NationStates Jolt Archive

I went to an Irish Pub today. (Rula Bula in Tempe - superb food and atmosphere.) It was happy hour, so I got two appetizers of beer battered fish with potatoes. They were tasty... but too much. So I got the rest boxed. On my way home, I passed some kids (19-25 years old probably) who asked if they could have my leftovers. I gave them my leftovers.

I am reasonably certain that these particular homeless are drug-users. Am I enabling their habit by assisting their survival? Am I doing the humanitarian thing? It's not like I was going to eat the leftovers anyways. At least, I probably wasn't going to.

What would you do in this situation?

I think if it happens again, I'll make them tell me something funny first. It's pretty easy to make me laugh, and even if they can't I'll still give the food to them.

Am I enabling their habit by assisting their survival?

:rolleyes:

I went to an Irish Pub today. (Rula Bula in Tempe - superb food and atmosphere.) It was happy hour, so I got two appetizers of beer battered fish with potatoes. They were tasty... but too much. So I got the rest boxed. On my way home, I passed some kids (19-25 years old probably) who asked if they could have my leftovers. I gave them my leftovers.

I am reasonably certain that these particular homeless are drug-users. Am I enabling their habit by assisting their survival? Am I doing the humanitarian thing? It's not like I was going to eat the leftovers anyways. At least, I probably wasn't going to.

What would you do in this situation?

I think if it happens again, I'll make them tell me something funny first. It's pretty easy to make me laugh, and even if they can't I'll still give the food to them.
1) Feeding people is never the wrong thing to do.

2) Better to give them food than money for drugs. At least they asked for the food rather than money.

3) You would rather be responsible for contributing to their starvation than their high? Do you really think that would have been more humanitarian? At least the food did not go to waste.

4) Personally, I figure it is not up to me to judge other people. I don't know how or why they got to where they are. Maybe it was self-indulgence, or maybe it was the kind of misfortune that can happen to anyone. I don't judge whether someone living on the street deserves my leftovers or not. If they are hungry and I'm not, they can have them. I don't care if they eat them while getting high or drunk. I just hope that if my life ever goes totally to shit, someone will be willing to give me a bite to eat.

Conclusion: You did a good deed. Feel happy about it.

Conclusion: You did a good deed. Feel happy about it.

I do. It just got me thinking, and I figured it might make good conversation.

I do. It just got me thinking, and I figured it might make good conversation.

Then prepare to get depressed, when the anti-charity, "let them get a job and eat cake" crowd arrives.

*sits back and hopes to be wrong*

If people now that they can occasionally get food by asking strangers, why would they even consider getting jobs. You are doing nothing but perpetuating laziness and communism.

Eh I'da told them to go to hell or something but that's just me. I'm not that nice of a guy to the decay of society :).

Personally, I'll always give someone food if they ask (and they look like they need it - for all you lazy people who are going to show up at my house asking for cake). On occasion, when someone outside a restaurant (usually fast food, I don't eat as healthy as I should) for change to buy food, I've just asked them what they wanted and bought it. The strange thing is - I've gotten dirty looks for that - for buying hungry people food! WTF? I went into a Subway I was otherwise just walking by at one point to get a man (who looked for all the world like he had mange - poor guy) a sandwich.

So, anyways, the moral of the story is, never feel bad about helping to feed someone.

If people know that they can occasionally get food by asking strangers, why would they even consider getting jobs. You are doing nothing but perpetuating laziness and communism.

I'm assuming this is sarcasm, but I'll respond to the idea anyways.

There is a lot more to life than eating food. For example... getting to choose what you eat. I don't have a problem with providing a subsistence lifestyle to people free of charge. It's luxuries that I think people should work for.

Well you wern't supporting their drug habbit...

I went to an Irish Pub today. (Rula Bula in Tempe - superb food and atmosphere.) It was happy hour, so I got two appetizers of beer battered fish with potatoes. They were tasty... but too much. So I got the rest boxed. On my way home, I passed some kids (19-25 years old probably) who asked if they could have my leftovers. I gave them my leftovers.

I am reasonably certain that these particular homeless are drug-users. Am I enabling their habit by assisting their survival? Am I doing the humanitarian thing? It's not like I was going to eat the leftovers anyways. At least, I probably wasn't going to.

What would you do in this situation?

I think if it happens again, I'll make them tell me something funny first. It's pretty easy to make me laugh, and even if they can't I'll still give the food to them.

If you had given them money, it's likely that you would have been assisting their habit (given that they were, indeed, drug users). They're not going to be able to sell left-over fish and chips for drug money, so I'd say that you helped them live one more day, but not with their habit.

I've frequently given homeless people food and food coupons because I assume (perhaps wrongly) that any money given them will go to booze or drugs.

I spotted this somewhat relevant article on another forum I frequent...

Florida police arrest activist for feeding homeless

Apr 5, 2007 — MIAMI (Reuters) - Police in Florida have arrested an activist for feeding the homeless in downtown Orlando.

Eric Montanez, 21, of the charity group Food Not Bombs, was charged with violating a controversial law against feeding large groups of destitute people in the city center, police said on Thursday.

