Homeless man called a bum, maybe this will change your perspective

Originally posted by tinker9917
I stayed at a hotel a couple years ago, pretty decent one, where at 9pm they would open their doors to the homeless. Made me nervous but I thought it was such a kind gesture.
Apparently there were alot of regulars cause in the morning the front desk clerk asked me if I would like to check for my mail.

Wow - I love hearing stuff like this

I'm guessing they must figure they're as full up as they're going to get by 9:00 - why not give people a place to sleep? Who does that?

Your post just made me feel a whole lot better :-)

Originally posted by intrepid
reply to post by daryllyn

 

I don't think you could be arrested for that. On what charge? You're not charging for the burgers. Because it's a public area? The 1st covers peaceable assembly. Good on you btw.

Seems to be a growing trend.

Linky

Today it's difficult to distinguish between someone who is really homeless or someone who is just trying to get a free handout for their next fix or bottle of booze. There are a lot of lazy people in the world today who just don't want to work. I can't tell you how many times I see the same guy holding a card board sign saying he's hungry and homeless.

I just have to put myself in their shoes. If I found myself homeless, the first thing I would be doing is getting my self cleaned up at the local city mission, salvation army or seek assistance from anyone that could help me find a job. There's enough social agencies that will point the homeless in a direction where they can help themselves. They may only be able to find a minimum paying job, but at least that will help feed them, and provide them with some temporary shelter until they can get themselves on their feet.

When I see a homeless man smoking a cigarette while holding a sign for money, I have to ask myself, how can he afford to buy his cigarettes? I'm sure every homeless case is different, but there are a lot of con artists out there.

I was taken by a man saying his wife was in the hospital ready to deliver and he ran out of gas and needed some money for gas. I gave the guy a few bucks and off he went. Three weeks later the same guy approached me with the same story! When I told him it wasn't going to work this time, because he didn't realize he approached me a few weeks ago with the same story. He stormed off yelling at me and saying it wasn't him.

My wife laughs at me because I've been taken before. I still feel sorry for them, but like I said, there are a lot of homeless drunks and drug addicts out there.

Luke 16:19-31

New International Version (NIV)


The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

SnF OP for the positive vibes. This materialistic Old worlds ways have ways of defeating even the most financially supported individuals in one way or another, so ANY can end up @ the bottom ....... And w/o being judgmental for 1 is not the judge nor jury ...

Who knows what circumstances can come upon some of this herd to lead them to the most degrading distracting holes set out here in society to cause non advancement say with legitimate sales of products that truly can lead a human being down a path of addiction which can further distract...

So again 1 is not THE JUDGE.. that's a Above & Below situation and wishes all who psychologically financially fail the best in recovering for once down, its VERY Hard to recover easy to say for non experienced but not easy to recover.. GO to work ... In what cloths fill out the application .. no home address no phone no place to hygiene EA*RTH... Consider this on a planetary level ENTIRE planets OWING & then consider thyselfs and others...

NAMASTE*******

Originally posted by daryllyn

Originally posted by intrepid
reply to post by daryllyn

 

I don't think you could be arrested for that. On what charge? You're not charging for the burgers. Because it's a public area? The 1st covers peaceable assembly. Good on you btw.

Seems to be a growing trend.

Linky

That is frickin sad. So that leaves the homeless with 2 options. Starve or steal. That's making matters worse. Gah. :bnghd:

reply to post by intrepid

That is frickin sad. So that leaves the homeless with 2 options. Starve or steal. That's making matters worse. Gah.

I really don't know what people expect them to do, you know?

Its not as easy to fix their situations as some make it out to be.

Originally posted by opethPA
My point is that being homeless isn't something wonderful, something that should be romanticized and praised like some people do here.

if you go back and read what I have said all my posts have said good people have bad things happen to them..those people should have some way to get help. The people that consistently and repeatedly choose to drink , do drugs or turn down treatment though are responsible for the consequences of their actions.

I must have missed the posts that have been romanticising homelessness. I've only seen you mention it in this thread.

I know when I've been forced to sleep on the streets, I loved it. Having people walk past you laughing, thinking out loud "look at this drug addict.". Oh man, good times.

Or as you try to find somewhere warm, a car drives past you and you hear "I hate those people, they all stink." and they throw crap at you..

Awesome stuff, I only wish I'd had a camera to take happy snaps.

