# Dear Homeless Person: Show respect when I give you spare change! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 21, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841 "2010-10-21T00:29:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/161 "2010-10-21T21:45:39Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Are you not aware that most homeless people have severe issues? What, apart from the whole house deficiency thing they have going on? And the crappy shoes? ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/162 "2010-10-21T22:03:51Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > First off, thanks for ignoring my question; and I have a follow up querie. > Are you not aware that most homeless people have severe issues? The type of mental debilities that cause their homelessness? The type of mental issues that would make them occasionally lacking in social graces? This question has already been answered upthread, so if you think I ignored you, that’s the reason why. I’d repeat myself, but since you are acting like a jerk, you’ll have to seek the answer yourself. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/163 "2010-10-21T22:08:27Z")
> [@Redpill](#): > > I think a dollar bill is amount we can all get behind, if you are looking for a verbal thanks. Hmmf. Inflation really must have passed me by, while I wasn’t looking. Well, some things change, while some stay the same. And if some things change when I feel they should stay the same, then so be it, but I don’t have to be party to it. If I won’t [spend a dollar on a jukebox song](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=581711), it’s a foregone conclusion that I won’t be giving $1.00 to any homeless person, either. Sorry, but…as a wise man once said, “It’s the economy, stupid!” Everyone these days needs to trim back on frivolous spending, and both of these – jukebox songs and panhandlers – are luxuries I can live without, thanks very much. :rolleyes: I suppose a mod can lock this thread now, if he/she so desires. I am done here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/164 "2010-10-21T22:29:32Z")
Wow, what a flaming douche. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/165 "2010-10-21T22:35:54Z")
At what point does it stop being a useless amount of money, though? Do you have to give a dollar, five dollars, ten, before it becomes normal for someone to say thank you? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/166 "2010-10-21T22:39:40Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > You’re missing the point of my analogy, jerk. Maybe MY one quarter won’t buy him much, but I’m just one of millions. My quarter is one less quarter towards his goal of panhandling enough money which WILL buy him a small cheeseburger & coffee from the McDonalds Value Menu; but NOT enough to get him close to a dimebag of crack. Get it? But if you are just one of millions, are you saying that a million quarters won’t buy a dimebag of crack? That crack is some expensive shit in Brentwood. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/167 "2010-10-21T22:40:01Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > IMHO, one dollar is way too much to give to a homeless person, except under _very_ exceptional circumstances. Maybe the sort of circumstances where the homeless person actually assists you in finding the place that you’re looking for? Sorry, but you’re the asshole in this situation, not the homeless guy. The problem is that you don’t even realize why you’re an asshole. You’re not an asshole because you only gave him 25c (although evidence suggests that you are a cheap asshole), but because you came here to complain that he was insufficiently appreciative of your great magnanimity. That’s what makes you an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/168 "2010-10-21T23:20:56Z")
I would’ve thrown it back in your face, or shoved it down your throat. I cant believe you posted this. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/169 "2010-10-21T23:26:20Z")
> [@may\_be\_ignorant](#): > > I would’ve thrown it back in your face, or shoved it down your throat. I cant believe you posted this. I’m not getting why, though. He was asking for money. Is it because it was too little, in which case it’s kind of snotty to be asking for money if you’re only going to accept a certain amount. ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/170 "2010-10-21T23:35:45Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’m not getting why, though. He was asking for money. Is it because it was too little, in which case it’s kind of snotty to be asking for money if you’re only going to accept a certain amount. I dont see in the OP where it says that the man asked for money. If he had asked for money and snobbishly discarded the quarter, I would see that as him being an ass. Since the OP just chucked a piece of change at him, though, its like he’s saying something along the lines of - “I’m successful, and you’re obviously down-trodden and worth nothing - heres a quarter to brighten your day,” to which I’m honestly surprised he didnt reply with a fuck you. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/171 "2010-10-21T23:36:13Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Wow…I mean, wow…this one sentence PROVES that you have NO clue what you are talking about. Allow me to fight your obvious ignorance: **Drug addicts trade food for drugs all the time.** I hear you. This is actually why I had to get out of the business of laundering money for drug dealers. Too many headaches over the conversion formulas of Big Macs, Whoppers, tuna fish sandwiches and bags of Fritos per dollar, and what my cut was for laundering it. After that I tried pimping, but it turns out most prostitutes are hooked on drugs too! I guess that’s why they’re called hookers. I had to give that up pretty quick, they’d come to me with a half eaten snickers, a gnawed on bologna sandwich, a take-away box of lo mien only 2/3s full and some pocket lint. Fucking ho’s were eating some of my profits! That’s when I wised up and figured out how to really make the duckets: counterfeiting. Keep it on the DL, but I’m rich as fuck ever since I started making PB&J sandwiches. I tried grilled cheeses at first, but it was too much effort trying to mass counterfeit them without access to an industrial kitchen. Anyone can crank out PB&Js. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/172 "2010-10-21T23:46:48Z")
