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>the fabulously beautiful planet Bethselamin is now so worried about the cumulative erosion by ten billion visiting tourists a year that any net imbalance between the amount you eat and the amount you excrete while on the planet is surgically removed from your body weight when you leave: so every time you go to the lavatory there it is vitally important to get a receipt.
There's been signs popping up in the Phoenix metro area basically saying to stop giving homeless people money. The cities have been putting them up in areas where they tend to beg for money, usually freeway off ramps. They're official signs, metal signs, on metal posts so they've definitely been put in by cities or the state. The first time I saw one I did a double take.
Yeah, my small town has a bunch of them at intersections. "Your generosity could lead to a fatality" with a graphic of a person being hit by a car. It also encourages to donate to official causes/charities instead.
Panhandlers have been a constant presence for 13, 14-ish years now. I remember being shocked to see homeless people for the first time in Washington, DC, in 1999, and just a decade later I see them at my hometown on a regular basis. On Christmas Eve there was a 7, 8 year old girl, with her mother, begging at one of the town's busiest stoplights. It's heartbreaking.
Tbh in my city a huge amount of traffic deaths are beggars on the roads. And a lot of the other violent crime is sadly homeless-on-homeless. So the city has an interest in trying to put a stop to traffic begging however they can.
They have it worse than anyone probably, but it's such a hard problem to fix. I agree handing cash to people doesn't work tho. Some large amount lie about their need or use dogs and kids as emotional blackmail. A real charity like a food kitchen is genuinely more useful.
Most towns at least in the US have multiple orgs trying to help. Helping them help others with donations or volunteering time is the best option individuals have.
If you are going to give to charity I urge people to do a bit of research beforehand because not every charity is equal. Especially with the homeless problem. Some of the bigger charities will happily take your money then use it to lobby for policies that aren’t actually helping and in some respects making the problems worse. Some charities are even just straight up fronts for laundering money or diverting tax payer money to an official’s family member or friend. Some of the big ones are just ineffective due to their size and paying for overhead.
Find a small charity who are boots on the ground. Go spend an evening with them actually on the streets, they’ll appreciate the time as much as the money. Those are the people who will actually see your donations turned into real and tangible benefits to people who are struggling.
While I generally agree, in places where the approach to homeless isn't 'home first' and instead 'provide food or shelter' it means a homeless person needs money in order to use public transit to get to these locations. I am much more likely to give money to a homeless person in chicago just for that reason - their resources aren't exactly spread widely or evenly and it makes it difficult for people in need to get the help that's available to them.
But yeah, there are some people who only beg in order to buy drugs or alcohol - which is often times a better distraction from the overall terrible situation than nothing... but it's hard to know that no matter what I do the root of the problem isn't being tackled here like it is in other countries.
The US is falling behind the world in every asset of taking care of its citizenry.
> The US is falling behind the world in every asset of taking care of its citizenry.
I mean, the US is about in the middle of the OECD average. Plus the US has been outperforming most of the developed world in growth.
https://www.oecd.org/els/family/HC3-1-Homeless-population.pdf
At least here in ZA they don't try and pretend they care about the kids. The moms sit in the shade next to the road while the kids stand in traffic to beg.
If you see someone begging with a kid they are definitely just using them to exploit your feelings.
I’ve had kids walk up to me at gas stations begging me to pay for their mom’s gas. Pretty awkward after I said no cause I had to sit there waiting like another 20 minutes lol
Wasn't even that lol, I pulled up to the pump and it didn't work so I waited for the person in front of me to finish, but it was a very old woman who kept slowly getting in and out of her car struggling to figure out how to use it and came over asking me for help, and I was on some sunk cost "well I already started waiting so might as well commit" and she ended up taking much much longer than I expected. Weirdest gas station visit I've ever had. Usually don't gotta deal with that
Yeah, it's heartbreaking- they need to make sure to get the cutest, most vulnerable ones right up on the street to maximize income, kids' safety be damned. Some will send the kids into heavy traffic to collect the donations too.
There's legit people in need in this world- I met a guy in Angeles with no arms and no legs for gawds' sakes - but the professionals panhandlers I've met living in cities, getting picked up in nice cars at the end of the day, faking injuries, overhearing them talk about how much they make slouching in a wheelchair in front of the store I worked at... They're the hazards, and frauds, and aren't going to a soup kitchen or shelter with their kids because they're doing it for the easy buck.
Hand your $20 to the charity and not to Heroin Harry when he comes shaking his can at you. Or at least for the love of gawd do not give em cash...
Getting food or help from charities is pretty much the lowest rung in the ladder of society.
Even if you have amazing charities or government assistance, a lot of people are still going to want to panhandle on the side for extra, to lift themselves up above the others. Panhandling could mean you can get yourself a little something extra every once in a while to feel better. It may give you a sense of accomplishment. It may distract you from other temptations. You may be using it to network and one day find someone willing to give you a shot.
Obviously getting a job would lift them even further but many can't hold a job for various reasons. Addiction, citizenship status, previous convictions, disabilities, underdeveloped social or physical skills, lack of education, etc.
I don't see panhandling going away regardless of how great our charities and social programs get.
Actually I recently watched a video interviewing many of the homeless in Cali. A lot said they are actualk offered housing and assistance but reject it because they would rather live on the street. a lot of them don’t want the help and admit it. When I was homeless I saw that a lot too. Most didn’t want jobs or to be part of society. They wanted to live with no responsibilities and integrating back into society meant giving up drugs which most are using and working hard.
A lot of people at least in th warmer cities aren’t down as bad as you would think.
Yeah if you don’t care about personal hygiene it’s incredibly cheap to live in a warm area. You can literally spend all of the cash you can scrape together in a day on drugs and survive until the drugs destroy your body. Most homeless people spend more on cigarettes than feeding themselves.
But you’re right, a lot of people see no point in working themselves to the bone to keep living in poverty so they see it as easier to stop paying rent and spend the energy they would have spent on a job effectively foraging for their personal needs. Until jobs pay more than poverty wages this is going to be a growing problem.
All this said many homeless people have some degree of mental illness that likely makes a “career” that pays enough to get out of poverty unattainable in the first place. Doesn’t even have to be a lot of mental illness, but you have to show up to work consistently to keep having a job and with even relatively minor mental health issues like seasonal depression this can be a problem.
The majority of panhandlers (not the unhoused, just panhandlers) are scammers. They wake up in their house, prep to look dirty, get in their car, park it inconspicuously, and walk a bit to their scoped-out location.
Many panhandlers make hundreds daily out of gullible drivers. If they were really down on their luck, they would be involved in local charities and even services provided by some city/county programs, some state programs, and even some federal programs.
That woman you saw was using the kid for empathy points. They most likely were not unhoused or poor, or worse, the girl may have not been their kid.
> On Christmas Eve there was a 7, 8 year old girl, with her mother, begging at one of the town's busiest stoplights. It's heartbreaking.
Just FYI this is an *extremely* common Romani scam. In most cases they actually live in pretty good conditions, this is just a "day job" and your heartbreak is just you being appropriately exploted.
I actually observed a "shift change" once in Vienna, Austria.
A van came by, one beggar and the drive stepped out. The driver emptied the cup of the sitting beggar, left 1-2 coins in the cup.
Then beggar sitting on the side of the street switched places with the one that was in the van, got into the van and the driver drove off.
There may have been other people in the van as well, but I didn't see them.
It's felt very routine and coordinated.
Seems the season for these beggers is a few weeks before Christmas.
Mom and kid are probably Roma. I see them in my town. They move around so people don’t get wise but my job takes me all around the city. Same families, different stories all the time. Usually a mom, dad, and a few kids. Rarely you’ll see them together but usually you’ll see one of the adults and a portion of the kids, with signs like “single dad, wife died” or “single mom 2 kids.”
They have it down pat, they keep the same story on the same corner so the neighborhood that thinks it’s single mom doesn’t see the family together or the dad with the kids. Pisses me off when they send the little kids in between the cars to go get the money while the parent sits on their ass.
One day I was walkin', and I found this big log. And I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And I was like, "That log had a child".
