Homeless man asking for money

Yes, about this part of the movie. When I first saw this back when it came out, it did'nt make sence that he would say he's from Santa Barbara. You just don't think of Santa Barbara as having homeless people. Yet now I now work there, and its a dump. Its full of bums and graffiti.

Yes, it was necessary. Black people are 6 times more likely to murder you. That's 700%. Yes, perfectly reasonable.

That's called fun with stats.

Look, you're most likely to be MURDERED BY SOMEONE YOU KNOW. White people are most likely to be murdered by white people.

www.jrichardsingleton.blogspot.com

I live in Tokyo, there are bums everywhere. The difference is that here I have never been approached for a handout. Yet the homeless people are still living in the same state as American bums, same conditions and health. This is because America has created a society of victims with whom half the nation sympathizes with enough to keep them begging. The fact is, a spectrum has a lower end for a reason, there will always be bums. They are bums often because they mismanaged money at some point in their lives. Cutting out the handouts will only make them more inventive and who knows, they may begin to find a niche in society, after all, they are people too.

Hordak-2, people who often quote statistics are often pulling them out of their ass because they won't be challenged by the average person. The quotation of statistics (even incorrect statistics) scare many away from an argument because they feel unarmed to engage in a debate. I've seen many statistics about the mentally ill population of the homeless. It's anywhere from 20% to 40%. Statistics are often shaped to match the political agenda of the statistician/researcher or the organization that hired the researcher.

The more interesting debate should be why the mentally ill are allowed to roam the streets, especially schizophrenics who need to stay on their medications.



"This is not good for my rage."

Great post, but I think it was lost on our young, "friend" Brodie.

"You want the truth? You can't HANDLE the truth!" Jack Nicholson, "A Few Good Men."

But I don't think interrogating and teasing mentally ill people is acceptable. It might be hard to pull yourself out of the situation if you are mentally ill, and it must be incredibly hard to gain employment if you are, or if you are homeless at all. You people have no empathy, and I don't know why you're attacking me for it.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd240/sprocket-hole/fyc.jpg

Mapatrie,

Your observations are breathtakingly naive. Don't ever give directly to a panhandler. All statistics support the fact that panhandlers will use the money for something other than food and shelter. In fact, we don't have the abject poverty in the U.S. that you find in some other "third world" countries. Our worst cases of poverty does not come close to the level found in other countries. If you feel compelled to help the homeless, especially in the U.S. and other western countries, you can give to credible charities, like the Salvation Army, that directly deal with people in those situations. Or, better yet, you can put your money where your mouth is and become a Salvation Army soldier and get out there on the front lines.

I do agree, however, that the stories found on this thread of those who have encountered panhandlers are sophomoric, but most are expressing the frustration they feel toward panhandlers who want to take something for nothing. Most of us work hard and we resent those who try to sucker us out of our money only to spend it on booze and drugs. In addition, a large chunk of our taxes are spent on social programs to help the "homeless", so you may be seeing a growing resentment among those that produce and those that want to leach by standing on a street corner instead of working for a living. Let me be clear, I don't mind helping those that work, and need extra assistance through the myriad of social programs we have in the states, but I really resent panhandlers.

Let me address another one of your points. Before you dismiss me as being someone who has never fallen on hard times, that would be an incorrect assumption. My husband and I have been through some very tough financial problems. However, we relied on ourselves, our families, and our church to pull us through. We didn't stand by an overpass and beg for money. To this day, we have to pinch pennies, but we make it work.

"This is not good for my rage."

Grade school bullies pick on kids for being more intelligent than them, or having glasses, or being a different ethnicity.

Attacking some useless piece of trash because they refuse to get a job and just leech off of society is not even a remotely similar situation. If someone makes a stupid decision, you're free to attack them for it, because it was their choice - not simply how they were born.

Good for you! I had a similar experience with a woman claiming to be pregnant and hungry so I offered to take her in the McD's right behind us and buy her a big mac & fries. She was also appreciative and agreeable.

"Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays!"- Office Space

Here in Dublin (in Ireland for those who don't know!), their is homeless people every where, especially in the inner city, where I work. Most of them are junkies that constantly bother you for money for a hostel. I just ignore them.

However, only the other day, I walked pasted a guy holding a cardboard sign saying: "Why lie? I want a drink!" I laughed! I gave the guy 60¢ for his honesty!

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"I reject your reality, and substitute my own." - Adam Savage

I've done what planetmutty did, or the equivalent, many times.

I am happy to help out someone in need with a bit of food or a bus fare... but I pay the bus driver or buy the food. Far, FAR more 'down and outs' will turn this down, because they were really lying and just wanted drugs or booze.

Folks who just hold out their hands for "spare change" but don't want REAL help really annoy me. That's what I think annoys MOST people in this thread... these "bums" who just don't want a job or are addicts trying to get their fixes.

I'm from Australia, and we certainly have that problem in our cities here. Where I work, we get people crying gutter-level poor and practically demanding government assistance and discounts, etc. then they get in their shiny new cars with their mobile phones and a bottle of wine and drive off. I've worked in soup kitchens where almost the same thing as another poster here joked about happened: folks came in wearing expensive suits, chatting on their mobiles, just wanting a free dinner that was being offered those in GENUINE need!

I still remember a trip to San Fran as a kid where there were 'professional' bums on every corner at night.

I've got no problem with helping out those who have made a bad choice sometime. Like the Korean store owner in Falling Down, there's no reason to be a jerk and NOT just lose a few cents or a few minutes of your time to help someone, as you'd like someone to help YOU if you were honestly caught short of a bus fare or change for a phone call.

But bums who are just plain bums, whether mentally ill, addicts or just lazy, don't "deserve" a few handout, and it's the sense of entitlement... "You've got more than me... gimme!" that I think really irks a lot of folks and drives a lot of the stories on this thread.