People bugging you for money

Chief · #1 07-01-2001, 02:01 PM

Does anyone else have a problem with strangers coming up to you asking you for money on the street or in parking lots? I’m not talking about homeless people who truly need money, but regular people who probably just want to buy a pack of cigarettes and don’t feel like spending their own money. Maybe it’s because I look non-threatening, so people think I’m an easy target or something. I’m not a selfish person—I give money to the Salvation Army, American Cancer Society, the Boy Scouts who collect money outside the grocery store, etc. But when I give someone money, I like to think it’s for a good reason.

A couple of nights ago I had just gotten back from the store and I was getting out of my car in front of my apartment building. This guy happened to be walking along the sidewalk by my car and he stopped to tell me this long-winded story about how his car ran out of gas on the highway, and his kids were still in the car, and he just needed a few bucks to buy a gas can and some gas to put in it, etc.

I’m positive that every word coming out of this guy’s mouth was a load of bulls#%t, because he was talking really fast and nervously looking around and fidgeting while he was telling his story (a story which was full of holes also). But the thing is, he caught me just when I was getting out of my car in front of my building, which meant that he knew right then and there what I look like, where I live, and what my car looks like. He knew as well as I did that I was going to have to give him a couple of bucks no matter what, and that I wasn’t going to question his story. We both knew I didn’t want to run the risk of pissing him off and having him come back later and smash my windshield or slash my tires. Or even worse, try to break into my apartment.

It’s unfortunate enough that I happened to be parking my car right when this guy was walking by, but it pisses me off that he thought he could insult my intelligence by giving me this big long bulls#%t story. And then, after I gave him the money, he had the balls to ask me if I could give him a ride to the nearest gas station. I had to tell him, “Sorry, I don’t have time to give you a ride, but hopefully that money will help you out.” I had just given the guy some of my money and that still wasn’t good enough for him. And he thought I would be dumb enough to give him a ride somewhere? Isn’t that something every mother teaches her kids when they’re four years old—never get in a car with a stranger? Just a case of rotten timing, I guess.

Dianne · #2 07-01-2001, 02:10 PM

I know just how you feel. I get hit up by bums a lot. I really just want to say, "I'm in college! My parents don't give me money! I'm as broke as you are!" What ticks me off the most are the creepy, goth high school kids who beg for money. Or one time, I was walking home from a restaurant with a take-out box. And the kid says, "Can I have that?" Uh, no! If I didn't want it, I would have left it at the restaurant! And he got all irate with me! I said, "I have NO money and this half a sandwich has to last me for the rest of the week!" Why do people think college kids are rich?

SigmaChiCard · #3 07-01-2001, 05:38 PM

I live in the heart of the ghetto,
but it's a very nice apartment that
alot of reasonably well-off college
kids live in and i get hit up incessantly

I've been hit up by one guy about 8 times
each time he has a slightly different story
I gave him money the first time
He had blood all over his hands
and had scotch tape on his "cut"
because he said that's all he could find
so i was like damn he's for real
he was bleeding the following day
when he asked me for money...
the very next day!

since then he's either
1) bought a bike, or
2) stolen one

last time he begged
he told me a stranger loaned him the bike
he's not too bright

he's also started fist fights with my former roommate

we have a tally sheet of how many times my friends and i have been hit up, i'm winning but most of my friends are pretty close-6&7 or so

so....I hate getting hit up
I can barely afford my way
needless to say theirs as well

MeezDiscreet · #4 07-01-2001, 10:28 PM

next time he asks you for money, say, "damn! i was about to ask you the same thing!"

dc1 · #5 07-02-2001, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MeezDiscreet:
next time he asks you for money, say, "damn! i was about to ask you the same thing!"

LOL! That's great!

------------------
Faced with the Divine, I was asked; "What one gift do you seek?"
I answered ever so meekly; "I seek Honor, Truth, Integrity, and Wisdom, yet those are four. How am I to choose?"
The answer came as a pounding whisper; "The four you seek are but one. I grant thee Compassion; for without it the four make none."
Author - me

xok85xo · #6 07-02-2001, 11:16 AM

Just tell them you don't have any cash on you..thats almost always true for me..I NEVER carry cash..when someone asks me for $$ I tell them that and they move on and leave me alone

moe.ron · #7 07-02-2001, 01:47 PM

One time, this one guy asked me for money so that he could get a bus ride for his divorce trial. Yeah right, instead of giving him money, I told him that I would not only gladly drive him to court, but I could hook him up with a good divorce lawyer. He walked away.

Rudey · #8 07-02-2001, 02:28 PM

I figure maybe one day I'll be lost and yearn for 75 cents to take a bus home, so if someone asks me for money I'll help them out. That's not to say that I'll give money to some guy wanting to buy a playstation 2 or something.

newbie · #9 07-02-2001, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rudey:
I figure maybe one day I'll be lost and yearn for 75 cents to take a bus home, so if someone asks me for money I'll help them out. That's not to say that I'll give money to some guy wanting to buy a playstation 2 or something.

