Re: Giving money to bums
First of all, there's a large difference between bums and street performers.
Bums have no larger respect for themselves than to "bum" off money. Yes, that'd be why they are called bums. Did crash say the woman was juggling knives while asking for help? No, she was begging some random young man at a gas-station for a ride...
Yes, it's true that some homeless put themselves into their own situation, and that some are placed in it by losing their homes to taxes, fires, whatnot... without a job.
But, seriously... it's also true that most of the homeless can find a home within a year or two, assuming they had just lost their job. True "bums" devote their time to "bumming". That's not honest or respectable work. Hell, it's even more respectable to collect cans all day.
A good portion of the people who "bum" money on the streets are not true bums. They know how easily some people can be guilted into giving freebies, and they make a living of it. There are a lot in my area (near Benton Harbor) and I've heard many stories of people being taken advantage of.
My sister had her window down driving through Benton Harbor (Hah, yeah... good idea). At an intersection, a black woman walked up to her car and spilled a story about how she was separated from her church organization... and her car needed gas. She needed a ride or some money to fill it up. Eh, like how my sister is, she gave a good amount of cash, her first name, and the place where she works. Next day, she saw the woman at her workplace asking for her... the woman needed money for her flat tire. Oh yeah, there was a story about her dying mother and the doctors were considering pulling the chord.
Moral? Eh, bums in general are no more than bums. Don't do any favors, but do pay street performers that you enjoy. That's some honest work.
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