Not exactly a great ending to a heart warming story. A guy saves up money and then hands out $50 and $100 bills to strangers. He urges them to pass it on to someone else if they don’t need it. A wonderful and generous act that gets him locked up in mental ward.
It’s kind of sad that our governments take such a dim view of caring and generosity. They feel you must be crazy to give a shit about your fellow man. These people would throw a straight jacket onto Mother Teresa (who gave away her wealth and privileged life to serve God and the poor).
Bah! There are generous people in the world who do give what they can to help others. It’s their money to give away or spend however they like.
This story is from last Christmas. A wonderful story of personal generosity. Just one of many stories out there of people sharing their extra money to help others.
Some new information. The guy was stopped and released in Halifax. They made the correct decision imho. He might be a bit eccentric but he wasn’t harming anyone or breaking any laws. Giving away money isn’t a crime.
He drives home (another city) and some idiot had called the local authorities to do a wellness check on him. So now he’s locked up in the psych ward.
At least he’s got his daughter fighting for his release.
A friend of my mother had two kids who were both schizophrenic. The oldest, when he stopped medicating, would take all of his money out of the bank, and start handing it out to strangers on the street. Then he’d be unable to buy food or pay his rent, and would end up homeless again.
Not saying that’s the case with this guy, but i know my mom’s friend was grateful whenever the cops picked up her son before he gave away all his rent money.
There’s just no way for the government to win on issues like this. If you wait until someone gets chopped up, you’re blamed for not keeping crazies off the street. If you keep the crazies off the street, you’re blamed because they haven’t chopped anyone up yet.
I don’t really know enough about this story to have an opinion on it, but it really frustrates me when governments are held to impossible double standards.
Yep, the issue with these cases (just like child abuse cases) is that the government can’t really say anything without breaking confidentiality. So the daughter is saying he’s perfectly sane, and the government can’t come back and say “Well, he’s also got voices telling him to burn things.”
I thought the man’s daughter made a good point that they were on vacation and her dad gave away money that he had saved. Saving money for a purpose (like helping people) sounds pretty rational to me.
There may be a point where the man can no longer manage his finances. A family member may have to request a conservatorship. That’s an option if he’s literally giving away the rent and food money.
Locking him up in a mental ward? That’s usually the last option if nothing else works or if the person is dangerous.
I wouldn’t say “established” but it’s worth noting that this was done based on a “clinical recommendation of a physician who has met with and assessed the patient” and this is evidence of craziness. There is nothing saying that the reason the man was committed was because he was giving away money - only that that was what brought him to the attention of police. And, of course, medical authorities can’t comment on the story without violating this guy’s privacy so we get one side of the story as filtered though media who have a financial interest in getting a rise out of people like aceplace57.
When generosity is added to the DSM-V I’ll be as up in arms as the rest of us here but I’ll want to know more before I get upset about this particular story.
Well so far the press hasn’t indicated the guy has been released or brought into any court…
I know in the US involuntary holds are very short. Usually only two or three days. Then they have to get an emergency extension from a judge. There are more hearings etc. It’s an involved process and lawyers are there to protect the person’s rights.
There was a case last summer with ex child star Amanda Bynes. Her behavior had become increasingly erratic over a two year period. She set a small fire in a driveway and got locked up on an involuntary hold. There were several court hearings reported in the next few weeks. Her parents were given temporary conservatorship. She was treated in the hospital for several months. They reported recently she’s attending required outpatient therapy and started fashion school. She’s doing really well under the conservatorship.
I always thought I would keep this to myself, but every year around Christmas I carry a few $100 bills with me and give them away, usually to parents of small children who look like they could use a lift.
I think I’ll keep it up, I’m not too concerned about getting tossed in the nuthouse.
You seem to be assuming U.S.-style privacy laws, which are rather draconian. Does Canadian or Nova Scotian law actually prohibit them from just saying “We didn’t lock him up for his generosity,” without sharing anything about his actual medical history?
I’ve paid for or helped pay for groceries a few times. Sometimes people check out and the total is more than the cash they have. I hate seeing somebody put back food. I’ll speak up and chip in ten bucks or even twenty to help them out. One time a lady’s EBT card was being rejected. She had baby formula, diapers, food already sacked up. I wasn’t going to just stand there and watch her leave without that stuff.
I hate being approached by panhandlers. It’s often a scam or they just want money for booze. It is nice to help when the need appears legitimate. I wish that I could afford to give more.
