interstate rest areas. He had a couple of interesting encounters. Once, he was approached by a guy saying he needed "help" to fix his broken car. My bro said no, then as he went to pull out and drive toward the onramp, he saw the same guy with his nose buried under the hood of an old, obviously broken-down car with tools and parts scattered on the ground next to it. He said he felt a little guilty afterwards. (It could have been part of the scam, too, though.) Another time he found a written "plea" for help in the restroom. Upon closer examination he found that it had obviously been photocopied.

My SOP for panhandlers - no matter how clever the sob story - is a polite but firm, "Sorry, I can't help you."
 
Should I have done it . . . probably not
Click to expand...

Dave,
In my humble opinion, i think you did the right and decent thing. I might have done the same even though i have been burned before. Sounds like he truly needed the help.
 
I was in Rome a couple of years ago and we hired a fellow to show us around. While at the Forum visiting the prison which supposedly held St. Paul I saw the most pathetic human being I have ever seen in my life laying in the gutter, an obvious hopeless cripple. I'm usually not particularly susceptible to these sorts, but damn this woman was pathetic.

So, I took out 5 Euros and while our guide was talking to the kids I walked over and placed it in her cup. Just as I dropped the coin in her cup our guide shrieks "don't give her any money!!!" When I asked him why he said she was a gypsy and this was a scam.

I skeptically replied that there was no way that she could fake the infirmity that I witnessed and he took me aside and told me to watch. About ten minutes later when the area cleared out she crawled across the street and when she though no one was looking stood up and sauntered away!!

One of the most convincing scams I have ever personally witnessed!
 
Down in the city I work I pull off the Interstate to get onto a main highway, and there on the grave lshoulder is a guy in old clothes holding a sign. You know the ones. THis guy's sign said "HUNGRY NO JOB WORK FOR FOOD GOD BLESS"
Normally I just ignore these guys. Today I was headed to a job site where I had to remove some construction debris. I was in my company truck. My helper had not showed up that day. So this one time I figured, what the hell. I rolled down the window and asked the dude if he had ever had a job. He gave me a story about being a veteran and he was unable to hold a job because his illness/injury meant he had to go in for treatment at the VA and he would be kept there for days at a time and he always got fired.
I told him I had a quick half days' work for him, stacking concrete blocks and bricks from a demolished building. I'd pay him $50 cash and drop him off where ever he wanted around the city.
The guy wanted the money up front because he hadn't eaten in two days- I said, no, I'll buy you a meal (There was a Waffle House which was where I was going anyway) now, and pay you the fifty after he worked.
The guy said no.
I left him there. The job literally took me three hours by myself. That would have been at least $25/hr for the guy if he came with me!

I will never trust one of the sign people again.
 
Back in my first year of marriage or so, I had weekly meetings with the pastor of my wife's church. He was trying to explain Christianity to me and all that, b/c I wasn't raised in the church. Anyway, I get there one day, and there is a very disheveled looking man sitting in the pastor's office. He recapped the same sob story (walking from Myrtle Beach to Atlanta) he had just given the pastor to me. The pastor said that he was going to get this man some clothes, food, and a place to spend the night, and would appreciate if I came along. (he knows I CCW, and gave me a wink when he asked)

So we take the guy down to the helping hand to get him some clothes. Apparently, the pastor knows the lady who works there. They struck up a conversation, and the pastor explained that he brought a gentleman that was down on his luck and needed some clothes. The lady says "Sure!" and turns towards me and asks "What size do you need, son?" SHE THOUGHT I WAS THE BUM!!! I was dressed in typical Myrtle Beach attire for the summer; t-shirt, madras shorts, and flip-flops. I was kinda pissed, but the pastor thought it was hilarious.

On the downside, the owner of the motel called the pastor and said that he had to kick the guy out for smoking crack in his room.:fire:
 
ill buy food or hand it out if i have extra money that week here in chicago there is alot of people that dont deserve to be in the place they are now mostly beacause of mental problems, but every time i can help out i do i just make sure its going to food and not booze or smokes.
 
A couple months ago, I'm sitting in McDonald's parking lot, eating my cheeseburger. I ALWAYS keep my doors locked. There's one empty car space between my car and the lady sitting in her car eating next to me. I see this guy come up to her driver's side window. She opens her window half way to talk to this STRANGER who just walked up. I see her give him some money!!!I'm thinking she's really stupid. So I remove my seatbelt, purse goes to floor. Yep, here he comes headed for my car. I'd already pushed my coat off to my right side. Right hand goes on my gun. Cars still running. He's starts talking outside my window, wants me to roll my window down. With my right hand still on my gun, I motion with my left hand to GO AWAY NOW!!! He knew I meant business. Took me saying it twice, but he did go away and left the McD's parking lot as well.

I was quite proud of the way I handled the situation! I try to always be in condition yellow, as I instruct my students to be. When I saw him approach this other car, I went to orange and was prepared to go to red if need be.
 
I'm seeing it more in my area, too.
At lunch with wifey last week. Getting out of the car...guy walks up and starts. I just said "I don't do that any more"...and kept walking. Probably shouldn't have turned my back on him...could've gotten a blade.
This was the third time in four months.
Seems like you're upset that you looked away. Like when I turned my back...it just gives them an opening...and they are too close for that.
Mark.
 
He doesn't have money for gas but he has money to pay his cell phone bill? I think he has his priorities mixed up.

I live in south Mississippi and we now have a large influx of scum and street trash that beg for money. When anyone walks up to my vehicle and I can not see a good reason for them to be near me they get a polite finger pointed in the direction I wish them to step away accompanied by a stern look with plenty of eye contact.
 
Obviously I am in the minority ...

... simply because I have no problem with giving a gift to a fellow human being expressing a lack, or limitation. If I feel, at that same moment when I am approached by a fellow human, that seems to be expressing a lack, I simply feel a 'Random act of kindness' is not a terribly negative action.

Even if it is a scam, unknown to me, I figure I expressed my honest thoughts and feelings on the matter ... I extended a gift, unconditional, to a fellow traveler seeking help.

I simply have a hard time understanding most, who posted on this matter, unless of course, the fear expressed is coming from a feeling of lack, and limitation, from each of them. I really feel sad that the majority, in the once greatest community on this planet, may have reached such an extensive state of fear. :(
 
Its not fear, its self respect.

I would never beg for money, so don't beg me for money.

Don't be an enabler.
 
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