No, I don't have $5 to give you for gas.

The BBQ Pit
21

I have to shoo people out of the parking lot at work. There was one guy who popped up periodically for about a week and I finally caught him when I came in from lunch one day. He was in the middle of his spiel with a lady who had just come out of our store. I interrupted him and asked him to leave and stop hitting up our customers for money. He mumbled something about hoping his car would start since it is out of gas and left. His car started right up.

I’ve also paid for and pumped gas for other people at the gas station. I won’t give 'em cash, though.

22

Well, I believe that helping is not first about feeling well for the helper and the intent to do good, but rather, what that person needs, and going in with a cool head and information. But maybe that’s because I actually read what the charity organisations say about the damage done by well-intentioned people : it often backfires if not backed up with information.

If I give 3 Euros directly to a beggar in the street, the money might go to his gang boss. He might use to buy himself booze, pass out and freeze to death. Or he might buy some food for today.

If instead I donate it to a soup kitchen/ tea shop / homeless shelter, then they will work with the real homeless person to help him get off the street long-term. I find that a far better solution.

But I’m not a qualified social worker. I’m also (thankfully) employed, so I don’t have the time of the social workers to talk with the homeless for several months to gain their trust and make them try small steps.

Well, not chasing down - that wallet isn’t running on little legs. But if you sincerely lost / had stolen your wallett, the least to do is to go to the police. First, it means you have a proof for insurance (if you have some), second, it means that if it turns up lost, or if the police catch a thief with his stash, they can give it back to you, and thirdly, the police can help you to get home.

Have you never heard of how a street paper works?? BISS has helped dozens of people in the past decade. I know that Americans like to play cynic and assume that anybody that claims to help really has darker motives and is lying through his teeth about it, but that’s not how things are done in Europe. When organisations claim to help, they substantiate that claim with figures. (Or they loose their status and are outed as frauds). They are not under suspicion of frauds or useless feel-good from the start.

In the case of BISS - which is special because the homeless themselves write part of it - the people who are in difficulties apply there. They have long talks with the social workers there about how many hours a day they can sell, and where they would like to stand - there are fixed points in the subway entrances, but also tours through restaurants at night. Once they decide on part or the full load of about 600 magazines (it’s monthly), they get a contract, meaning they are also again fully insured (health, pension), and they go back to keeping regular hours. They keep close contact with the social workers. When they signal that they feel ready, the social workers help them find a new flat and a proper job they can do. They pay an advance to furnish the new flat. They pay medical treatment if necessary. Everybody can talk to the sellers to confirm that the stories are true - many sellers have their regular customers who talk with them and support them.

So yes, buying this magazine certainly helps better than just giving the money to a random guy.

Yes, it’s supposed to. That’s what’s in our constitution, after all. I said I live in a civilised country, which means a social contract where people help each other. It doesn’t mean that the city goes around handing out money nilly-willy - I said that people have to apply. Many people don’t apply for false shame. Those that do apply and qualify for welfare don’t live like queens at all, they have to count each penny and can’t afford most things I take for granted. So additonal charities jump in to help poor people.

What? You are really weird. Of course we have homeless people! And because we don’t focibly remove them from the street to put them into poor-houses or shelters - people today are free to choose, no matter how destructive, though we try to help them as best as we can - every winter, a few of them will prefer to stay outside under the bridges or similar and will freeze to death. It’s in the newspapers. Along with the old discussion of how tough/ lenient the police should be in chasing them away: safety of citizens versus NIMBY thinking.

I don’t know what kind of Utopia you think you’re living in, but I think you might be a touch self satisfied an deluded.
[/QUOTE]

23

I can’t remember when someone last asked me for gas money. In London a guy asked me for a pound 67 to ride the tube, and I gave him two pounds. Not because I believed his story, but because I couldn’t be *sure *he didn’t need it and I could afford it. Also I was in a bad mood and needed a reason to feel good.

24

This was meant to read:

First, I’m not living in an Utopia, there is much that needs to be improved, and we have to stand guard against the libertarians wanting to slash social services. It only looks that way compared to the US, where almost nothing is done, but that is the lowest denominator to compare to and doesn’t really count.

Second, why I am deluded getting my information from several sources like newspapers? What do you know about my city and my country?

25

Tell me: if you were short of money - would you start hitting people on the street? For a normal person, that’s far too embarrassing before trying every other option. That’s why I vote for scammer.

I don’t feel good giving money to a scammer or even potential scammer. If I believe his story, then I can point him (okay, not in London, but in my own home town) to all the places that do offer legitimate help (each issue of BISS has a list of all places on the last page), starting with the police or the mission at the main station.

26

Some numbers for you (taken for convenience from the BISS hompage, though they are based on official numbers)

The pensions, rented flats etc. are provided by the city for women with children and families who shouldn’t live on the street. Women who leave an abusive relationship, but have small children and so no job to pay their own flat often try to stay with friends or look for shelter in women’s houses, who then move them elsewhere.

The people who actually are on the street are those who don’t want shelters, because the city can’t force people into them. (One of the city shelters, on Plinganserstr. has a very bad reputation among the homeless - stuff gets stolen, and the drunken guys piss everywhere, so people prefer to stay outside instead of going there.)

And yes, while of course each person living on the street is one to many that needs help, I do feel a bit proud that compared to other cities, our city is doing a fair amount of help, esp. compared to previous attitudes of simply using the police to chase them away from the inner city - out of sight, out of mind attitude, instead of helping them.

