Panhandler?

[rrruuunnn]

for around the past half year, i've been approached by 7 panhandlers. they usually say they are out of gas. and i usually give a few dollars. some of then are dressed clean. one young one in particular lives in the area because, i see him walking around all the time. my father was given the same story from that same kid. i saw him again, and he said hi. most of these people i believe did not really need gas. if i see someone who is dressed dirty and looks like on drugs i do feel sorry and don't feel bad about giving a few dollars.

ok so here's my question. i was approached tonight by a cleanly dressed inside a nice pickup truck. he showed me his cheap tactical flashlight and gerber folding knife and said that he'd give me one if i help with gas. he opened the knife in front of me. i felt that almost every previous panhandler did not really need gas money. so i didn't want to feel like a fool again and said no. he looked like he was about to get angry and said thank you and walked away. what would you do?

 

[The Tourist]

I'm about the last guy to give you an honest answer.

Over the past few weeks, aggressive panhandlers in Madison have been linked to two murders in the same city block.

Guys like this have infested parts of my town since I went to school here, and they're getting worse. I've heard every idea discussed besides "Soylent Bum." Right now the city is asking liquor stores in vagrant areas to discontinue selling bottled products bums like to buy. Frankly I'm a little tired of all the flotsam that drifts up here from Chicago.

Simply, walk confidently, but watch your back.

 

[Blarelli]

I would have shot him down. Wait, that didn't come out right. I would have declined his offer. I don't know if you felt threatened by him opening the knife, but it sort of sounds like an intimidation technique to me.

 

[rrruuunnn]

the kid who asked me for gas money, also asked my father for gas money on another day. we both gave him money. so i am quite sure he was lying. i saw him and he didn't offer to pay me back and he walked on my plants, i think intentionally.

 

[X-Rap]

What the hell are you giving panhandlers money for?
Parasites can not survive without a host.

 

[Deavis]

Parasites can not survive without a host.

Hey, there will e none of that here! Panhandlers are hard working people who are either just down on their luck or have been forced into poverty by selfish capitalists. How dare you impugne their good and noble nature. One day that could be you.

Don't give them money. Be firm and say no. I've called people on the gas scam on occasion, they generally fold after 2-3 excuses and tell you the truth, they want money for beer.

 

[teknoid]

You'd be surprised (or maybe not) at how much cash a professional panhandler rakes in. I know of one who frequents the expressway ramp closest to me that's a case in point. I saw him at the local wally world, picking up a few things "after work". He had a wad of bills that would choke a horse.

I used to work in downtown Chicago. I think the beggars made better money than I did. Not from me, though. Street performers, yes. Some of them were actually pretty good. I considered that as "work", and was happy to ante up. I drew the line at banging on a plastic bucket in the El station, though.

 

[rrruuunnn]

i and my parents vacationed on venice beach in LA. we saw this street performer that would jump on broken glass. he even had a sophisticated amplifier. this is the funny part. i dressed in my lands end hyde park dressed shirt. it made me look like a rich spoiled kid. i was behind a crowd of people. he spotted me and kept yelling at me to throw money into the pot like some others did. he kept yelling at me. and i kept telling him that i didn't have any cash on me which is the truth. i didn't have any cash on me.

 

[highlander 5]

Stopped giving money to panhandlers years ago,after adopting the "If your hungry I'll take you to (name your fast food here)
and buy you a meal". 9 times out of 10 I get a polite "thanks but no thanks" and they go on their merry way.

 

[Treo]

If it was a nice knife & he was offering it for a good price, I'd have bought it.

 

[kentucky_Dave]

Same here on most panhandlers.
I can usually spot true need, and will help a person with no questions asked.
I'll feed them and give them clean clothes if necessary.

BUT...I can spot a scammer...so I thought...

15 years or so ago...I traveled the same route daily, and this particular exit had a man with a leg brace.
The full leg kind used when a person has torn ligaments.

Being a person who has experienced many surgeries and time out of work because of knee problems, I felt compelled to "Help him out" without much solicitation.
No problem.
Then a couple days later, I saw the guy again (same place) with the darned brace on THE OTHER LEG!

That angered me to no end, and for years I didn't help anyone at all, just because of this one bonehead.

Years later I've returned to my caring ways, but I am much more selective.
Same thing, I'll feed them, cloth them and even give them a ride to a job interview...BUT NO MONEY, NO EXCEPTIONS.