> [@may\_be\_ignorant](#): > > I dont see in the OP where it says that the man asked for money. Please read post #150 (last reply on page 3). As I said before, my OP was _supposed_ to describe this bum’s repeated requests for money, but apparently I forgot to include that part. :smack: Post #150 gives a detailed account of exactly how the encounter transpired. As I’ve said repeatedly, if he hadn’t asked for money, I wouldn’t have given him anything more than the time of day. It’s not my fault he didn’t appreciate my generosity. So, fuck him, and everyone else like him. End of story. If that makes me an asshole, well…try living in L.A. some time. You pretty much _have_ to be an asshole yourself, to deal with all the other assholes who live here…bums and non-bums alike! > [@Dissonance](#): > > Keep it on the DL, but I’m rich as fuck ever since I started making PB&J sandwiches. I tried grilled cheeses at first, but it was too much effort trying to mass counterfeit them without access to an industrial kitchen. Anyone can crank out PB&Js. Is that mayonnaise in your sandwich, or were you just happy to see me? ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/173 "2010-10-21T23:53:24Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Please read post #150 (last reply on page 3). > As I said before, my OP was _supposed_ to describe this bum’s repeated requests for money, but apparently I forgot to include that part. :smack: Post #150 gives a detailed account of exactly how the encounter transpired. > > As I’ve said repeatedly, if he hadn’t asked for money, I wouldn’t have given him anything more than the time of day. It’s not my fault he didn’t appreciate my generosity. So, fuck him, and everyone else like him. End of story. > > If that makes me an asshole, well…try living in L.A. some time. You pretty much _have_ to be an asshole yourself, to deal with all the other assholes who live here…bums and non-bums alike! In that case, yes, the bum is an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/174 "2010-10-21T23:54:15Z")
I will repeat the question one more time - could you have dropped the quarter in his hand rather than tossing it? Also, Wilshire Blvd is not Brentwood - it’s West LA. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/175 "2010-10-21T23:58:16Z")
Oh please, you only pulled that “he was asking for change!” bullshit out of your ass after people jumped on you. I doubt it happened the way you described it. I generally don’t give to panhandlers, as I make it a habit not to have my wallet out when I’m on the street. (Unless I’m showing my buspass). But if I was going to give to someone, I wouldn’t just throw it at the guy. Jesus. The guy most likely has mental problems. So why are you taking it personally? So he was a dick? The homeless aren’t supposed to worship us if we give them crumbs from the table. “Please sir, can I have some more?” I don’t believe you when you’ve said you’ve worked with the mentally ill. Otherwise, you’d probably realize that he has issues and that it’s not about “lack of gratitude towards my wonderful generosity.” That and you have some major insecurities. Dude, the guy’s homeless. There’s a woman in downtown Pittsburgh who goes around yapping nonsensical sounds to herself. I’m not going to start throwing things at her. Want to help the homeless? Donate to a charity. Other than that, get over it. The guy was rude. Gee, because all bums are supposed to kiss the hems of your coat? I think you’re full of shit – that this is majorly embellished. Either that or you’re severely deluded. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/176 "2010-10-22T00:01:17Z")
There is no formulation of throwing money at someone – whether its straight up flinging or smartly flipping it off your thumb with a wry “here’s a quarter chum” – which is not indescribably condescending and therefore, obnoxious. I live in NYC, we have more than our fair share of beggers, scammers and money-requesting ne’er-do-wells, and I have not yet found the need to toss money at anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/177 "2010-10-22T00:40:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > I will repeat the question one more time - could you have dropped the quarter in his hand rather than tossing it? And risk accidentally _touching_ a hobo? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/178 "2010-10-22T00:40:25Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Wow, what a flaming douche. I love their acoustic album. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/179 "2010-10-22T02:21:22Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > But hey, that’s the downside of living in a free, capitalist society…there will always be drug-addicted freeloaders stinking up the outside world, and it’s considered morally objectionable to establish pogroms or eugenics to cleanse our streets of these useless meat-shaped blobs. It’s a shame, and not very logical, but I don’t make social rules. Maybe, someday, that will change – but I’m not holding my breath. Finally! It only took us 4 pages, but we finally get down to brass tacks. It’s clear now what the problem has been all along–you’re simply a psychopath. It was unfair of all of us to expect that notions like empathy and compassion would be comprehensible to you. I’m sure if there were no social consequences, you’d probably just “deal” with guys like him like the rest of us would swat a fly. That’s what he is to you, isn’t he? Come on now. You’ve already blown your cover; what’s a little more honesty going to hurt? I’m really fascinated by people like you. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841/180 "2010-10-22T02:24:08Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > I will repeat the question one more time - could you have dropped the quarter in his hand rather than tossing it? Sure, I could have. But why should that make any difference? > [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Also, Wilshire Blvd is not Brentwood - it’s West LA. Details, details…Wilshire/Bundy is less than a block south of Brentwood, so I was pretty close. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-homeless-person-show-respect-when-i-give-you-spare-change/557841.md?page=10)