Homeless people

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Has anyone said "There but for the grace of God go I" in this thread yet? If not, I did.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

For me, this is perhaps the area of life where my instinctual reactions and my religious/spiritual values have the hardest time sorting each other out. I would rather not be faced with the begger -- although I don't think I've actually gone out of my way to avoid one. Sometimes I've given money, sometimes I haven't. Sometimes I have given or bought food to a homeless person, more often I probably haven't. Often, I refer or take them to a church or an agency equipped to help. I can rationalize my refusal to give money by telling myself that they'll only spend the money on drugs and alcohol 'til the cows come home, but then the religious side butts in: "Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or naked . . . ?"

I agree with you both, and yet, being approached by panhandlers scares me. I don't think it is simply my inability to control them, like someone suggested we might feel in an example involving status and waitresses. It's that they might do me harm.

I think what limited information that I've ever been given about protecting myself and self defense reinforces to be aware of the people around you. With panhandlers, my fear may be irrational but it might not be; I don't know, and it scares me to be approached because while mental illness explains why homeless people may not be employable, it doesn't make them any safer to be around. And I think a few panhandlers depend on this fear when they solicit donations; there's an implied threat or menacing nature to their approach.

Now, I think the majority of panhandlers are probably entirely safe, but I'm still not that comfortable being approached. There's a small change of danger; there's a significant change of my being scammed; and there's very little chance at all that I will help anyone in a significant way. In fact, I might be enabling choices that are likely to be even more destructive.

I want to help homeless people. I want to help poor people. But I also would like to remain unaccosted by strangers. I'd like public spaces to be unthreatening to us all, and I don't think that tolerance of begging is a good long term strategy for helping the homeless.