About an hour ago, I was putting gas in my car when this rangy and soaking wet black fellow walked up to me and asked if I could get him a hamburger. One of his most notable characteristics was that he had an extremely lazy eye. He was also completely invading my personal boundaries."My mother died last week and I am completely homeless," the guy said loudly. "I need your help!"
"Walk inside and I will buy you a couple of hot dogs and a Coke," I replied as I finished pumping fuel into my car.
"Can I have the cash? Come on man. I am homeless, I need the money," he exclaimed.
He was extremely agitated and pushy with a wild look in his eyes. He had to be one of the most diligent, desperate, and driven panhandlers I have ever come across. I was beginning to feel threatened by him.
"I am not giving you any cash," I said growing irritated wondering what his next move was going to be.
A car pulled up to a pump nearby and they were the "homeless" guy's new victims. I guess he wasn't that hungry after all. He was jonesing for his next fix.
Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of sympathy and empathy for the homeless and the poor. It's these kinds of guys that make it hard on the rest of the homeless community. They give the homeless a bad reputation.
image credit: http://reesenews.org/2011/01/12/panhandler-for-a-day/7982/
image credit: http://komonews.com/news/local/city-tries-to-curb-aggressive-panhandlers-with-sign-campaign
3 comments:
You handled it perfectly! That's just what I would do. I would feed but not enable. Good for you!!!
There's a street in downtown Minneapolis called Nicollet Avenue or Nicollet Mall. It's basically a gauntlet of panhandlers. I'm actually really understanding and would give them a couple dollars if I had the money, there's so many that I'd be broke within five blocks.
You absolutely did the RIGHT thing! We often encounter panhandlers in the Kroger parking lot and even at Chick-fil-A. We will not give them money, but always offer to buy them some food. They aren't interested in eating, they just want the money for drugs, probably.
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