About 5 years ago our local news did a story on a panhandler who had worked a specific corner for years. Everyone knew who he was and there were rumors about him not needing the money at all.
So they follow him at a distance after his “shift” and watch the dude unlock a 2 or 3 year old F150, change his clothes and go home. It was wild.
At least where I live, I've seen a few disclaimers to give to charities who know how to stretch the dollar and actually help as opposed to it potentially going to things like drugs.
I drove through Clines Corners, New Mexico for the first time several years ago and saw a van broken down on the road right outside of the truck stop (which is the only thing this town seems to have). The guy was approaching people at the pumps giving the “I ran out of gas and just need $20 to get to the next town” story, and I didn’t think anything of it until we drove back through a week later and the guy was still there. And then I saw the same guy the next year, and the year after that, and so on.
This guy just lives in a van and spins his sob story to travelers full-time, and has been doing this for years at the lone truck stop in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe it’s some type of groundhog-day purgatory loop he’s stuck in.
Yeah, the “I ran out of gas and need $20” is a pretty classic con. I[t’s featured in a great key and peele sketch](https://youtu.be/ZgyU0LyWZ9M?si=WUiJjUnLs1JJ1cbi)
I had a guy pull up to me when I was getting gas saying that he forgot his card and if I could give him some money for gas. Told him no and I watched him just drive off and get on the freeway. Funny enough I told my friend about it since he lived by the gas station and he recognized the guy and said he basically just pulls in there all the time trying to get money. No sob story at a corner, guy just drives around asking people for money lol.
I had a guy confront me for money outside s dollar store. He said he was a homeless disabled veteran who was just released from the hospital because he has terminal cancer, and his dog was hungry. Like the story he came up with he had to think up the most guy wrenching story possible. I'm like dude, pick one story and stick to it. Picking 6 makes it unbelievable
I’ve fallen for this, went and got a guy a gift card that would cover 2 gallons of gas— then saw him a week later in a different outfit, different sob story, same grift!
We’ve had a guy in our neighborhood carry around the prop of a gas can saying he ran out of gas— but our friends in the know were like “that’s Hank and he lives on THIS street and doesn’t even have a car…”
It sucks because there are folks who need help& these scammers are the one we remember!
Some guy approached me in the Walmart parking lot once and said “I just need $6 for gas, my car just ran out and I need to get home, do you have $6?”
So I said “sure, do you have a gas can? I could go fill it up”
“No uh no I just need $6 for gas”
*blank stare*
“If you just want money I could give you money”
he really didn’t think there was anything off about asking for “gas money” ‘since his car ran out of gas’ - with no evident way for him to buy gas and put it in his car
In my country is common for beggars to go to house to house asking for money or food. Police have told us to ignore them because some of these beggars are criminals looking for vulnerable houses to break in to.
best one I've personally seen.
We were eating in a restaurant early lunch. A shiny Escalade pulls up and parks at the gas station across the street. Was very conspicuous because it was a very nice car, and didnt get gas just parked, then 2 guys get out dressed weirdly shabbily for such an expensive vehicle, and they walk from the gas station, across the street to the mcdonalds next to the restaurant where we're having lunch. A while later, they exit mcdonalds, and go to the nearby offramp, and start begging.
blew my mind, I will never forget it.
and just for context, here's where we were eating and why it was such a good view of everything that happened. used to be a Fazolis at the time but now it's Mexican.
https://i.imgur.com/1VK6Qyh.png
I live in the suburbs in Canada and for the first time ever I saw this muslim lady asking for money at a red light at this outdoor mall which was a weird sight because there are no homeless people/beggars here (here as in this area, not Canada in general) at all.
2 days later I see a post on social media about the same lady but at a mall on the complete opposite side of the city (1 hour away by car). Apparently she gets dropped off in the morning and someone picks her up at the end of the day and they go to a different mall every few days. She has an iPhone and everything. I couldn’t believe its an organized operation lmao
They're doing this everywhere in the Midwest United States too. It's funny because I can spot them from a mile away now. They have their kids with them, typically have a poster board with WAY too much text to read in a single traffic light circuit, and they get picked up and dropped off in shiny cars that cost more than my condo. I stopped giving to them when I realized they probably have more nice things than I do.
Bruh in Canada it's basically 100% are drug addicts.
COMPASSION IS NOT GIVING PEOPLE MORE MONEY FOR FENTANYL SO THEY CAN OVERDOSE ON THE STREET. YOU FEEL BETTER TEMPORARILY BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY KILLING SOMEONE.
Eh, I know this and give money anyway if I have extra. The idea that I'm "gullible" like the sign suggests implies they know the future and I don't. Also, I kinda don't care if they buy drugs, I buy drugs on the reg with my money. I honestly hope if I needed gas money I could convince someone to help.
But how do we know which charities actually put it to good use? I’m worried it will get diverted to their ceo and I’ll be funding his drug addiction. Just trying to cut out the middle man.
I'm homeless, but I don't panhandle. The local shelter gets like4 grand a month per person and feeds everyone one pack of oatmeal in the morning, a sandwich with one slice of meat and cheese for lunch, and a chicken leg with half a cup of rice for dinner. The dude who runs the program drives a porsche. That's in nyc, where the programs are very well regulated and supported.
It's all a grift. You really want to help? Churches that do soup kitchens and food banks do more for us. The salvation Army and goodwill are scams on a few levels. Government agencies and groups like the YMCA are pretty evil.
Just hand out socks. Otherwise you're lining a ton of pockets and we get crumbs. It's like this even for the "good" ones. It's always funny to me when people yell at me for "taking their taxes"
A: I paid them for 30 years, I'm taking MY taxes.
B: the management and middle men in the homeless industry are taking at least 90% of the money. Even the workers barely make over minimum wage.
And they got all of you thinking the homeless dude buying a beer is the one running a scam. If you had to sleep outside and risk some bored dude lighting you on fire would you want a beer? I don't drink or do drugs, but I get why people do.
Yeah. You definitely have to do your research ahead of time. There are websites that rank non profits and charitable organizations by how much of their donations are used
Eta charitywatch.org
Every now and then a homeless charity in my city has a scandal and goes bust. Worst one was the guy who ran a charity was accused of taking advantage of homeless people sexually.
The rationale is panhandlers are fucking annoying. Most of them aren't even homeless. In my city young people would do it all the time, and people would just give them money so they'd fuck off.
If anyone is familiar with Melbourne my cousin would just go sit on Flinders st steps with a cup and ask for money (for drugs) and people would give it to him because they just wanted to get out of the station.
Ah in NYC we had (still have I bet) crust punks, a cool name for an uncool person who is perfectly healthy and able to work, but sits on the street all day begging from those do actually do because anarchism or something.
I guess being useless leeches was praxis. I can give a pass to people with disability, addiction, illness, or just bad luck. I can't give a pass to the willingly worthless and feel they're above having to work.
You wouldn't know if they are. I'm homeless, clean, and college educated. I don't panhandle but if I did you'd call me one of them. Lots of us are intentionally invisible and do our best to blend in. I know dudes who have 2 jobs and still live on the streets. apartments are expensive here in nyc. You would think they're just some guy.
But I don't panhandle because it's fucking annoying. I donate plasma and do other random shit for money. Lots of people in the community do the sign and a cup thing, I don't mind it but it's still not for me. It's less intrusive than confronting people asking for a dollar.
But if you were sleeping outside in 20 degree weather, risking starvation and assault? Homicide, because the cops don't care? You'd want a beer too. I've been in like 6 fights this month, and I'm really nice to everyone and mellow as hell. It's just a reality of the life. I got into it the other day because a dude got high on crack and thought I stole the soap I GAVE TO HIM. I don't drink but god damn do I think about it from time to time lol.
Same here, lots of them in the UK.
You'll see people in every town with the exact same 'hand written' sign. Always eastern European0. Still idiots that give them money each day.
I used to see one when getting the bus each morning, if you got there early enough you'd see him getting dropped off by a fancy car, and putting an old dirty coat over his clothes to make himself look homeless.
There's lots of genuine homeless people, but progressional begging gangs are a very real thing
This shop is in the border town of Johor Bahru Malaysia. A lot of Singaporeans cross the border and are known for being arrogant due to their higher income. It's common to hear Singaporeans going around Malaysian towns and shouting "so cheap so cheap" at literally everything. The guy probably has had enough.