Yeah it's a romantic life, homelessness. The pungent allure of decay.. people who spare no effort to show you how great they are for not being homeless.

You guys are right. We should stop talking up this fantastic lifestyle choice. It might give the kids the wrong impression.

Originally posted by Hopechest
Most of the homeless people are there because of poor decisions they decided to make in their lives. Many are alcohol and drug abuse victims, but it was still their choice to partake in that.

I have little sympathy for them because they chose to give up.

I suppose in strictly logical and stark terms you are right,however,I personally do not believe that the issue is as black and white to enable that particular line of thought to prevail.Sure there are many homeless who have dropped out of "mainstream" society because of problems with various substance misuse/over reliance,but the primary focus should be what led them down that path in the first place?

reply to post by Hopechest


Geez.....hope you never have to go through losing everything thru no fault of your own. Natural disasters, major medical, etc. It takes time to access insurance funds, asset accounts, etc.
Not everyone is homeless because of drugs/alcohol or 'giving up' on life. Sometimes its because of circumstances beyond one's control.

reply to post by opethPA

Originally posted by opethPA
Sorry..Being homeless does not mean you are honorable and beyond reproach.

I'm not claiming that. You said you'd help people who needed food if you knew who they were. I'm just giving you a suggestion as to how to do that. But if you're just interested in making excuses for NOT helping people who genuinely need it, because SOME are not genuine, then that's your business.

I once had a person tell me they were stuck and needed money for gas. I gave him a few bucks. Fifteen minutes later, I saw him come out of the store with a 12-pack. I embarrassed the hell out of my husband by confronting the liar in the parking lot and giving him a piece of my mind.

I KNOW there are people who take advantage of other people. You don't have to film anyone to prove that to me. I'm just saying... if you want to help those genuinely in need, there are ways. Of course, you can just SAY you would, when you really have no intention of doing so.

Originally posted by palmalBlue2
reply to post by Hopechest

 

Geez.....hope you never have to go through losing everything thru no fault of your own. Natural disasters, major medical, etc. It takes time to access insurance funds, asset accounts, etc.
Not everyone is homeless because of drugs/alcohol or 'giving up' on life. Sometimes its because of circumstances beyond one's control.

Very true. A few years ago I was caught between an insurance company and worker's comp. Neither did anything for almost a year. In that time I lost my house and family. The ex and kids had access to welfare. I had no income. If I didn't have family with a little money I would have been in my car. Which is still better off than most homeless people.

reply to post by daryllyn


It is - and restaurants aren't allowed to give away food either. I understand some of it - health codes and spoiled food issues

But seriously - it's a crime to throw away food when people are hungry - but to not be allowed to buy people food? That's ridiculous. I could buy you a hamburger - but not a homeless person?

Originally posted by opethPA
Being homeless can and does happen to anyone. Their are very honest and hardworking people that get screwed by circumstances in life. Injuries, job loss, whatever. I feel sorry for those folks and hope they get every chance to turn it around.

On the opposite end are the people that would rather get drunk every weekend or do drugs vs living in the real world. Those people make their choices and made the initial choice to drink or do drugs so they should deal with whatever life they have created.

Being homeless doesn't make you any more noble then anyone else. The fact that people want to romanticize it here always makes me laugh, "being homeless means you are truly free" ..good luck with all that.

If you think that homeless people or people in general don't scheme to get money to buy alcohol or drugs then you need to open your eyes because i have watched it happen multiple times in Philadelphia. Someone will sit there with their "im hungry give me money" sign , people give them money and you can watch the guy get up, go right to a liquor store and come out with beer.

Do I think all homeless people act this way, absolutely not but the people that choose to live that way should deal with the consequences of their choices.

As for the "facing true hardship" BS line that someone put out there.

When I was younger, I was an idiot and made one bad choice after another. I thought it was important to have the latest everything and in the process of living that way I accumulated roughly $26k in credit card debt. Now I could have taken then the step that a lot of people take which is the easy please erase my stupid moves approach and file for bankruptcy but I didn't. I looked at myself and realized what an idiot I had been, that no one was responsible for my choices but me and completed a debt management program . For 6 years it sucked, barely any money for anything other than rent/bills because I was paying $600 a month to pay off the debt I accumulated. I was determined though that since I had failed multiple times it was my responsibility to fix that situation. I paid that debt off , I learned my lessons and 5 years later I look back and just shake my head in disgust about that time in my life.

edit on 26-5-2013 by opethPA because: (no reason given)

edit on 26-5-2013 by opethPA because: (no reason given)

Good thing you had debt councilors to HELP you stay off the street.HELP me to understand why you deserved a second chance and HELP from others and these other people don't?

