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Poverty and extravagance. What a sad world.
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<blockquote data-quote="svengandhi" data-source="post: 626134" data-attributes="member: 3493"><p>Lucy -</p><p></p><p>I live in NY and work not far from Times Square. Every day, I pass people begging for money. I very rarely give to a person directly. I donate to organizations I believe in and participate in food drives, clothing drives, etc. Let me share a few true stories: </p><p></p><p>Years ago, I gave $5 (which I didn't really have to spare at that time) to a young woman about my then age who claimed she'd been mugged and was trying to get back to her home in the Midwest. A week later, I saw her again, approaching someone else with the same story. I walked up and greeted her by asking how her trip home the previous week had turned out. She cursed me out and walked away, but the new "victim" didn't give her a dime.</p><p></p><p>The newspapers a number of years ago tracked some of the people who begged on the streets in NYC. Several of them said they begged from April through November and then wintered in Florida! I can't afford to winter in Florida!</p><p></p><p>When I was in college, I used to ride the subway from school to my job in midtown. Almost every day, a man would get on the train with a sign that read: "I am blind in one eye and my mother has multiple sclerosis." He would then sing a song and he had a lovely voice. I would often give him a quarter, even though it meant that I would not be able to have a cup of coffee that day. Years later, I saw him on another train line. He had the same sign, except that the "s" in has had been changed to a "d." I gave him $20.</p><p></p><p>A couple of years ago, a young man followed me into a pizzeria and said he was hungry. I told him I'd buy him 2 slices and a drink and he responded that he'd rather have MacDonald's and could I just give him the cash! I said no, I really think he just wanted drugs.</p><p></p><p>I grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx so I understand what it's like to be poor and on welfare, to not invite the kids from better neighborhoods home, to lie about your vacations and to not have in general. I understand about mental illness and substance abuse. My aunt had schizophrenia, my sister had border line personality disorder, my sister-in-law is a prescription pill abuser. If not for my 90 year old mother in law, my sister in law would probably be homeless and on the streets.</p><p></p><p>While there are truly needy people in NYC, there are services which go around looking for them to offer help. I sometimes give money to individuals I see. If a man's sign says he's a veteran, and he looks the right age, I'll give him money. I've pointed people out to the cops so they can help them.</p><p></p><p>I really think, though, that based on my lifetime of living and working in and around NYC, that many beggars are just scam artists.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="svengandhi, post: 626134, member: 3493"] Lucy - I live in NY and work not far from Times Square. Every day, I pass people begging for money. I very rarely give to a person directly. I donate to organizations I believe in and participate in food drives, clothing drives, etc. Let me share a few true stories: Years ago, I gave $5 (which I didn't really have to spare at that time) to a young woman about my then age who claimed she'd been mugged and was trying to get back to her home in the Midwest. A week later, I saw her again, approaching someone else with the same story. I walked up and greeted her by asking how her trip home the previous week had turned out. She cursed me out and walked away, but the new "victim" didn't give her a dime. The newspapers a number of years ago tracked some of the people who begged on the streets in NYC. Several of them said they begged from April through November and then wintered in Florida! I can't afford to winter in Florida! When I was in college, I used to ride the subway from school to my job in midtown. Almost every day, a man would get on the train with a sign that read: "I am blind in one eye and my mother has multiple sclerosis." He would then sing a song and he had a lovely voice. I would often give him a quarter, even though it meant that I would not be able to have a cup of coffee that day. Years later, I saw him on another train line. He had the same sign, except that the "s" in has had been changed to a "d." I gave him $20. A couple of years ago, a young man followed me into a pizzeria and said he was hungry. I told him I'd buy him 2 slices and a drink and he responded that he'd rather have MacDonald's and could I just give him the cash! I said no, I really think he just wanted drugs. I grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx so I understand what it's like to be poor and on welfare, to not invite the kids from better neighborhoods home, to lie about your vacations and to not have in general. I understand about mental illness and substance abuse. My aunt had schizophrenia, my sister had border line personality disorder, my sister-in-law is a prescription pill abuser. If not for my 90 year old mother in law, my sister in law would probably be homeless and on the streets. While there are truly needy people in NYC, there are services which go around looking for them to offer help. I sometimes give money to individuals I see. If a man's sign says he's a veteran, and he looks the right age, I'll give him money. I've pointed people out to the cops so they can help them. I really think, though, that based on my lifetime of living and working in and around NYC, that many beggars are just scam artists. [/QUOTE]
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