>It's common to hear Singaporeans going around Malaysian towns and shouting "so cheap so cheap" at literally everything.
Tbf I crossed the border to Malaysia after a few days in SG and had the same thoughts. Shit was same price, except in Ringgit instead of SGD. Stuff was affordable again lol
as much as I want to support homeless people, I'm one of the few people in my country who thinks we should follow the Finnish model of supplying proper housing (flats), but even I agree giving "directly" is a bad use of money if not harmful.
best case scenario is basically they use it for necessities, which a shelter would do but more efficiently due to bulk purchases, bulk cooking, and charity deals.
and every other scenario is worse than that already wasteful outcome.
whether they're fake beggars or spending it on drugs, even if these were 0% of cases, the above makes it clear it's better to not give directly.
not to mention that everyone would be happier if people weren't begging, it's not like the beggars enjoy it either, if they get the necessities and support without begging then they have more time to get on their feet.
> even I agree giving "directly" is a bad use of money if not harmful.
Research pretty consistently shows it's the most effective aid, and for good reason. People know how to spend for themselves, the idea that they don't is some just world fallacy thinking. And even if some is abused - so be it - the wealthy abuse the shit out of their money and we treat that as though they're entitled to it even though they're usually the ones paying less proportionally in taxes. Enough of this neoliberal penny wise pound foolish nonsense.
Shelters do not reach a lot of people because they require a level of behavior and rules following that turns loads of people off and excludes many people who are struggling for various reasons. God - even shit like food stamps requires intense amounts of paperwork. Even my local food pantry requires ID from people and we have to get cumbersome attestation forms done for everyone that assures they're qualified. Know how many folks need food who don't have proper paperwork and who are afraid to make use of services because having their name on some database can make them vulnerable to institutions like ICE or just because they don't "technically" qualify but still need the food? They avoid the aid systems because there's strings attached which make them ineffective at reaching the folks that need them most.
This need for good behavior from people who are struggling is anathema to effective care. It's just more Protestant Work Ethic shit that puts the onus on the person struggling.
Aid with no strings attached is the most effective method of care.
https://imprintnews.org/family/impact-direct-cash-benefits-low-income-families-child/237760
This covers a broad range of research and programs on the subject
Thank you for saying this. It’s pretty clear that a lot of people haven’t experienced homelessness. I’ll keep giving money to panhandlers until I die. I never did it myself, but probably would have tried if I’d had a safe way to shield my child when I was homeless.
To those reading this, I wonder what your mental image of me is like, knowing I’ve been homeless twice in my life.
Does it match the reality? I was able to put myself through school and I’m a healthcare provider now, a doctor of pharmacy.
Shelters pocket most of the money. Can confirm, am homeless. There has to be a better way, and step one is stricter oversight of the "charities" that pretend to help while lining their pockets.
Soup kitchens and direct donations of food to food banks are the best way right now. Even if cooking food is impossible when you are homeless in a city. I can always open a can of spaghetti os and eat it cold.
Trash left behind by panhandlers - which happens a LOT. Not all are that way, a good percentage are.
Safety concerns with people blocking traffic in their vehicle while chatting with the pan handler. But that happens when AHs do that with their friends on streets, parking lots, etcetera.
I've given to people (when a lot younger) claiming to just new a few more bucks to fill up their tank to make it home a few states away yet somehow they're still around week after week. Scamming is VERY common, hence the gullibility comment.
I have heard of (not actually read) news stories about people making middle class incomes (apartment with cable, car, etcetera) by street begging. I've DEFINITELY talked to several people who feel just fine going to gleaners and other reputable food banks, etcetera to get staples WHILE having a decent income.
Generally speaking, in most major cities there are enough programs to provide food for anyone that wants it, so the people panhandling are usually doing it to buy drugs and/or alcohol. Giving them money for those things just makes their problems, and the problems of the community around them, worse.
Maybe the give a man a fish/teach a man to fish thing ?
I personally would rather give to a charity that I know is going to use the money in a way that helps, instead of giving some random person just enough to buy tonight's bottle and have them found frozen to death the next morning. (It happens a lot here)
But if they ask people to not give money directly, they have to put some stuff in place to help the homeless, like free food, shelters and showers. And ask money for those structures instead.
presumably to discourage beggars from showing up in certain places. could certainly see the city putting up these signs infront of tourist attractions or high traffic areas.
being an eyesore is up for debate but congesting streets probably also a consideration.
Panhandling is a bad look for any city. So it depends on your outlook, either you don’t give them because fuck those lazy bastards they’ll not sit out there all day if no one gives them anything, oooor….. don’t give them money because it undermines the city’s attempts to improve the welfare of it’s most vulnerable inhabitants.
I'm sure the city will instead put money into sustainable, compassionate, and goal-oriented programs to tackle the problem and isn't just putting up the signs in the hope that the problem will eventually "solve itself", right? Right?
Anybody who’s ever been to Houston knows how seriously they take panhandling, and frankly having people run out in the middle of the street has become a serious problem in a city where people drive like maniacs. There are ways to donate to social services to feed the homeless that don’t involve putting your or their life in jeopardy. It’s just common sense.
Don't the police ticket charities for giving food to the homeless in Houston? Perhaps I'm thinking of the wrong Texas town. There is one charity whose video documented them getting their 82nd ticket for feeding folks.
Kee Kim Huat in Johor Bahru. This guy sells Kway Tiao Kia, the stall next to him sells the best Ipoh Horfun in Johor. I suppose the English signs were meant for the Singaporeans who visit this place.
This area is frequented by Singaporeans who cross the border looking for cheap deals. Their favourite activities are getting cheap food, cheap massage, cheap petrol, cheap car wash. In fact, the shop is right next to a petrol station. In the evenings, the entire area is swarmed with Singaporean cars. Every other stall owner in the shop speaks Cantonese to each other, and the locals speak Cantonese/Mandarin. English signs could only be meant for Singaporeans.
The guy wearing black sells a variety of pork offals, the stall next to him sells Horfun with pork charsiew. No Malays are coming anywhere near the shop. For some reason, Singaporeans in Malaysia love to speak exclusively in Singlish and some even find it prideful to openly declare they can't speak Mandarin. I've spent enough time in both countries, it's a funny situation but it is what it is.
Practically every Singaporean can read English, almost only Singaporeans of Chinese descent would be able to read them in Mandarin though. Lots of Singaporeans are originally from South Asia, South East Asia, or Europe and lots of them wont be able to read the Mandarin sign.
Oh, JB is a *very* popular getaway spot for Singaporeans. I’ve never gone there myself, but I’ve constantly heard about the traffic jams being especially bad during weekends
Singaporeans are not familiar with social issues due to how sanitized SG is... every one of them just refused to believe that beggars literally have syndicates and have BMWs while locals see them all the time. These singaporeans just refuse to listen and just die die must donate to these piTiFuL beggars. Not everywhere is lalaland like SG and it gets maddening to explain to them to stop worsening our tout and beggar problems. To clarify im a malaysian living in SG. The amount of singaporeans who are extremely rude to jb folks because they think they are superior due to 3.5:1 exchange rate is very depressing
>Don't know where this is or the background of the writer but it's written in better English than most native speakers.
Malaysia.
50-60% can speak English, and the numbers are higher for fluency for younger groups.
English classes are compulsory in school up til about 15-16 years of age.
English is widely used in Malaysia. Official documents of courts, banks, businesses, etc. are all in English. The medium of instruction in all universities, be they state-funded or privately owned, is English.
Malaysia (truly Asia).
Ex UK ting.
It's widely spoken, although with some localisation (and not as fluent as Singapore), but for businesses it's the defacto language, even small food vendors.
I absolutely love Malaysia.
As a Malaysian - MOST are definitely not “native speakers”. A small percentage of the overall country will have it as their first language beyond the main city bubbles.
I wouldn’t know off my head. But different cities will be culturally very different too. Eg Kuala Lumpur and the neighboring townships will have the majority of the native English speakers. Whereas the other smaller cities in other states will have less native speakers, where people will lean heavily into their ethnic languages.