I love these types of threads, always brings out the moral saint squad.

Well, why are you even here, shouldn't you all be out helping the unfortunate? I will support giving those who work hard a helping hand, but that is it.

Now back to your moral superior pat each other on the back thread.

Originally posted by SuicideBankers
Good thing you had debt councilors to HELP you stay off the street.HELP me to understand why you deserved a second chance and HELP from others and these other people don't?

edit on 26-5-2013 by SuicideBankers because: added to my post

Except I didn't get a second chance.

I could have taken the easy way out and filed for bankruptcy. "Mr. Banker I screwed up and had to buy every piece of high end stereo equipment I could so please wipe out the debt that I accumulated because Im overwhelmed. "

That would have been a second chance. I paid off every dollar I accumulated so therefore every dollar I owed to someone else.


Beyond that please go back and read my posts where I said multiple times the honest, injured, hard working, willing to change, willing to contribute , willing to do whatever it takes people that have been screwed by real life should get a second chance and whatever assistance they need. Versus the person that is content being a drunk, drug user , begging for money to get the next fix , has had multiple chances at help, denies treatment.. That person , after a certain point, doesn't deserve help anymore because their is someone out there that would actually use that help.

Listen people .

The fact is they are trying to criminalize me. period.

Originally posted by Hopechest
Most of the homeless people are there because of poor decisions they decided to make in their lives. Many are alcohol and drug abuse victims, but it was still their choice to partake in that.

I have little sympathy for them because they chose to give up.

You have some serious issues. Nobody can blame you for that, who knows what gave you such a negative attitude towards people. Same goes for the fella in the film, you don't know his story so how can you judge.

You say most... I say that you haven't taken enough time of you day to find the real story, so don't be offended if no one takes the time to hear yours and just assume you are a soulless dog with no affection towards your fellow man.

Originally posted by Hopechest
Most of the homeless people are there because of poor decisions they decided to make in their lives. Many are alcohol and drug abuse victims, but it was still their choice to partake in that.

I have little sympathy for them because they chose to give up.

judgmental, sheltered, and privileged much?

let's hope your boyfriend doesn't get you hooked on smack,meth,or crack
prostitutes you, and dumps you in a place far from home.

or your parents foolish economic decisions don't leave you all penniless and homeless yourselves

that will put things in perspective for you quite rapidly...


take note that quite a few fellow members [having been/being homeless and or jobless] will be taking issue with such 1%er sentiments
and will correct your ignorance

Originally posted by intrepid

Originally posted by palmalBlue2
reply to post by Hopechest

 

Geez.....hope you never have to go through losing everything thru no fault of your own. Natural disasters, major medical, etc. It takes time to access insurance funds, asset accounts, etc.
Not everyone is homeless because of drugs/alcohol or 'giving up' on life. Sometimes its because of circumstances beyond one's control.

Very true. A few years ago I was caught between an insurance company and worker's comp. Neither did anything for almost a year. In that time I lost my house and family. The ex and kids had access to welfare. I had no income. If I didn't have family with a little money I would have been in my car. Which is still better off than most homeless people.

Thats a crazy story. Thank you for sharing. It happens quicker than some people think and to say it was poor decisions is just ignorant and foolish. How can you decide if another car hits you and the only help you can get is from businesses trying to earn a profit. Not everyone has family to help in these situations and worse sometimes your the only family others rely on and your left with no way to provide. I can feel the pain on that mans face and im glad this was posted as a helpful reminder of how things could go if you don't have all the help you do.

Originally posted by MidnightTide
I love these types of threads, always brings out the moral saint squad.

Well, why are you even here, shouldn't you all be out helping the unfortunate? I will support giving those who work hard a helping hand, but that is it.

Now back to your moral superior pat each other on the back thread.

I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a moment to appreciate someones hardships and how easily it could happen to anyone including yourself and the ones you love.

Thats a big sandwich you got there, maybe you could drop a crumb or two today and thank this thread for giving you the push.