I live in an iconic hippie town; a small city that considers Berkeley, Boulder, Ann Arbor, and similar progressive college towns among its peers. And … damn, there’s a lot of panhandlers here, far more than what I’d see in even much larger cities.
Whenever I’ve visited another hippie-ish town, I notice they, too, have more than their fair share of old hobos, young Deadhead-types, fake Vietnam Vets, sign holders, and the like, all begging for whatever spare change you might have.
So, why is it that panhandlers are drawn to hippie meccas? One theory I’ve head is that locals are more generous than in other places. However, wouldn’t years of exposure to the same fake war vets or hard luck stories harden the locals, or at least make them more suspicious?
This is going to be a hard one to answer factually, but I have lived in a fairly hippie-ish town (Seattle) for a decade and my brother is just the sort to give money to panhandlers consistently, so I can provide my observations of Seattle-ites in general and him in specific.
Most of the panhandlers, in Seattle, hang around the shopping districts and tourist areas. When I lived in one of these areas, my desire to give anything to beggars was significantly reduced, since I literally saw the same half dozen every day. I presume that this would be the case for anyone who lived in that area. But most people do not, and only go tour the shopping areas at most a few times a month and more likely only a few times a year.
My brother gives them money every time that he can. Explanations that they’re being provided for by the local government and that extra money just goes against their addictions and most likely only serves to harm them, he accepts as probably true, but still can’t help giving. He is unwilling to risk the chance that they might actually need it (or unable to feel like a bad person). He probably does this once a week, despite having a small income himself and no regular job.
A lot of the teen beggars seem more to do it more as a lark. They’re going to be out sitting around socializing with their other runaway/gang friends in the streets and parks anyways, so might as well put out a hat and collect a few bucks from anyone not paying attention. If you actually watch them, you’ll see that they all have cellphones and enough money to find their way across the city if a call comes in that something fun is happening elsewhere.
So basically, I’d say that the answer is that hippies are inherently giving and no, don’t learn the lesson over time nor in the face of obvious scamming. Only daily exposure might reduce their instinct, and that’s not the norm.
If you come down to the river
Bet you gonna find some people who live
You don’t have to worry 'cause you have no money
People on the river are happy to give
I think that people who have little money can empathise with other people who don’t, so they might be more likely to give. Or beggars may not be able to get to more affluent areas; and if they do they might be ‘moved along’.
Poor people (if they are not actually on the brink of being indigent) tip better than rich people, so I dare say they are more generous to panhandlers too.
You don’t mention which city, so I don’t know how relevant this is, but: climate could be a big draw, too. When I lived in Phoenix, AZ I saw homeless people and panhandlers all over the place. You’d see a dozen or more every day, no matter where you went. It’s much easier to survive without shelter when there’s minimal rain and moderate temperatures.
Probably because they’re more likely to be welcome there.
Case in point: Berkeley. “People’s Park” is in a prime location for (a) much -needed dormitories, and (b) a much-needed parking structure, but any attempts to get rid of the park is seen as an attempt to drive the homeless out of town and is shot down (with lots of support from the university’s students - the city would rather get rid of an Armed Forces Recruiting Center than People’s Park). In fact, the one attempt I remember to “improve” the park - by adding sand volleyball courts to it - was seen as an attempt to “encroach” on the people who live there.
That was my first thought. In MANY towns, local business owners would angrily demand that the police keep homeless panhanders off their sidewalks and away from their stores/restaurants.
In stereotypical “hippie” towns (including Ausin, TX), there’s more a sense in many corners that vagrants are a colorful part of local culture, and that it would be mean to arrest them or roust them.
College towns (which certainly includes Berkley & Ann Arbor; dunno about Boulder) have a much higher turnover in the population than a typical city. Perhaps this helps to provide a steady stream of people willing to give to the panhandlers.
I very recently lived in Berkeley and I think this touches on it (along with the other posters who suggested local government is more accommodating). I think more progressive towns tend to have services and policies that are more friendly to the marginalized of society.
A few people have mentioned Berkeley. I’ve only been there a few times. One time I was with a couple of friends and walking between shops, and I began to wonder if there was some sort of street theater going on. Or if there was a local beggars guild.
At every corner, and occassionally at midblock, there was a person with a paper cup. Each of them would ask, specifically, if we could spare a quarter for a cup of coffee (except for one under-age girl who asked for a quarter for a coke). If we said no, they said thank you anyway, have a nice day. Oh, and now that I think about it, none of them took a step toward anyone. They’d lift the cup toward you slightly, but wouldn’t put it in your way.
Does this happen often? Cause there were dozens of them that day. None of them seemed even a little slovenly. All were alert and calm. It was kind of surreal. I think they got about a buck fifty off of us, all told. I thought it was a good strategy to ask for quarters. It’s hard to resent someone who’s only asking for a quarter.
My guess is that college towns tend to be diverse, wealthy, socially liberal and set up for with transient populations in mind and tend towards lefty / progressive politics that provide better social supports for these sorts of folks.
Decades ago my high school chemistry teacher came up with an amusing simile’ for how the phases of matter- gas, liquid, solid- vary with heat. He said to imagine that molecules are hobos and heat is the police. Where there’s a lot of heat you have single molecules that are kept constantly in motion (gas), like individual hobos that are swiftly told to move along. Where there’s less heat the molecules congregate (liquid), like hobos loitering where the panhandling is good. And where there’s very little heat the molecules form organized structures (solid), like a hobo encampment.
Now when I have occasion to remember this, I think of boiling water as tiny little hobos running from truncheon-wielding cops.