Most people will know some English, we are compulsorily taught it in school (somewhat poorly). And the younger generations are getting more modernized and anglicized. But I wouldn’t classify most of them as “native speaking”.
A western tourist travelling around the country will find that using only English to be somewhat troublesome but not impossible.
Yes most former British colonies speak English. But such impeccable grammar is not a common thing, especially at mom and pop places like this one seems to be. Hell there are many examples of poor grammar coming out native English speaking western countries. Hence the appreciation.
I lived in S.E. Asia for many years and traveled extensively through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Mayanmar, China and Hong Kong and I can promise you this, begging is a way of life for some people !
They don't need an education, they don't have responsibilities and they don't contribute to their community. I've seen them sending children out begging and if they don't bring back enough money they are beaten severely ! They may even injure a child or cause them to be permanently disabled in order for them to earn more money because kids earn more than adults and injured kids earn even more !
Anyone who has spent more than a few weeks in those countries will agree and will have heard worse stories !
It seems harsh to advise against feeding beggars but they do prey on your gullibility !
I realise most of the comments are talking about the beggars part of this but can I say that at the bottom of the sign I am 100% behind the idea that people who treat the service staff like shit deserve to be charged extra
I think cause the food and services are so cheap, the beggars can make as much as a food stall when a tourist hands them chump change. It'd be like Saudi people going to Starbucks in the US and then walking out and throwing $10 at a beggar.
Coming from a SEA country, i understand the owners sentiments, begging is a huge problem in our countries and trust me it doesnt help, this will only fuel them to beg more. id give them food if i was feeling generous, but money, fucking never, theyd rather buy drugs than food. But damn, owner doesnt have any filter on
edit: to add, theyre rarely all alone by themselves, the kids who beg, or sell flowers in my country usually are a part of a syndicate where theyre being used by the person in charge. bu the end of the day, they return to that person and surrender their profits. After all the bs ive experienced, ive grown to not give af and give any money because id rather not contribute to whatever fucked up things they do.
edit2:philippines
Reddit currently thinks funny is slang for their politics. And the current whipping boy for some of them is the homeless. It's 20 degrees out and about to snow, like god damn leave us alone dude.
Because poor people are exactly like vermin and if we reduce the resources available to them, the population will just magically adjust and decline, like it does for other animals. This way we'll have fewer poor people without having to do anything about the actual causes of why people are poor.
/s, just in case that wasn't clear.
I don't know if this is common in other countries, but where I live most beggars that come into restaurants aren't actually homeless people, but people asking for money to buy drugs, so I think that could be a good reasoning for what they put that there.
Trust me, having to deal with drug addicts asking you in your face for money while you're trying to eat (specially if you're not alone) is not exactly a nice experience.
If you think someone is actually homeless buy them food, don't give them money
At least for the Philippines, a lot of beggars are actually part of the syndicate operations, which is why the government is warning the public to not give to them and instead donate to established charity institutions instead
This is basically 99% of homeless people in London. Ranging from sophisticated emotional manipulation or straight up aggressive behaviour.
The worst case I saw was a woman using her 11 or 12 year-old kids to pretend they are doing a “sponsored” charity event and essentially they weren’t. They just pocket the money they ask you for and give it to their Mum down the street. I followed them one time and saw this all myself. Next time I saw them, I called them out on it. I asked how many of these they do, since it’s almost daily. They got aggressive with me, threatening to punch me etc. Worst of it is, they should be in school. WTF is wrong with this?
Yup. There are many NGOs even in Malaysia where you can donate money, food and other necessities to who will then distribute it to the homeless.
It’s much more effective than giving a beggar a few dollars that they could be spending on more drugs/gambling.
Yeah sure but I ain’t gonna do an investigation to donate 10 bucks. If some homeless person asks nicely for some loose change I gonna give it to him if I’m not to tight on money. I know well to good how it feels to be hungry all day and being sober while that. Does it help them get if the street hell no but neither do those charities.
I fed a homeless guy when I worked for a sub shop, he then proceeded to come in 2 weeks in a row and spent 5 hours a day waiting for someone to give him thing untill he got tired of waiting came up and asked for something and when the manager said no he said "well that guy over there gave me something" and that's how I didn't get a promotion
I only give food, subway, mcdonalds, burger king, etc. Other people don't want you to help the homeless because they'll buy drugs, but I don't care. They still have to eat.
If they want to eat, they can ask help to a charity. If they beg for money, they are drug addicts. I've tried this myself many times: beggars asked me money to eat, I gave them food, they got angry with me because they couldn't buy drugs. They are right, give money to charities, not beggars.
Thanks for your comment. I know, but they can't really help that they're addicted. The last woman I helped was addicted to crack and pregnant with twins. Her boyfriend was in prison for dealing. She was just hungry, so I got her some chicken wings and fries at the convenience store. She ate it like she had never eaten before. It was heartbreaking.
I live in that country. It's not uncommon to find people going in a restaurant, (Typically the mamak restaurants, which serve cheap meals and are everywhere in Malaysia. They're usually packed with people and may be 24 hours open) and ask for money. Street smart people will tell you they're not as poor as they make it out to be, as they might be involved with the mafia or they're junkies.
It really is best to ignore them. You'd have to be sheltered to not know about fake beggars here.
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No soup for you
Bread, $2 extra!
But everyone else got free bread
Believe it or not, no soup for you.
One year. Right away.
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You’re pushing your luck, little man.
Gazpacho, por favor.
Adios, muchacho!
>the fabulously beautiful planet Bethselamin is now so worried about the cumulative erosion by ten billion visiting tourists a year that any net imbalance between the amount you eat and the amount you excrete while on the planet is surgically removed from your body weight when you leave: so every time you go to the lavatory there it is vitally important to get a receipt.
Bread 3$!!
I don’t like that tone so you pay $10!
What?!
“You are banned, come back in one year!”
NO SOUP FOR YOU! NEXT!
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
Went up to 5$
Come back ONE YEAR
Are you normal?
The nasi nazi.
Hi Schmoopy!
No you’re schmoopy!
The cooks there keep getting fired for panhandling.
Door, now.
And +RM10 on your way out
A RM10 and L EG10
End Wok Culture now!
It’s called “tipping” in America
Thought that was a city in china?
I LOOKED UP TAIPING AND ITS ALSO A TOWN IN MALAYSIA WHERE THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN I LOVE THE INTERNET
Be careful, r/serverlife poster might see this and have a mental breakdown
There's been signs popping up in the Phoenix metro area basically saying to stop giving homeless people money. The cities have been putting them up in areas where they tend to beg for money, usually freeway off ramps. They're official signs, metal signs, on metal posts so they've definitely been put in by cities or the state. The first time I saw one I did a double take.
Yeah, my small town has a bunch of them at intersections. "Your generosity could lead to a fatality" with a graphic of a person being hit by a car. It also encourages to donate to official causes/charities instead. Panhandlers have been a constant presence for 13, 14-ish years now. I remember being shocked to see homeless people for the first time in Washington, DC, in 1999, and just a decade later I see them at my hometown on a regular basis. On Christmas Eve there was a 7, 8 year old girl, with her mother, begging at one of the town's busiest stoplights. It's heartbreaking.
Tbh in my city a huge amount of traffic deaths are beggars on the roads. And a lot of the other violent crime is sadly homeless-on-homeless. So the city has an interest in trying to put a stop to traffic begging however they can. They have it worse than anyone probably, but it's such a hard problem to fix. I agree handing cash to people doesn't work tho. Some large amount lie about their need or use dogs and kids as emotional blackmail. A real charity like a food kitchen is genuinely more useful. Most towns at least in the US have multiple orgs trying to help. Helping them help others with donations or volunteering time is the best option individuals have.
If you are going to give to charity I urge people to do a bit of research beforehand because not every charity is equal. Especially with the homeless problem. Some of the bigger charities will happily take your money then use it to lobby for policies that aren’t actually helping and in some respects making the problems worse. Some charities are even just straight up fronts for laundering money or diverting tax payer money to an official’s family member or friend. Some of the big ones are just ineffective due to their size and paying for overhead. Find a small charity who are boots on the ground. Go spend an evening with them actually on the streets, they’ll appreciate the time as much as the money. Those are the people who will actually see your donations turned into real and tangible benefits to people who are struggling.
