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> Look the homeless guy in the eye, tell him you can’t give him money (or maybe you can – your choice), but ask him his name I tried something like this, and i

> Look the homeless guy in the eye, tell him you can’t give him money (or maybe you can – your choice), but ask him his name I tried something like this, and it just seemed to piss homeless people off most of the time. It's like, if you build a personal connection, then they really expect you to give them something. I believe in giving money to responsible charities rather than to individuals, but I thought it'd be cool to treat homeless people with some respect and humanity. Unfortunately, trying to do that without giving change/food/whatever seemed to produce an undesirable reaction for all parties involved.

pavel_lishin 16y ago
The ones that just want money to drink don't want a personal connection. They want your change, or a beer.
fleitz 16y ago
I don't care what they are looking for. I treat them courteously as long as they treat me courteously. I've given 20's to people who sang a funny song, however, my usual M.O. is this: "Spare some change?" "No" "<insert whatever way they want to ask for change again>" "No, Fuck Off!" In life you have one chance to make your pitch, make it count. I don't say sorry that I don't have money for them because I'm not sorry about it. I also listen when they have their long story, I also listen well enough and remember faces well enough that often I can recite the rest of their scam story that always stays the same and never changes because they are not participating in the improvement of their condition. Apparently, someone has been needing change to go to an interview with IntraWest for over 12 months (incidentally, the first time he asked me was less than a block from IntraWest's head office). For example the guy I gave a 20 to for singing a funny song, I saw him a few months ago and he let me know that he had found a place and was starting to record, he was still begging for change, and I said 'i think i did my part when i gave you a 20', i gave him a smoke, he agreed and moved on, but it was nice to see that in some way he had taken it upon himself to improve.
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pavel_lishin 16y ago

The ones that just want money to drink don't want a personal connection. They want your change, or a beer.

fleitz 16y ago

I don't care what they are looking for. I treat them courteously as long as they treat me courteously. I've given 20's to people who sang a funny song, however, my usual M.O. is this: "Spare some change?" "No" "<insert whatever way they want to ask for change again>" "No, Fuck Off!" In life you have one chance to make your pitch, make it count. I don't say sorry that I don't have money for them because I'm not sorry about it. I also listen when they have their long story, I also listen well enough and remember faces well enough that often I can recite the rest of their scam story that always stays the same and never changes because they are not participating in the improvement of their condition. Apparently, someone has been needing change to go to an interview with IntraWest for over 12 months (incidentally, the first time he asked me was less than a block from IntraWest's head office). For example the guy I gave a 20 to for singing a funny song, I saw him a few months ago and he let me know that he had found a place and was starting to record, he was still begging for change, and I said 'i think i did my part when i gave you a 20', i gave him a smoke, he agreed and moved on, but it was nice to see that in some way he had taken it upon himself to improve.

deleted 16y ago
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