On the way to lunch today I was accosted by a homeless man who asked for some money so he could get something to eat. I didn’t give him any money, but after I ate I stopped and bought a slice of pizza and handed it to him. Response: “I didn’t ask you for no damn pizza, I asked you for money!” He then proceeded to dump the slice into the garbage can. EXCUSE THE LIVING FUCK OUT OF ME, BITCH? You can afford to not only be rude to someone who’s trying to help you out, but to throw away perfectly good food? I had no idea the homeless life was so financially rewarding. You can not only alienate potential good samaritans (supposedly your only source of income), you can be choosy about what you eat. Hell, maybe I ought to try it out instead of kissing corporate ass all day. How easy it would have been to say “I’m allergic to cheese” or something and hand it back to me. And if you really wanted the money for cigarettes or booze or crack or whatever, you have no right to get pissed at me for not being able to read your mind and bringing you food when that’s what you said you wanted. Holy mother of a Hubbard jumping over the fucking moon! I might have even given you some money for some booze or smokes (I’m kind of a bleeding heart sometimes; I try to understand how hard it must be and act according to how I would want to be treated). But now I hope you go through some heinous withdrawals, you big pile of ass. Jimney Cricket fucking my mother! I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed. The only reason I didn’t kick you in the nuts right there is that I pity you more than I loathe you. It’s not like I exactly have piles of cash to go tossing around indiscriminately, butt-ass. I was trying to HELP YOU OUT. Will this make me more wary of helping others in the future? Probably not, but dear Christ on a kumquat you tempt me. Next time you’re “hungry”, here’s some advice: eat a dick.
Great band name? You make the call!
Many homeless people are mentally ill…don’t let it get ya down.
You’re a good man, Woody. I fear that I would have lost it and given him my size 13 boot to eat after pulling that.
And many are assholes.
Ha! I love it. Seriously, though – you showed more restraint that I think I could have. You’re like, a good person, or something.
That’s the reason I don’t give anything to anyone I don’t know. If they ask me for money for food, I ignore them. If they ask for money for alcohol, I ignore them. If they really want the money, they can fucking work for it like I have to. I don’t see anyone giving me money for just fucking asking for it. I could ask my parents for money, and they would want a detailed explaination of what the money is for, and when I can pay them back. The only thing my parents have offered money for, is for my college education, but I have to work my ass off for it. Why the fuck should I work 40 hours a week, and give my hard earned money to some lazy fuck who just sits/stands on the street and asks people for money. Hookers are one thing, but homeless people who won’t attempt to work for their money are another.
Woody, if I were you, I would have found a lawyer who could get me off on justifiable homicide after beating the holier-than-thou homeless fuck to death.
Hey, he could get a job and be a rich asshole. His fellow homeless probably don’t even like this guy. You probably didn’t see anyone else with him, right?
Well, you could always become a beggar too if you want money and don’t want to work for it. I think begging for money is immoral, but I’ve seen people begging for food get ignored too.
I don’t know – why should you? Quit your job, become homeless, give all your money away, and then you won’t have a problem anymore.
That one guy is a lousy example, though. He probably isn’t even homeless – there are plenty of “professional” beggars out there who live rather comfortably. I just try not to give money to the ones who are dressed better than I am!
Totally off subject, but I think from now on my brother will be known to me no longer as ‘jackass’, but as ‘big pile of ass’. I like it. I really do. Oh, he’s NOT gonna like this one…
I am SO with you guys on this. This is why I became a Conservative. Fuck the homeless! When they ask me for money I usually just kick the shit out of them, or stab them in the eyes. If I’m in a hurry I just spit on them or tell them to get a job.
I once saw this guy use food stamps for Shrimp! At like $11.00 a pound. Yeah, he’s suffering. They should stop food stamps entirely. All those guys are doing it.
All these homeless guys do is layabout and knockup welfare Moms.
WOODY, I sympathize. That’s a lousy way to treat you when the guy must have known you only meant well. I hope it doesn’t dissuade you from trying to help others. I do have to say, however, that my experience with transient people in my town leads me to believe that while they may ask for money “for food” or “for gas” or “to make a phone call,” what many of them really want it for is alcohol. I think the rate of alcohol and drug abuse among the homeless remains very high. Not that that will make you feel any better.
NOWALLS says:
You know every homeless person is on the street because of laziness, huh? Wow, must be nice to be omniscient.
People are on the streets because they lose their jobs, can’t pay their rent, and get kicked to the curb. People are on the streets because they are mentally ill and have no place to go. People are on the streets because they have alcohol or drug addictions that they lack the ability to overcome, but that prevent them from leading productive lives. People are on the streets because they have emotional problems that prevent interaction with society. People are on the streets because it’s better in their minds to be on the streets than in whatever abusive shithole others might consider their “home.” Almost nobody is on the streets from pure laziness; the streets are cold and dangerous and any sane person having the option would far prefer to live off them than on them.