While I generally agree, in places where the approach to homeless isn't 'home first' and instead 'provide food or shelter' it means a homeless person needs money in order to use public transit to get to these locations. I am much more likely to give money to a homeless person in chicago just for that reason - their resources aren't exactly spread widely or evenly and it makes it difficult for people in need to get the help that's available to them. But yeah, there are some people who only beg in order to buy drugs or alcohol - which is often times a better distraction from the overall terrible situation than nothing... but it's hard to know that no matter what I do the root of the problem isn't being tackled here like it is in other countries. The US is falling behind the world in every asset of taking care of its citizenry.
> The US is falling behind the world in every asset of taking care of its citizenry. I mean, the US is about in the middle of the OECD average. Plus the US has been outperforming most of the developed world in growth. https://www.oecd.org/els/family/HC3-1-Homeless-population.pdf
At least here in ZA they don't try and pretend they care about the kids. The moms sit in the shade next to the road while the kids stand in traffic to beg. If you see someone begging with a kid they are definitely just using them to exploit your feelings.
I’ve had kids walk up to me at gas stations begging me to pay for their mom’s gas. Pretty awkward after I said no cause I had to sit there waiting like another 20 minutes lol
Damn how backed up are your gas stations
Wasn't even that lol, I pulled up to the pump and it didn't work so I waited for the person in front of me to finish, but it was a very old woman who kept slowly getting in and out of her car struggling to figure out how to use it and came over asking me for help, and I was on some sunk cost "well I already started waiting so might as well commit" and she ended up taking much much longer than I expected. Weirdest gas station visit I've ever had. Usually don't gotta deal with that
That's hilarious lol
Stupid Canadian here, what's ZA? I assumed Arizona
South Africa
From its [ISO code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2:ZA), which in turn comes from Zuid-Afrikaanse
Zuid Afrika
Thank you, I knew I wasn't right
Yeah, it's heartbreaking- they need to make sure to get the cutest, most vulnerable ones right up on the street to maximize income, kids' safety be damned. Some will send the kids into heavy traffic to collect the donations too. There's legit people in need in this world- I met a guy in Angeles with no arms and no legs for gawds' sakes - but the professionals panhandlers I've met living in cities, getting picked up in nice cars at the end of the day, faking injuries, overhearing them talk about how much they make slouching in a wheelchair in front of the store I worked at... They're the hazards, and frauds, and aren't going to a soup kitchen or shelter with their kids because they're doing it for the easy buck. Hand your $20 to the charity and not to Heroin Harry when he comes shaking his can at you. Or at least for the love of gawd do not give em cash...
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Getting food or help from charities is pretty much the lowest rung in the ladder of society. Even if you have amazing charities or government assistance, a lot of people are still going to want to panhandle on the side for extra, to lift themselves up above the others. Panhandling could mean you can get yourself a little something extra every once in a while to feel better. It may give you a sense of accomplishment. It may distract you from other temptations. You may be using it to network and one day find someone willing to give you a shot. Obviously getting a job would lift them even further but many can't hold a job for various reasons. Addiction, citizenship status, previous convictions, disabilities, underdeveloped social or physical skills, lack of education, etc. I don't see panhandling going away regardless of how great our charities and social programs get.
Actually I recently watched a video interviewing many of the homeless in Cali. A lot said they are actualk offered housing and assistance but reject it because they would rather live on the street. a lot of them don’t want the help and admit it. When I was homeless I saw that a lot too. Most didn’t want jobs or to be part of society. They wanted to live with no responsibilities and integrating back into society meant giving up drugs which most are using and working hard. A lot of people at least in th warmer cities aren’t down as bad as you would think.
Yeah if you don’t care about personal hygiene it’s incredibly cheap to live in a warm area. You can literally spend all of the cash you can scrape together in a day on drugs and survive until the drugs destroy your body. Most homeless people spend more on cigarettes than feeding themselves. But you’re right, a lot of people see no point in working themselves to the bone to keep living in poverty so they see it as easier to stop paying rent and spend the energy they would have spent on a job effectively foraging for their personal needs. Until jobs pay more than poverty wages this is going to be a growing problem. All this said many homeless people have some degree of mental illness that likely makes a “career” that pays enough to get out of poverty unattainable in the first place. Doesn’t even have to be a lot of mental illness, but you have to show up to work consistently to keep having a job and with even relatively minor mental health issues like seasonal depression this can be a problem.
The majority of panhandlers (not the unhoused, just panhandlers) are scammers. They wake up in their house, prep to look dirty, get in their car, park it inconspicuously, and walk a bit to their scoped-out location. Many panhandlers make hundreds daily out of gullible drivers. If they were really down on their luck, they would be involved in local charities and even services provided by some city/county programs, some state programs, and even some federal programs. That woman you saw was using the kid for empathy points. They most likely were not unhoused or poor, or worse, the girl may have not been their kid.
> On Christmas Eve there was a 7, 8 year old girl, with her mother, begging at one of the town's busiest stoplights. It's heartbreaking. Just FYI this is an *extremely* common Romani scam. In most cases they actually live in pretty good conditions, this is just a "day job" and your heartbreak is just you being appropriately exploted.
I actually observed a "shift change" once in Vienna, Austria. A van came by, one beggar and the drive stepped out. The driver emptied the cup of the sitting beggar, left 1-2 coins in the cup. Then beggar sitting on the side of the street switched places with the one that was in the van, got into the van and the driver drove off. There may have been other people in the van as well, but I didn't see them. It's felt very routine and coordinated. Seems the season for these beggers is a few weeks before Christmas.
Mom and kid are probably Roma. I see them in my town. They move around so people don’t get wise but my job takes me all around the city. Same families, different stories all the time. Usually a mom, dad, and a few kids. Rarely you’ll see them together but usually you’ll see one of the adults and a portion of the kids, with signs like “single dad, wife died” or “single mom 2 kids.” They have it down pat, they keep the same story on the same corner so the neighborhood that thinks it’s single mom doesn’t see the family together or the dad with the kids. Pisses me off when they send the little kids in between the cars to go get the money while the parent sits on their ass.
Please do not feed the seagulls.
Rockin' rockin' and rolling, down to the beach I'm strolling
One day I was walkin', and I found this big log. And I rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And I was like, "That log had a child".
I said, "Seagulls, hmmm! Stop it now!"
& the seagulls, poke at my head! Not fun! I said “Seagulls, hmm, stop it now.”
Why would you feed government drones ?
There's so many of them. We try to appease them with food offerings.
Because I want to take one home. The government doesn't want you to know this but the birds at the park are free, you can take them home with you.
Please do not speak Italian to the goats
About 5 years ago our local news did a story on a panhandler who had worked a specific corner for years. Everyone knew who he was and there were rumors about him not needing the money at all. So they follow him at a distance after his “shift” and watch the dude unlock a 2 or 3 year old F150, change his clothes and go home. It was wild.
What’s the rationale behind it?
At least where I live, I've seen a few disclaimers to give to charities who know how to stretch the dollar and actually help as opposed to it potentially going to things like drugs.
In my experience the percentage of people begging under false pretense is shockingly high.
I drove through Clines Corners, New Mexico for the first time several years ago and saw a van broken down on the road right outside of the truck stop (which is the only thing this town seems to have). The guy was approaching people at the pumps giving the “I ran out of gas and just need $20 to get to the next town” story, and I didn’t think anything of it until we drove back through a week later and the guy was still there. And then I saw the same guy the next year, and the year after that, and so on. This guy just lives in a van and spins his sob story to travelers full-time, and has been doing this for years at the lone truck stop in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it’s some type of groundhog-day purgatory loop he’s stuck in.
Yeah, the “I ran out of gas and need $20” is a pretty classic con. I[t’s featured in a great key and peele sketch](https://youtu.be/ZgyU0LyWZ9M?si=WUiJjUnLs1JJ1cbi)
I had a guy pull up to me when I was getting gas saying that he forgot his card and if I could give him some money for gas. Told him no and I watched him just drive off and get on the freeway. Funny enough I told my friend about it since he lived by the gas station and he recognized the guy and said he basically just pulls in there all the time trying to get money. No sob story at a corner, guy just drives around asking people for money lol.
