Your Say

Do You Give to Beggars?

by Chromosome23 about 1 month ago
Last updated about 1 month ago.

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I don’t know about the rest of you, but I must be an easy touch. Even though I know that the story about "Excuse me mate, but I’ve lost my bus fare and need to get home quick" is a euphemism for "I’m trying to get enough cash together for a three litre bottle of White Lightning, have you any spare change", I almost always give them something. I’m even more likely to do so should they have the usual dog on a string.

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  1. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Like they say give a man a fish and he’ll have his tea teach a man to fish….

    So if they ask for 20p for a cup of tea I teach them how to make tea.

  2. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Oh no Chromosome23 I don`t fall for that. Maybe I`m a greedy g1t but there you go. I don`t mind buskers, at least they`re doing something.

  3. Chromosome23 Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Well, what if they ask for 20p for a bottle of cider?

  4. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    i teach them how to plant apple seeds!

  5. ChiefDragon Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    My usual reply is ‘Sorry I don’t bring my purse out there are too many beggars on the street’....I’d rather give the cash to the Salvation Army at least you know its going to buy food and not alcohol .

  6. Chromosome23 Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I always think to myself "How would I feel if I was reduced to asking strangers for cash". What’s the old saying….be nice to people n your way up, as you might just meet them on your way down? Something like that anyway…there but for the grace of God go I.

  7. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Feeding addicts helps no one.

  8. Chromosome23 Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Who is talking about addicts?

  9. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    So naive C23!

  10. Chromosome23 Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    And even if they are, isn’t it better to help them a little? Hopefully it might mean they don’t commit crimes to feed their habit. So, if we all gave our local down and outs a quid now and again, they might not be forced into shoplifting or whatever.

  11. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Forced into shoplifting? I don’t see a man with a gun to the head of the man with a gun robbing a shop. You support this kind of life style and it’ll never get better.

  12. Eebahgum Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I usually say to them, ‘I was just going to ask you mate.’ Or, ‘Sorry I’ve only a 20 and I’m not breaking into that…’

  13. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I never give money, a sandwitch or something ye, but never money.

    What i do think is strange how so many beggers are around and yet you virtually never see our new assylum seekers begging, why on earth cant the do gooders that help them also help our own lost souls.

  14. AR-TONY Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I give and did so recently, to a Hull lad. His gratitude was as obvious as it was genuine. As to what the person does with that money, it is none of my business, for the money is no longer mine, but theirs. Like Olly, if I have food with me I will give them that. As Ch23 states "There but for…"

  15. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    But my point is, there is no need for anyone to beg in this country, we have a welfare system that even non english speakers can get, so why isnt the system helping our own people.

  16. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    To get benefit you need an address. If you are homeless you don`t get benefit. Many of these beggers are drug addicts or alcoholics who have been thrown out of their homes for one reason or another. Some beggers are on benefits and beg to top up their money, there was a clamp down a few years ago on `professional` beggers going from town to town.

  17. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Whatever the reason TigerL shouldnt someone help them or should we only worry about the asylum seekers, do gooders are only happy p1ssing everyone off, instead of actually doing good.

  18. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    What has this post got to do with asylum seekers?

  19. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Read TL

  20. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Pardon?

  21. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    If you read what i have put earlier you would see that i am pointing out our do gooders are great at helping asylum seekers get into the system, they get an address and thus money. Why cant the same be done for our own homeless, or are they not as high on the priority PC list.

  22. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    It`s got nothing to do with PC at all and once again you are confusing 2 different issues. The post is `Do you give to beggars`.I know two lads who were made homeless. Both came from good caring families that tried to support them when they became addicted to drugs. They both stole from their families to support their habits, one even pinched a frozen chicken out of his Mums freezer to sell. When they couldn`t live like this any longer they were both thrown out and went to live with friends. Friends soon got fed up of being treated this way so they threw them out. By this time the lads don`t bother to wash or change their clothes. Any benefit they do get goes straight on the next fix and so they resort to begging. It`s the same with alcoholics except they, quite often are so drunk they loose control of their bladders and wet themselves constantly. Would you give a home to someone who couldn`t pay a bill or the rent because all their money had gone on an addiction?

  23. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    So where are the do gooders, get them some help, professional not just friends. Get them into rehab, onto training course’s and into special accommodation thats supervised. Then help them back into society even doing volunteer work, or do you just give up on them.

    My sister works with ex cons doing a similar thing, so why not the homeless

  24. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    It`s already happening but you can`t force some one into rehab.

  25. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    But if people didnt give them any money there is more chance they would do rehab, so we have worked out that people that give beggers money are actually causing the problem these poor souls are in. Thats made it easier not to give them anything, cheers Tiger

  26. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    That`s your view, not mine.

  27. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Oh no Chromosome23 I don`t fall for that. Maybe I`m a greedy g1t but there you go. I don`t mind buskers, at least they`re doing something.

    Your words not mine

  28. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    And your point is?

  29. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    You dont give to them so you are helping them, thats good.