There’s still lots to be done, though - for once, we have a chronic problem of not having enough affordable housing for low-income people, and while social flats are leaving the market because the time has run out, not enough new ones are being built.

27

I get hit up for this one every couple months, on average. Here in the Houston area, the favorite story seems to be that the person concerned had driven down from Huntsville or wherever for a job interview, and doesn’t have enough fuel to get home.

Most of the time, I turn them down. I’ve occasionally give them a few bucks, however, concerned as I am about this epidemic of people who seemingly are unable to comprehend the meaning of a fuel gauge, apparently have no family or friends willing to loan them a couple of bucks, yet are desperately risking having to abandon their vehicle in a strange city after driving a hundred miles for a chance at some undefined job.

28

One time a guy came knockin’ on my door sayin’ he’s outta gas and can he have some money to get some? Well I din’t have my wallet on me at the time, so I says to him “hey, maybe I could write you a check? How much ya need?”

He said “I needed 'bout five dollar.”

Five. Dollar.

Well, it was ‘bout this time I noticed this guy weren’t no guy at all but two, thirty foot tall creatures from the Paleolithic era. I says to him "God Damnit, you twos is the Loch Ness Monsters! I ain’t givin’ you no Goddamned Five Dollar!"

That Loch Ness Monster he’s a tricky. Don’t be fallin’ for no gas scams.

29

Yeah, I’ve heard that one before too. Again, if you’re visiting your mom and you see that your fuel gauge is flirting with E and you know you have to drive 30 miles to get back home, why not ask her for a couple of bucks. Yes, it might be embarrasing, but I’d much rather take a scolding from my mom than have to rely on the good will of strangers at night.

30

The homeless have a printing press? Where do they keep it?

31

I’ve encountered assholes like that too. In one case I was headed into the Family Dollar to buy some paper plates. A guy outside asks if I can buy him a bag of chips when I go in. I say sure, thinking he’s going to wait outside.
But then he follows me in and not only picks up a big bag of Lay’s but a drink and a few other things. At that point I say no, and walk out without buying anything. He follows me out to my car calling me a faggot the whole way.

32

There was a time in my life when I was commuting through Newark’s train station at 2am. The same guy would be there every time asking for money for a train ticket home. I offered to buy him one once, but he didn’t accept.

On the other hand, I did have a particularly desperate-looking woman actually accept this offer once.

I have given to panhandlers, it’s just when the lie is so obvious (when they won’t take the ticket they supposedly need the money for) it’s really hard to give.

33

  1. Turning a talk about scam artists into a political screed is thread hijacking of the worst order.

  2. The U.S. spends bazillions of dollars on social services, not “almost nothing.” The idea that the U.S. is some libertarian, anti-socialist land of social Darwinism is pure hooey.

34

Requests for gas money are common these days, as are requests for rides somewhere (and offering the alternative of just giving them the fare), or contributions to retrieve a car that’s been towed. Suggestion for aspiring artistes: liquor stores are not the best places to establish your credibility when pulling these chestnuts.

It’s been a while since I got hit with the classic Baltimore “flat tire on a church bus full of children”. I guess it’s just too over-the-top for today’s cynical marks.

Thankfully, I haven’t been subject to this pitch again. That guy had a bright future ahead of him. It would be a real shame if just gave up his dream and got a job. :wink:

I don’t hate homeless people (indeed, I often buy meals for them), but I’m not too crazy about scammers, as should be anyone who cares about the truly needy.

35

Many large American cities have a similar paper. The Chicago version is StreetWise, and I know I’ve seen similar papers for sale in other cities.

36

The only time my husband and I have ever given money to anyone with this type of a sob story was when they offered to work for it. The guy mowed our lawn and the woman pulled weeds and raked leaves. (We lived on a fairly busy 4-lane road and were sitting on our front porch when we were approached.)

37

But most of all, the fat ones.

38

Why go to all the trouble to type out “double-sawbuck” when “$100” is shorter and faster to type? :confused:

39

A few years ago I went to visit my parents. At the time my car had a broken gas gauge. On the way home I ran out of gas on the freeway and coasted off an exit and into a gas station. I checked my pockets and realized that I had left my wallet at home. There was less than a dollar in change in the car. Imagine my embarrassment when I had to ask a stranger for money for gas.

My story had all the elements of a scam, but it was factual.

40

It seems to me that a good reason for the whole “money for gas” thing is that it’s an excuse to ask for slightly more money than usual. If someone just asks you for some spare change, or “Can you spare a dollar?”, they’re not likely to get much out of it, but if they can get you to fall for the gas thing, you might give them $5, or even more.

Sometimes i give to people who ask for money, and sometimes i don’t. It usually depends on (a) whether i’m carrying any cash at all (i often don’t), and (b) whether i have a denomination small enough that i’m willing to part with (some coins, maybe a dollar). For me, if i’m going to give, then i’ll give, and the excuse doesn’t really matter. I wouldn’t say no just because the person was using the gas excuse, but i also wouldn’t say yes just because of it either.

The first time anyone used the gas line on me, i was living in Baltimore. It was a long, convoluted story about job interviews, needing to get back to the suburbs, and being a member of a church. Usually, if i can’t help out someone asking for money, i’ll just say sorry and move on, because i figure they don’t really need to hear my reasons. But on this particular day, i was in a bit of a grumpy mood, so i said to the guy: “Dude, i’m waiting for a bus right now because i can’t afford a car (true at the time). I’m not interested in paying for your gas.”