I had a guy approach me when I was with my family outside a target in a relatively nice area.
Said he and his wife were hungry.
Well; it just so happened, I was hungry too, and there is a great sub shop in the same plaza.
I told him to get his wife and meet me there.
(200 yards away from where we stood)

This guy's posture changed to a more aggressive stance, an angry look on his face and a slight movement in my direction.
I instantly squared up a bit to deal with him...he noticed and backed up quick.

Long story short, he changed back to "Mr. Please" once he saw I wasn't going to cower...and I once again offered to feed the man and his wife.

Sucker didn't even show up at the sub shop.

All that said, the guy willing to offer his property (assuming he is honest and it's not stolen) in trade for assistance may actually just need help.

I wouldn't give him any cash, but I might take him to the gas station, if he's being honest.
I've done that before.

Maybe that person will actually help somebody else in the future too.
You never know.

 

[rrruuunnn]

i did a little search for gerber folding knives. i think the knife was somewhere below $10. the tactical flashlight looked like a cheap imitation, not bright. i think that is part of the scam. to make others believe they are getting a bargain.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gerber-Mini-Par...ryZ63795QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

after i told him that i had no cash. he wanted to use my credit card. i said no.

 

[leadcounsel]

Panhandling exists because people give. The practice has skyrocketed in cities because they make money at it. When I lived in Denver, the Post did a story about beggars and many of them made 6 figures! Yes, 6 figure tax free incomes! All on a sad story.

I am not heartless and seeing some of these broken down people makes me wonder how they got 'left behind.' But giving them money is not helping them.

That being said, whenever I ate out in the city I would box up my leftovers and donate them to the first needy person I came across.

From a security standpoint, donating increases security problems on a micro and macro scale. If word spreads about your generosity, more beggars will come and breed crime and filth. But each interaction could be dangerous. People on meth or crack could easily attack you for a few dollars. A man showing me his knife is a bonafide threat. Treat it as such. You've become complacent.

 

[rrruuunnn]

i asked him if he was from out of town. he said no, that he lived here.

i've run out of gas before. i was 20 miles from the city coming home from out of town. a cop pulled behind me and asked my situation. he didn't offer to give me a lift to the gas station to buy gas. gas station was about 1 or 2 miles away. i had my father drive to me then to the gas station and then back to my car. if someone needs gas they can call their friends and family.

he had no reason to open the knife. this is the second time someone has pulled up to my car with their car. when they drive up they are looking at my face like they are scoping me out.

 

[WayneConrad]

Oh, never mind.

 

[TallPine]

i was approached tonight by a cleanly dressed inside a nice pickup truck. he showed me his cheap tactical flashlight and gerber folding knife and said that he'd give me one if i help with gas. he opened the knife in front of me.

Well, that's a novel method of armed robbery ...




There's an old guy that stands on street corners in Billings with a cardboard sign that says something like "vet needs bus money to oklahoma".

He must not be getting many handouts because he's been trying to get to Oklahoma for about 2 years now

 

[The Tourist]

Well, that's a novel method of armed robbery

This is my belief, as well. And even when the crimes are violent, we are still up against a public who believes the problem is poverty.

For example, there are many cases here where a homeowner walks out into his living room to find one of these "panhandlers" has simply walked into the house. Why is he there? Just to steal a candlestick for a bottle of liquor, or kill to cover his tracks?

My take is that being a panhandler is a crime. They block your path on the street, literally holding you hostage until you pay a toll. I'm surprised more of them aren't maced or tasered.

But consider the fall-out to the citizen. What if you signed on to THR in the morning and the hot debate read "The Tourist Hospitalizes Panhandler."

If your first impression is honestly like mine, the definition of "panhandler" evokes an image of a bent and disheveled aged man, teary eyed and begging for scraps. In reality they are simply another crook with a scam, and now they are getting more violent.

We are debating tactics here, and I am trying not to hijack. But I seriously wonder if the tactics we discuss are simply the public trying to adjust to failure of government and law enforcement. A "loud bum" must be a very low priority. In that regard, the idea of "lethal force" might make you the criminal.

 

[FFMedic]

I only ever stoped to give a guy money once. He was camped out in the corner of a parking lot in a very nice part of town. He was a "carnie" or sorts and his food trailer had been destroyed in a fire and he was just trying to make it back west to his family.