Yeah, a smart remark and favor spurned sure justify a homocide. :rolleyes:
You’d better hope to God you never find yourself broke and alone, with no place to go and no one to help you, because with your karma the only people you’ll meet will be judgmental, heartless jerks such as yourself.
Oh, and your sig is missing a quote mark, genius.
maybe he was lactose intolerant?
Scylla: 'Member when I said I reserved the right to call you on kneejerk shit? Well, I’m pretty sure you were kidding with your last post there, but I’m gonna need some reassurement from you on this one.
I’m of two minds on this one.
I’m a feeling person who has done research into causes of homlessness and the horrible toll it takes on a human being. I have raised literally thousands of dollars for wonderful organizations like Comic Relief that help step people out of homelessness and keep them well when they can’t afford/find medical care.
I also, when I have spare cash on hand, will invite a beggar to come eat with me. I got this trait from my dad who would offer to take beggars to stores and buy them food. While I have an admittedly unstatistical sample, I have never seen an acceptance. My last was a lady who was screaming at people that she was starving, and I asked her if KFC was okay, or if she wanted to eat anywhere else. She mumbled something about not…um…really…being hungry and left. She didn’t meet my eyes when I passed her on my way out, crying that she was too hungry to get back to her kids.
I know that homelessness/joblessness/hunger/poverty is a complicated issue. But there are people working to get out of it with every ounce of thier soul, and there are people begging on the streets that refuse help, who destroy some of the chances for the rest. They destroy the kindness in other people who want to help. That is wrong, no matter how they got there, or why they are staying, they are actively being a detriment to society when they punish kindness. I cannot feel compassion for them.
So you can make excuses for them. That’s nice. If I was in that position, I wouldn’t ask complete strangers for money. I would try to work my ass off to get myself out of the situation.
If they have drug additions, they made a choice earlier in their life to start using drugs or alcohol. They should deal with the consequences. I shouldn’t be responsible for feeding them, or giving them money. It’s not my fault they chose to take drugs in the first place, or that they can’t make rational decisions regarding drugs. Why should I give them money? If they can’t be productive, why should we support them? If they aren’t helping themselves, why does anyone else care?
Everyone has problems. Just because someone has “decided” to live on the streets for whatever reason, or “been forced” to do it by some bad decision they made in the past, doesn’t mean the rest of us should be responsible for keeping them alive. How many members of any other species on this planet would attempt to keep a weak member of their species alive? Has anyone else seen chickens rip apart another chicken who isn’t healthy? Why do humans think it is so important for all of us to live until we are 80 years old? Before the invention of medicine, humans lived to be 40 years old, if they were really lucky. Anyone want to guess why people have destroyed the environment?
So, maybe I generalized about them being lazy. What I meant to say was that they are unproductive members of society, that don’t pay taxes, or hold jobs, for whatever reason.
Yeah, a typo means I must be really stupid. I would have used “eat a dick” in my response to this, but it was already used in the OP.
woodstockbirdybird:
I understand where you are coming from. Your gift of pizza was generous. The person who was so inclined as to throw it away and berate you for skipping the middle man was lucky to have dealt with you. Myself, I would have been happy to retrieve the pizza, and help this person to ingest it in suppository form.
nowalls99:
Bullshit. You know nothing of people in that position.
Choad.
I might not know anything about the people who are currently in that position, but I am the world’s leading expert on myself. Due to this, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t ask a complete stranger for money. I would rather die from starvation than have to admit to the world that I cannot care for myself, whatever the situation. But, I have pride that would make a Klingon envious.
And, I’m not talking about the single mothers on welfare trying to work 2 jobs, and still not making enough money to get by. Or the people who are using the social programs that have been set up by society to care for people who can’t care for themselves. These people are at least working within the system to attempt to improve their situation. I would gladly give as much money as I could spare to a single mother of 3 in the grocery store trying to buy food and diapers for her kids. I would even pass on things that I don’t need, just so I could spare a little bit more money. I’m not completely heartless, but I won’t give anything to anyone not trying to help themselves. And asking strangers for money isn’t helping yourself, but rather expecting others to help you.
:shrug:
Well, then. I hope you never have to compromise that pride. As you’ve never been in a situation where you couldn’t care for yourself, you really have no idea what you would or would not do.
The problem with “fuck it, let the poor die” is that sometimes, just sometimes, it comes back and bites you on the ass.
We both may be featherless bipeds, but I’m human, not a chicken, and a very imporant aspect of humanity is compassion. How long have you been a chicken?
nowalls99, LOL! I loved your post. Not very politically correct, but refreshingly honest.
I spent some time on the streets of Montreal in my teens. Most people I met (and believe me, we were a pretty big community) who were homeless had er… ‘mental health issues’… ranging from depression to schizophrenia and just about everthing in between. For some it’s an actual personal choice, for some the choice is made for them by chemical imbalances in their brains. For some the community was the only place they could ever find acceptance. You simply can’t generalize the homeless any more than you can generalize engineers or businesspersons.
Regarding the OP… I never had anyone offer me food. If it had happened, I would have graciously accepted and enjoyed the meal.