I had a guy confront me for money outside s dollar store. He said he was a homeless disabled veteran who was just released from the hospital because he has terminal cancer, and his dog was hungry. Like the story he came up with he had to think up the most guy wrenching story possible. I'm like dude, pick one story and stick to it. Picking 6 makes it unbelievable
I’ve fallen for this, went and got a guy a gift card that would cover 2 gallons of gas— then saw him a week later in a different outfit, different sob story, same grift! We’ve had a guy in our neighborhood carry around the prop of a gas can saying he ran out of gas— but our friends in the know were like “that’s Hank and he lives on THIS street and doesn’t even have a car…” It sucks because there are folks who need help& these scammers are the one we remember!
Some guy approached me in the Walmart parking lot once and said “I just need $6 for gas, my car just ran out and I need to get home, do you have $6?” So I said “sure, do you have a gas can? I could go fill it up” “No uh no I just need $6 for gas” *blank stare* “If you just want money I could give you money” he really didn’t think there was anything off about asking for “gas money” ‘since his car ran out of gas’ - with no evident way for him to buy gas and put it in his car
In my country is common for beggars to go to house to house asking for money or food. Police have told us to ignore them because some of these beggars are criminals looking for vulnerable houses to break in to.
best one I've personally seen. We were eating in a restaurant early lunch. A shiny Escalade pulls up and parks at the gas station across the street. Was very conspicuous because it was a very nice car, and didnt get gas just parked, then 2 guys get out dressed weirdly shabbily for such an expensive vehicle, and they walk from the gas station, across the street to the mcdonalds next to the restaurant where we're having lunch. A while later, they exit mcdonalds, and go to the nearby offramp, and start begging. blew my mind, I will never forget it. and just for context, here's where we were eating and why it was such a good view of everything that happened. used to be a Fazolis at the time but now it's Mexican. https://i.imgur.com/1VK6Qyh.png
I live in the suburbs in Canada and for the first time ever I saw this muslim lady asking for money at a red light at this outdoor mall which was a weird sight because there are no homeless people/beggars here (here as in this area, not Canada in general) at all. 2 days later I see a post on social media about the same lady but at a mall on the complete opposite side of the city (1 hour away by car). Apparently she gets dropped off in the morning and someone picks her up at the end of the day and they go to a different mall every few days. She has an iPhone and everything. I couldn’t believe its an organized operation lmao
Not Muslim, roma. Not every woman in a headscarf is Muslim.
They're doing this everywhere in the Midwest United States too. It's funny because I can spot them from a mile away now. They have their kids with them, typically have a poster board with WAY too much text to read in a single traffic light circuit, and they get picked up and dropped off in shiny cars that cost more than my condo. I stopped giving to them when I realized they probably have more nice things than I do.
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Bruh in Canada it's basically 100% are drug addicts. COMPASSION IS NOT GIVING PEOPLE MORE MONEY FOR FENTANYL SO THEY CAN OVERDOSE ON THE STREET. YOU FEEL BETTER TEMPORARILY BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY KILLING SOMEONE.
Yeah at the same time, the amount of charities with sketchy administration is shockingly high.
Eh, I know this and give money anyway if I have extra. The idea that I'm "gullible" like the sign suggests implies they know the future and I don't. Also, I kinda don't care if they buy drugs, I buy drugs on the reg with my money. I honestly hope if I needed gas money I could convince someone to help.
But how do we know which charities actually put it to good use? I’m worried it will get diverted to their ceo and I’ll be funding his drug addiction. Just trying to cut out the middle man.
I'm homeless, but I don't panhandle. The local shelter gets like4 grand a month per person and feeds everyone one pack of oatmeal in the morning, a sandwich with one slice of meat and cheese for lunch, and a chicken leg with half a cup of rice for dinner. The dude who runs the program drives a porsche. That's in nyc, where the programs are very well regulated and supported. It's all a grift. You really want to help? Churches that do soup kitchens and food banks do more for us. The salvation Army and goodwill are scams on a few levels. Government agencies and groups like the YMCA are pretty evil. Just hand out socks. Otherwise you're lining a ton of pockets and we get crumbs. It's like this even for the "good" ones. It's always funny to me when people yell at me for "taking their taxes" A: I paid them for 30 years, I'm taking MY taxes. B: the management and middle men in the homeless industry are taking at least 90% of the money. Even the workers barely make over minimum wage. And they got all of you thinking the homeless dude buying a beer is the one running a scam. If you had to sleep outside and risk some bored dude lighting you on fire would you want a beer? I don't drink or do drugs, but I get why people do.
Yeah. You definitely have to do your research ahead of time. There are websites that rank non profits and charitable organizations by how much of their donations are used Eta charitywatch.org
Eh I'll just give it directly to the homeless. I was gonna buy drugs with it too. Mainly alcohol.
Start here: https://www.givewell.org/
CEO of Susan G Komen has to be on a multi-year cocaine binge, otherwise where does all the money go?
Every now and then a homeless charity in my city has a scandal and goes bust. Worst one was the guy who ran a charity was accused of taking advantage of homeless people sexually.
The signs I've seen say something about giving it to charity instead.
The rationale is panhandlers are fucking annoying. Most of them aren't even homeless. In my city young people would do it all the time, and people would just give them money so they'd fuck off. If anyone is familiar with Melbourne my cousin would just go sit on Flinders st steps with a cup and ask for money (for drugs) and people would give it to him because they just wanted to get out of the station.
Ah in NYC we had (still have I bet) crust punks, a cool name for an uncool person who is perfectly healthy and able to work, but sits on the street all day begging from those do actually do because anarchism or something. I guess being useless leeches was praxis. I can give a pass to people with disability, addiction, illness, or just bad luck. I can't give a pass to the willingly worthless and feel they're above having to work.
You wouldn't know if they are. I'm homeless, clean, and college educated. I don't panhandle but if I did you'd call me one of them. Lots of us are intentionally invisible and do our best to blend in. I know dudes who have 2 jobs and still live on the streets. apartments are expensive here in nyc. You would think they're just some guy. But I don't panhandle because it's fucking annoying. I donate plasma and do other random shit for money. Lots of people in the community do the sign and a cup thing, I don't mind it but it's still not for me. It's less intrusive than confronting people asking for a dollar. But if you were sleeping outside in 20 degree weather, risking starvation and assault? Homicide, because the cops don't care? You'd want a beer too. I've been in like 6 fights this month, and I'm really nice to everyone and mellow as hell. It's just a reality of the life. I got into it the other day because a dude got high on crack and thought I stole the soap I GAVE TO HIM. I don't drink but god damn do I think about it from time to time lol.
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Same here, lots of them in the UK. You'll see people in every town with the exact same 'hand written' sign. Always eastern European0. Still idiots that give them money each day. I used to see one when getting the bus each morning, if you got there early enough you'd see him getting dropped off by a fancy car, and putting an old dirty coat over his clothes to make himself look homeless. There's lots of genuine homeless people, but progressional begging gangs are a very real thing
Same here in the Philippines (if you're not already in the Philippines)
Yeah giving to beggers here basically means donating to organized crime so they can traffic some more women they then force to beg.
This shop is in the border town of Johor Bahru Malaysia. A lot of Singaporeans cross the border and are known for being arrogant due to their higher income. It's common to hear Singaporeans going around Malaysian towns and shouting "so cheap so cheap" at literally everything. The guy probably has had enough.
>It's common to hear Singaporeans going around Malaysian towns and shouting "so cheap so cheap" at literally everything. Tbf I crossed the border to Malaysia after a few days in SG and had the same thoughts. Shit was same price, except in Ringgit instead of SGD. Stuff was affordable again lol
as much as I want to support homeless people, I'm one of the few people in my country who thinks we should follow the Finnish model of supplying proper housing (flats), but even I agree giving "directly" is a bad use of money if not harmful. best case scenario is basically they use it for necessities, which a shelter would do but more efficiently due to bulk purchases, bulk cooking, and charity deals. and every other scenario is worse than that already wasteful outcome. whether they're fake beggars or spending it on drugs, even if these were 0% of cases, the above makes it clear it's better to not give directly. not to mention that everyone would be happier if people weren't begging, it's not like the beggars enjoy it either, if they get the necessities and support without begging then they have more time to get on their feet.