Yep, me too. Before I had a cell phone, I was stuck to pay phone calling - which sucks up your money like hell. So, before you knew it, all my coins were sucked up. I'm soo grateful to that person who I asked 35 cents from - I was stuck in a horrible neighborhood that night.

newbie · #10 07-02-2001, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by localsororities:
Gainesville is full of beggars.

I worked as management in a drug store until a few weeks ago, and it really hardened my opinion of beggars. I would pass by so many people on my way into work begging for money for food or bus fare, and then those same bums would come into the store and use the money to buy cigarettes, alcohol, and knive (why Eckerd's sells pocket knives is beyond me....) These bums didn't even have the decency to act embarassed when they come in and prove that they were lying to you.

I, too, live in a city full of beggars - San Francisco. But, lots of the homeless here look SO undernourished/horrible, etc. that I try to give them money whenever I can. Just in case, if the guy doesn't look TOO horribly well-off, I just pass them.

To alleviate the problem of giving them money, which they might in turn buy drugs with, you should give them food instead.

[This message has been edited by newbie (edited July 03, 2001).]

Corbin Dallas · #11 07-02-2001, 04:44 PM

How many beggars are 9-5 beggars? I know when my dad had to go to UC Berkley for work, (works in southern Indiana) he said that the beggars were only on the street certain hours, and it seemed like many didn't work weekends. I bet a guy could make a pretty good living at it, even though I'm sure some really do need the money and aren't playing the blue collar role on the side. Dad said one guy was begging and a guy threw some change into his hat. The beggar takes it out and says, "wow thanks a nickel!" My dad stopped and gave him a piece of his mind for that. I mean, he was out begging for money and then complained because the guy didn't GIVE him what he wanted!

Corbin Dallas · #12 07-02-2001, 04:44 PM

How many beggars are 9-5 beggars? I know when my dad had to go to UC Berkley for work, (works in southern Indiana) he said that the beggars were only on the street certain hours, and it seemed like many didn't work weekends. I bet a guy could make a pretty good living at it, even though I'm sure some really do need the money and aren't playing the blue collar role on the side. Dad said one guy was begging and a guy threw some change into his hat. The beggar takes it out and says, "wow thanks a nickel!" My dad stopped and gave him a piece of his mind for that. I mean, he was out begging for money and then complained because the guy didn't GIVE him what he wanted!

------------------
Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

newbie · #13 07-02-2001, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Corbin Dallas:
How many beggars are 9-5 beggars? I know when my dad had to go to UC Berkley for work, (works in southern Indiana) he said that the beggars were only on the street certain hours, and it seemed like many didn't work weekends. I bet a guy could make a pretty good living at it, even though I'm sure some really do need the money and aren't playing the blue collar role on the side. Dad said one guy was begging and a guy threw some change into his hat. The beggar takes it out and says, "wow thanks a nickel!" My dad stopped and gave him a piece of his mind for that. I mean, he was out begging for money and then complained because the guy didn't GIVE him what he wanted!

That's true. It's sad though when you see a beggar who's a beggar 24/7. I always feel so sad/bad when it's raining hard out and a homeless guy is sleeping out. Yeah - Berkeley is full of beggars, too.

veruca76 · #14 07-02-2001, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dc1:
LOL! That's great!

Hey dc1 - you go to CU-Boulder right? So you know about the "hill kids." Basically a bunch of zero growth initiatives have made Boulder so expensive to live in that any teenagers going to high school there can't be THAT poor. Regardless, a bunch of them like to sit on the hill near the university and hang out by the coffee shops then beg college students for money, food, whatever they're carrying, etc. It's soooo annoying. Mostly because you know they don't need it and are just going to get in their Pathfinder and go back to daddy's house. That being said - it's nice to give something to the homeless every once in a while. I figure they wouldn't be out there sacrificing their dignity if they didn't have to. Also, if someone obviously needs change for a bus or whatnot....

newbie · #15 07-02-2001, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by veruca76:
Hey dc1 - you go to CU-Boulder right? So you know about the "hill kids." Basically a bunch of zero growth initiatives have made Boulder so expensive to live in that any teenagers going to high school there can't be THAT poor. Regardless, a bunch of them like to sit on the hill near the university and hang out by the coffee shops then beg college students for money, food, whatever they're carrying, etc. It's soooo annoying. Mostly because you know they don't need it and are just going to get in their Pathfinder and go back to daddy's house. That being said - it's nice to give something to the homeless every once in a while. I figure they wouldn't be out there sacrificing their dignity if they didn't have to. Also, if someone obviously needs change for a bus or whatnot....

Veruca, is it true that Boulder is really pretty? I was just looking at brochures for CU-Boulder, and it's soooo amazing. Who knows - it just might be the picture

, but it really looks nice!! Too bad my parents won't even let me apply out-of-state!