| |
|
There's no getting away from the psychology of it. Those who have no address obviosly have little alternative in how they make money.
Agreed. Though I wonder how many beggars are indeed homeless and/or hard-up. An acquaintance of mine worked at the city hospital. She had an admin job and helped the nurses process incoming patients. She mentioned to me that some of the beggars that came in for medical aid were not homeless at all. They had their own apartments, or social housing and/or social assistance. Now obviously, just because they had housing and social aid does not mean that they still didn't require further financial assistance. I'm just pointing out that not every beggar is homeless or possibly even in dire financial straits.
A few years ago, my local paper ran a story in which a beggar admitted that she wasn't as bad off as she led people to believe. She was a single mom, had a job, and could pay her bills. She was begging because she wanted to have more money so that she could buy her son the latest playstation console/game!
Does anyone else calculate they can give to a beggar one time, but then see them again, feel unable to give a second time and still feel crap?
Yes. There's a fortyish old woman that I sometimes see on my way to work. I found out from one of my co-workers that she's got two sons and is a single mom on social assistance. When I found that out, I made it a point to give the beggar some change everytime I saw her. One day, I was running late and in a bad mood, so I didn't give her anything. Later, when I thought about it, I felt terrible. I could have taken a moment and whipped out my wallet and given her something. Instead, I gave into my anger and frustration and focused on my own petty grievances and passed up on a charitable act. |
|
|