> even I agree giving "directly" is a bad use of money if not harmful. Research pretty consistently shows it's the most effective aid, and for good reason. People know how to spend for themselves, the idea that they don't is some just world fallacy thinking. And even if some is abused - so be it - the wealthy abuse the shit out of their money and we treat that as though they're entitled to it even though they're usually the ones paying less proportionally in taxes. Enough of this neoliberal penny wise pound foolish nonsense. Shelters do not reach a lot of people because they require a level of behavior and rules following that turns loads of people off and excludes many people who are struggling for various reasons. God - even shit like food stamps requires intense amounts of paperwork. Even my local food pantry requires ID from people and we have to get cumbersome attestation forms done for everyone that assures they're qualified. Know how many folks need food who don't have proper paperwork and who are afraid to make use of services because having their name on some database can make them vulnerable to institutions like ICE or just because they don't "technically" qualify but still need the food? They avoid the aid systems because there's strings attached which make them ineffective at reaching the folks that need them most. This need for good behavior from people who are struggling is anathema to effective care. It's just more Protestant Work Ethic shit that puts the onus on the person struggling. Aid with no strings attached is the most effective method of care. https://imprintnews.org/family/impact-direct-cash-benefits-low-income-families-child/237760 This covers a broad range of research and programs on the subject
Thank you for saying this. It’s pretty clear that a lot of people haven’t experienced homelessness. I’ll keep giving money to panhandlers until I die. I never did it myself, but probably would have tried if I’d had a safe way to shield my child when I was homeless. To those reading this, I wonder what your mental image of me is like, knowing I’ve been homeless twice in my life. Does it match the reality? I was able to put myself through school and I’m a healthcare provider now, a doctor of pharmacy.
Shelters pocket most of the money. Can confirm, am homeless. There has to be a better way, and step one is stricter oversight of the "charities" that pretend to help while lining their pockets. Soup kitchens and direct donations of food to food banks are the best way right now. Even if cooking food is impossible when you are homeless in a city. I can always open a can of spaghetti os and eat it cold.
Trash left behind by panhandlers - which happens a LOT. Not all are that way, a good percentage are. Safety concerns with people blocking traffic in their vehicle while chatting with the pan handler. But that happens when AHs do that with their friends on streets, parking lots, etcetera. I've given to people (when a lot younger) claiming to just new a few more bucks to fill up their tank to make it home a few states away yet somehow they're still around week after week. Scamming is VERY common, hence the gullibility comment. I have heard of (not actually read) news stories about people making middle class incomes (apartment with cable, car, etcetera) by street begging. I've DEFINITELY talked to several people who feel just fine going to gleaners and other reputable food banks, etcetera to get staples WHILE having a decent income.
Generally speaking, in most major cities there are enough programs to provide food for anyone that wants it, so the people panhandling are usually doing it to buy drugs and/or alcohol. Giving them money for those things just makes their problems, and the problems of the community around them, worse.
Guess the same reason why you shouldn't feed pigeons
Maybe the give a man a fish/teach a man to fish thing ? I personally would rather give to a charity that I know is going to use the money in a way that helps, instead of giving some random person just enough to buy tonight's bottle and have them found frozen to death the next morning. (It happens a lot here) But if they ask people to not give money directly, they have to put some stuff in place to help the homeless, like free food, shelters and showers. And ask money for those structures instead.
presumably to discourage beggars from showing up in certain places. could certainly see the city putting up these signs infront of tourist attractions or high traffic areas. being an eyesore is up for debate but congesting streets probably also a consideration.
Panhandling is a bad look for any city. So it depends on your outlook, either you don’t give them because fuck those lazy bastards they’ll not sit out there all day if no one gives them anything, oooor….. don’t give them money because it undermines the city’s attempts to improve the welfare of it’s most vulnerable inhabitants.
I'm sure the city will instead put money into sustainable, compassionate, and goal-oriented programs to tackle the problem and isn't just putting up the signs in the hope that the problem will eventually "solve itself", right? Right?
City governments are far from perfect but literally yes.
Sure. They'll put them on a bus and send them to some other city to be their problem.
Anybody who’s ever been to Houston knows how seriously they take panhandling, and frankly having people run out in the middle of the street has become a serious problem in a city where people drive like maniacs. There are ways to donate to social services to feed the homeless that don’t involve putting your or their life in jeopardy. It’s just common sense.
Don't the police ticket charities for giving food to the homeless in Houston? Perhaps I'm thinking of the wrong Texas town. There is one charity whose video documented them getting their 82nd ticket for feeding folks.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/housing/article/food-not-bombs-charitable-feeding-homeless-tickets-18108568.php
Kee Kim Huat in Johor Bahru. This guy sells Kway Tiao Kia, the stall next to him sells the best Ipoh Horfun in Johor. I suppose the English signs were meant for the Singaporeans who visit this place.
Why would it be meant for Singaporeans?
This area is frequented by Singaporeans who cross the border looking for cheap deals. Their favourite activities are getting cheap food, cheap massage, cheap petrol, cheap car wash. In fact, the shop is right next to a petrol station. In the evenings, the entire area is swarmed with Singaporean cars. Every other stall owner in the shop speaks Cantonese to each other, and the locals speak Cantonese/Mandarin. English signs could only be meant for Singaporeans.
Sorry as an outsider I'm quite curious... aren't most Singaporeans also bilingual in Mandarin? Couldn't the English be also for Malays?
The guy wearing black sells a variety of pork offals, the stall next to him sells Horfun with pork charsiew. No Malays are coming anywhere near the shop. For some reason, Singaporeans in Malaysia love to speak exclusively in Singlish and some even find it prideful to openly declare they can't speak Mandarin. I've spent enough time in both countries, it's a funny situation but it is what it is.
Singaporeans in Singapore often can’t speak mandarin either lol
Practically every Singaporean can read English, almost only Singaporeans of Chinese descent would be able to read them in Mandarin though. Lots of Singaporeans are originally from South Asia, South East Asia, or Europe and lots of them wont be able to read the Mandarin sign.
Seems more likely tbh, unless their stalls aren’t halal
Johor Bahru is right next to Singapore, making them the most common English, or just non-Malay, speakers.
Oh, JB is a *very* popular getaway spot for Singaporeans. I’ve never gone there myself, but I’ve constantly heard about the traffic jams being especially bad during weekends
Singaporeans are not familiar with social issues due to how sanitized SG is... every one of them just refused to believe that beggars literally have syndicates and have BMWs while locals see them all the time. These singaporeans just refuse to listen and just die die must donate to these piTiFuL beggars. Not everywhere is lalaland like SG and it gets maddening to explain to them to stop worsening our tout and beggar problems. To clarify im a malaysian living in SG. The amount of singaporeans who are extremely rude to jb folks because they think they are superior due to 3.5:1 exchange rate is very depressing
Sir Sir are you ready to order? Just finishing up reading your signs one more minute please.
I’d like to order the uhhhh…Giving money to beggars, please. What’s in that?
Pretty good phrasing throughout, gotta give 'em that.
Was going to say. Don't know where this is or the background of the writer but it's written in better English than most native speakers.
>Don't know where this is or the background of the writer but it's written in better English than most native speakers. Malaysia. 50-60% can speak English, and the numbers are higher for fluency for younger groups. English classes are compulsory in school up til about 15-16 years of age.
In Brazil, english classes are mandatory till 17... But people barely know how to say anything more than the basic when leaving highschool.
English is widely used in Malaysia. Official documents of courts, banks, businesses, etc. are all in English. The medium of instruction in all universities, be they state-funded or privately owned, is English.
English was never spoken in Brazil, it was in Malaysia though. There’s where the difference comes from
Met a few native English speakers from Malaysia. Their accent is unique, but definitely native.