I talked to the guy for a good 10 minutes, he had some pictures of the fire and the back of his pickup cap was scoarched. The main reason I had stoped though as because he had a full blooded wolf as a pet. That thing was HUGE, and very friendly. I'm sort of an animal lover so I just wanted to see it. I gave the guy $10 (enough for a 1/3 tank then) and went on my way.

Other than that 1 time, no, not ever. I just walk on by or firmly say no.

FFMedic

 

[The Tourist]

FFMedic, you may have indeed bumped into an honest working guy who had fallen on hard times. But, ya' know, there are agencies for that, even relatives. If I ran out of gas on the highway, or got sick, the last thing I would do is pass the hat.

There is such a wide variety of people who fall under the title of panhandler. And many are just scammers and criminals. After all, a champion benchrest shooter with a customized rail gun and a four year old with a spring-powered plastic dart gun are both "target shooters."

The practice needs to clamped down upon.

 

[coloradokevin]

I don't give panhandlers money, end of story.


I deal with these guys daily through my job... Most aren't dangerous, and many are homeless. But, giving them money isn't going to help get them back on their feet.

 

[rrruuunnn]

i feel better about my decision now.

 

[Zenas]

Here is a news story about a fraudulent panhandler:
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=84523

The truth is, there are many places for hungry people to go, such as churches and soup kitchens. I believe most people wouldn't mind feeding someone. But that is not what they want. They want money.

But if you want free money, then you need a place where:
1. there is lots of traffic
2. and people have a very short time to judge the truth of your sob story.

Here in Baton Rouge, they mainly stick to the interstate off ramps. When you drive by you have about 10-30 seconds to decide about the person. Trust me, they take advantage of that.

 

[mljdeckard]

Besides concerns of fraud, legitimacy of need, etc, what about concerns of YOUR SAFETY? Is it a good idea to allow yourself to be approached by a total stranger and reach for your wallet while he is close to you? Or worse yet, follow them to where they are squatting, or give them a ride somewhere?

I've BEEN hungry. It sucks. I see legitimate need and mental illness. None of this makes it a good idea to risk my safety, especially when my family is around, which is most of the time. I come from Salt Lake, which has a small homeless problem because we aren't very tolerant. There is a large shelter which has NEVER BEEN FILLED TO CAPACITY, because we don't make it easy for them to hang around.

On the other hand, I went to San Francisco last summer with the family, and me and my wife had a collective case of the willies, with the panhandlers acting aggressively and belligerently if you ignored them or avoided them. She told me it was the first time since we had been in CA she missed my sidearm.

A few years ago, I was leaving work, and a guy told me he needed ten bucks to get his bus ticket to somewhere. I opened my wallet, where he could see it, all I had was two dollar bills. I offered them to him, and he got mad, like I was holding out on him. That tempered my pity a little.

 

[Mannlicher]

I never even let a pan handler get close enough to me to ask.

 

[david_the_greek]

Here in Detroit, the problem is BAD. Locations that are known to have many people frequenting them (like an coffee shop/Bakery I frequently visit) have multiple pan handlers outside of them. They are getting more and more aggressive. Occasionally I have given money to them, generally the change after my purchase, mostly because I'm sick of the hassle and with my GF next to me I don't want to get into a confrontation. My usual response is to offer food or coffee, though many times this is rejected (hhhmmm wonder why?). Though perhaps "not right", I have given a beer to a man asking me for money, I was walking to a friends apartment near the university and the man approached my friend and I. We had no cash left and we knew what he'd use the money for anyways. Told him the truth and said he could have a beer if he wanted. Ran into the bum a few days later and when he recognized me he said I was "alright" and didn't ask me for anything.

Its such a risk/pain in the butt, though its also a tricky situation. There are a few of the homeless/panhandlers around my area that have realized hassling isn't the way to get handouts and instead perform on makeshift instruments, asking for nothing but obviously accepting. Though little different I suppose, I find myself much more willing to give out my spare change (not so spare for a college guy i suppose) to those who do not hassle me and do not "demand" money. Ya never know, guy could watch out for you, or he could know you've "helped" him before so you must have money and are now the new target. Boy I can't wait for my CCW paper work to finally go through...