  30. MikeCovell Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I was on the X62 to Leeds once, and a couple of "homeless" fellas got on the bus in Paragon station and enjoyed the ride out to Leeds. I was informed they make the journey to collect new issues of the Big Issue. When we got off the bus in Leeds we headed towards the market, and noticed that these two fellas had gone into the nearest pub!

    Hours later we were due to return to Hull and passed the same pub, to see them drinking in the beer garden!

    On the flip side I have given lectures at the homeless shelter in West Hull and met some lovely people, all with genuine problems, and all really welcoming.

  31. HarryDownes Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    The city centre streets of Edinburgh are teeming with beggars. Scots are well known for their generosity (LOL)

    A man walks past a beggar every day and gives him £5 and that continues for a year. Then suddenly the daily donation changes to £3

    "Well," the beggar thinks, "it’s still better than nothing."

    A year passes in this way until the man’s daily donation suddenly becomes £1

    "What’s going on now?" the beggar asks his donor.

    "First you give me £5 every day, then £3 and now only £1. What’s the problem?"

    "Well," the man says, "last year my eldest son went to university. It’s very expensive, so I had to cut costs. This year my eldest daughter also went to university, so I had to cut my expenses even further."

    "And how many children do you have?" the beggar asks.

    "Four," the man replies.

    "Well," says the beggar, "I hope you don’t plan to educate them all at my expense."

  32. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Good one Harry.

    People become homeless for many reasons and the vast majority of them end up on drugs. Giving them money is unlikely to help them. If they want it for a cup of tea buy them a cup of tea. As for solving the you can’t have a house because you haven’t got an address conundrum perhaps a system of po boxes would help. It’s interesting how people who cannot support them selves often have pets and instruments.

  33. Chromosome23 Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Sure, they haven’t got a permanent home so lets deprive them of anything which might give meaning to their lives….such as a guitar or dog. They’ve obviously not suffered enough, can we not make their lives worse in some way? :(

  34. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I really envy you your charitable nature C23 but I still think alot of these people bring upon their own downfall.

  35. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Oh well thats ok then c23 let the dog suffer instead? Anyway i didn’t say take them away. But many a busker has a house, like that tramp who now has a record deal, he had a house and a wife.

  36. Kal-El Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Once when I was out about the town eating from a chip van a homeless guy asked me for money so he could get some chips. I wasn’t going to eat mine, it was a stupid I’m drunk purchase so I said here you go; he had seen me buying them. He didn’t not like this and because aggressive and so we laughed.

  37. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Whatever happend to "Beggers cant be choosers". I think Kal-El has a good idea there, if some local charity could allow the homeless to use there address in some way to allow them to get into the system, it could also be a point of contact for other help agencies.

  38. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Aren`t we in danger here of assuming that all beggars are homeless? Me included I have to admit.

  39. alanmackinnon Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Some years ago, London Weekend Television did a story on a beggar who had a very nice house in the Home Counties and used to travel into Central London every morning as though going into the City and sat on the pavement for 8 hours and then went home with his takings which often amounted to well over a hundred pounds. He told the TV reporter that he was unskilled and couldn’t get a job so took to begging. Obviously he did this very well. So when you aqre looking at the beggar on the pavement in one of our City Centre streets, remember that he may well live in a large house in the suburbs with a wife and a couple of kids. As Shakespeare said "All that glisters is not gold".

  40. Alf-G Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Very True but I think that this as gone on for along time it is nothing new> I think you have to make your own mind up on whether to give or not.

  41. China Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Surely though we can’t assume that all homeless people or beggars are con artists, we don’t stop using £20 notes just because there are counterfeit ones in the system!

  42. Olly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Well if you need an address to get benafit then you must do something to get food, unless of course they work but choose to stay homeless.

    No idea what the counterfeit 20 stuff is about?

  43. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    If you go into a hostel then that is your address for the purposes of benefit. Hostels though will not accept you if you are drunk or taking drugs.

  44. China Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    The counterfeit £20 stuff is an illustration that just because there are fakes around doesn’t mean that every homeless person or beggar or even £20 note is fake.

  45. mysti Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I rarely if ever give ‘cash’ to beggars. I would rather go out of my way to buy them a hot drink or a sarnie than donate my hard earned to go towards their next alcohol top up or bottle of glue to sniff. If they don’t like what I buy for them then they are obviously not that hungry / cold etc.

    There was a story in the last couple of years where a guy selling big issue had made enough to buy a property. He’s better off than I am!

  46. Thebandageman Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    My wife is always on the tap for cash. Shes never happy. Last week I gave her £15 housekeeping and she has already spent more than half. That means the fridge will be empty next week.

  47. Thebandageman Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    My wife is always on the tap for cash. Shes never happy. Last week I gave her £15 housekeeping and she has already spent more than half. That means the fridge will be empty next week.

  48. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Are you my husband in disguise Bandageman?

  49. Thebandageman Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    I dont know Tiger. Do you like men in disguises?

  50. tigerlilly Submitted about 1 month ago Unsuitable Content? Report it!

    Ha ha! depends who they`re disguised as.

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