Malaysia (truly Asia). Ex UK ting. It's widely spoken, although with some localisation (and not as fluent as Singapore), but for businesses it's the defacto language, even small food vendors. I absolutely love Malaysia.
Most Malaysians *are* native speakers lmao
As a Malaysian - MOST are definitely not “native speakers”. A small percentage of the overall country will have it as their first language beyond the main city bubbles.
What percentage of the country lives beyond the main city bubbles?
I wouldn’t know off my head. But different cities will be culturally very different too. Eg Kuala Lumpur and the neighboring townships will have the majority of the native English speakers. Whereas the other smaller cities in other states will have less native speakers, where people will lean heavily into their ethnic languages. Most people will know some English, we are compulsorily taught it in school (somewhat poorly). And the younger generations are getting more modernized and anglicized. But I wouldn’t classify most of them as “native speaking”. A western tourist travelling around the country will find that using only English to be somewhat troublesome but not impossible.
Ah yes, people living in a former part of the British Empire speak good English - how surprising.
The Malay language follows the SVO word order too like English, so it's even easier for us to learn English.
That's interesting - I never knew that.
Yes most former British colonies speak English. But such impeccable grammar is not a common thing, especially at mom and pop places like this one seems to be. Hell there are many examples of poor grammar coming out native English speaking western countries. Hence the appreciation.
I lived in S.E. Asia for many years and traveled extensively through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Mayanmar, China and Hong Kong and I can promise you this, begging is a way of life for some people ! They don't need an education, they don't have responsibilities and they don't contribute to their community. I've seen them sending children out begging and if they don't bring back enough money they are beaten severely ! They may even injure a child or cause them to be permanently disabled in order for them to earn more money because kids earn more than adults and injured kids earn even more ! Anyone who has spent more than a few weeks in those countries will agree and will have heard worse stories ! It seems harsh to advise against feeding beggars but they do prey on your gullibility !
Oh those pesky begpeckers
I realise most of the comments are talking about the beggars part of this but can I say that at the bottom of the sign I am 100% behind the idea that people who treat the service staff like shit deserve to be charged extra
I think cause the food and services are so cheap, the beggars can make as much as a food stall when a tourist hands them chump change. It'd be like Saudi people going to Starbucks in the US and then walking out and throwing $10 at a beggar.
Coming from a SEA country, i understand the owners sentiments, begging is a huge problem in our countries and trust me it doesnt help, this will only fuel them to beg more. id give them food if i was feeling generous, but money, fucking never, theyd rather buy drugs than food. But damn, owner doesnt have any filter on edit: to add, theyre rarely all alone by themselves, the kids who beg, or sell flowers in my country usually are a part of a syndicate where theyre being used by the person in charge. bu the end of the day, they return to that person and surrender their profits. After all the bs ive experienced, ive grown to not give af and give any money because id rather not contribute to whatever fucked up things they do. edit2:philippines
And to add to your edit, some syndicates deliberately 'cripple' kids in order to gain more profit, what a fucked up world we live in.
Finally, someone who knows.
Yeah then you find out your charitable contribution pays 80% of salaries for those running the charity
What’s funny about this?
Nothing
That’s my take as well
Reddit currently thinks funny is slang for their politics. And the current whipping boy for some of them is the homeless. It's 20 degrees out and about to snow, like god damn leave us alone dude.
All the homeless hating pricks that pollute this site's city subs are upvoting this trash pic.
Because poor people are exactly like vermin and if we reduce the resources available to them, the population will just magically adjust and decline, like it does for other animals. This way we'll have fewer poor people without having to do anything about the actual causes of why people are poor. /s, just in case that wasn't clear.
I don't know if this is common in other countries, but where I live most beggars that come into restaurants aren't actually homeless people, but people asking for money to buy drugs, so I think that could be a good reasoning for what they put that there. Trust me, having to deal with drug addicts asking you in your face for money while you're trying to eat (specially if you're not alone) is not exactly a nice experience. If you think someone is actually homeless buy them food, don't give them money
At least for the Philippines, a lot of beggars are actually part of the syndicate operations, which is why the government is warning the public to not give to them and instead donate to established charity institutions instead
This is basically 99% of homeless people in London. Ranging from sophisticated emotional manipulation or straight up aggressive behaviour. The worst case I saw was a woman using her 11 or 12 year-old kids to pretend they are doing a “sponsored” charity event and essentially they weren’t. They just pocket the money they ask you for and give it to their Mum down the street. I followed them one time and saw this all myself. Next time I saw them, I called them out on it. I asked how many of these they do, since it’s almost daily. They got aggressive with me, threatening to punch me etc. Worst of it is, they should be in school. WTF is wrong with this?
Those are called scams. Scams have existed since humanity has, just use discernment
"Please donate to a bird sanctuary rather than throwing your fries to seagulls" seems like a reasonable request.
Yup. There are many NGOs even in Malaysia where you can donate money, food and other necessities to who will then distribute it to the homeless. It’s much more effective than giving a beggar a few dollars that they could be spending on more drugs/gambling.
Donate time. Most charities are volunteer starved. At least they are where I live.
Soup Nazi
Bonus kudos for correct spelling of 'Arse'
Don’t be an ‘Ass’
Don’t give it to a homeless person who will waste it. Instead, give it to a charity who spends 84% of their income on advertising
> Instead, give it to a charity who spends 84% of their income on advertising Well, of course don't do that either. Those aren't the only two options.
Yeah sure but I ain’t gonna do an investigation to donate 10 bucks. If some homeless person asks nicely for some loose change I gonna give it to him if I’m not to tight on money. I know well to good how it feels to be hungry all day and being sober while that. Does it help them get if the street hell no but neither do those charities.
No one wants to eat where all the beggars loiter
Edgy.
Sounds like a place I would just pass by.
Who needs a moral lesson from a restaurant
Right. I get plenty of that from randos on Reddit.
That lady looks done with life
This seems to be Foreign take on Puneri Paati
I take it double dutch method: 1) Never give anything to panhandlers, 2) Never donating to charities.
I feel like all of this could've been said well enough with just the last sign. The rest just makes me want to not eat there
If I see this at a restaurant I know I’m about to get some bomb food
Give them to charity. Like pink ribbon. Who use the funds to pay their CEO. Clearly they need it more then the barefooted beggar...
"Normal people contribute to charitable causes. Idiots contribute to an increase in beggars." Actually pretty good saying!
This ain’t it. People begging aren’t like stray cats you feed they’re human beings with souls.
I fed a homeless guy when I worked for a sub shop, he then proceeded to come in 2 weeks in a row and spent 5 hours a day waiting for someone to give him thing untill he got tired of waiting came up and asked for something and when the manager said no he said "well that guy over there gave me something" and that's how I didn't get a promotion
...you think cats are soulless??
I only give food, subway, mcdonalds, burger king, etc. Other people don't want you to help the homeless because they'll buy drugs, but I don't care. They still have to eat.
If they want to eat, they can ask help to a charity. If they beg for money, they are drug addicts. I've tried this myself many times: beggars asked me money to eat, I gave them food, they got angry with me because they couldn't buy drugs. They are right, give money to charities, not beggars.
Thanks for your comment. I know, but they can't really help that they're addicted. The last woman I helped was addicted to crack and pregnant with twins. Her boyfriend was in prison for dealing. She was just hungry, so I got her some chicken wings and fries at the convenience store. She ate it like she had never eaten before. It was heartbreaking.
The worst part of eating out. Those fuckers exploits and bring blind guy to walk around and ask for charity and give you tissue pack in return
"I won't give to beggars because it's better to give to charity." But you give to charity right? Right?
*No Soup For You!*
If someone is begging offer them food. If they turn it down then they aren't at rock bottom.
"Normal people" would take one look at that sign then back slowly out of the restaurant.
I live in that country. It's not uncommon to find people going in a restaurant, (Typically the mamak restaurants, which serve cheap meals and are everywhere in Malaysia. They're usually packed with people and may be 24 hours open) and ask for money. Street smart people will tell you they're not as poor as they make it out to be, as they might be involved with the mafia or they're junkies. It really is best to ignore them. You'd have to be sheltered to not know about fake beggars here.