Montanez was filmed by undercover officers on Wednesday as he served "30 unidentified persons food from a large pot utilizing a ladle," according to an arrest affidavit. The Orlando area is home to Disney World and Universal Studios Florida.

The Orlando law, which is supported by local business owners who say the homeless drive away customers but has been challenged in court by civil rights groups, allows charities to feed more than 25 people at a time within two miles of Orlando city hall only if they have a special permit. They can get two permits a year.

Police collected a vial of the stew Montanez was serving as evidence.

Police spokeswoman Barbara Jones said in an e-mail it was the first time anyone had been arrested under the feeding ban.

Montanez was charged with a misdemeanor.

Feeding someone that is asking for food because they are hungry is the right thing to do. I have done it several times. I have had what appears to be homeless ask for change and rather then give them money I offered to buy them food. Most will take you up on it. So your not perpetuating anything other then the survival of that person.

Feeding someone that is asking for food because they are hungry is the right thing to do. I have done it several times. I have had what appears to be homeless ask for change and rather then give them money I offered to buy them food. Most will take you up on it. So your not perpetuating anything other then the survival of that person.

As a general rule, only offer food. Never money. Believe it or not, panhandling is a very lucrative "job" if you find the right area. Some people can rake in several hundred dollars a day by just doing that. There are scummy people out there who have good jobs, are not poor, but dress the part, so to speak, just to take advantage of people's charity. Buying food for someone, however, is likely far better than giving them money.

Wednesday at midnight, I boarded a train from the airport headed to my home. A man in rags sat across from me, reeking of long-dried piss and long-drunk cheap liquor. He said nothing, just looked around at all the other passengers. I couldn't help but notice that he viewed them with sharp eyes and what seemed to be an air of disgust and pride.

If I had a sandwich, I would have handed it to him and thanked him for being.

hmmmm does tempe have a constant population of young able bodied beggars? i havent been there in .... 10 years i guess and they were begging money for their DOGS when i was there.

its not wrong to give a guy your leftovers. sure its enabling their begging but thats their problem not yours. unless you really really wanted those leftovers, you did fine.

well right now I'm hungry so homeless people aren't getting any tasty food from me!

then again I'm the type to just give them money and not really care or not give them anything because that money can buy happiness :)

I'd've just given them some drugs. Hey, if they'd take my drugs at least I'd know they were taking good drugs and not crystal meth or crack or some shit like that.

I don't believe in giving anything to "bums" as a matter of principle. Especially since this one "bag lady" I saw near a restaurant I used to frequent came into that restaurant a few times wearing a nice dress and pearls.

I've heard too many stories of salaried people who have jobs and homes who pretend to be homeless so they can get handouts -- and who end up making about $30,000 a year from the practice. Not to mention the fact that a lot of them want the money so they can get drugs. That's why I've seen some people offer to buy food for a "homeless" guy rather than give him money.

If you're truly homeless, go to a homeless shelter.

:rolleyes:

Seconded.

I voted "No kitty, this is MY pot pie!!!" but that was just because I liked the reference.

I went to an Irish Pub today. (Rula Bula in Tempe - superb food and atmosphere.) It was happy hour, so I got two appetizers of beer battered fish with potatoes. They were tasty... but too much. So I got the rest boxed. On my way home, I passed some kids (19-25 years old probably) who asked if they could have my leftovers. I gave them my leftovers.

I am reasonably certain that these particular homeless are drug-users. Am I enabling their habit by assisting their survival? Am I doing the humanitarian thing? It's not like I was going to eat the leftovers anyways. At least, I probably wasn't going to.

What would you do in this situation?

I think if it happens again, I'll make them tell me something funny first. It's pretty easy to make me laugh, and even if they can't I'll still give the food to them.

Yeah, starving to death is a sure fire cure for drug addiction and obesity. More people should starve to death. It's the healthy thing to do.

There was a guy sitting with a dog with a big sign that said "Now accepting random Acts of Kindness!" So I ran into subway and bought him a cookie, there were other people who were buying him coffee and such. If there was a sign that said soething like "NEED MONEY" or something I wouldn't have done it.

I spotted this somewhat relevant article on another forum I frequent...

Wow, just wow. Why does so much of the stupid legal stuff happen in Florida?

Yeah, starving to death is a sure fire cure for drug addiction and obesity. More people should starve to death. It's the healthy thing to do.
*Nods*

Cuts down the surplus population. Humbug!

Wow, just wow. Why does so much of the stupid legal stuff happen in Florida?

I'd suggest it speaks volumes of just who the Floridians are.

I went to an Irish Pub today. (Rula Bula in Tempe - superb food and atmosphere.) It was happy hour, so I got two appetizers of beer battered fish with potatoes. They were tasty... but too much. So I got the rest boxed. On my way home, I passed some kids (19-25 years old probably) who asked if they could have my leftovers. I gave them my leftovers.

I am reasonably certain that these particular homeless are drug-users. Am I enabling their habit by assisting their survival? Am I doing the humanitarian thing? It's not like I was going to eat the leftovers anyways. At least, I probably wasn't going to.

What would you do in this situation?

I think if it happens again, I'll make them tell me something funny first. It's pretty easy to make me laugh, and even if they can't I'll still give the food to them.

Yeah. You shouldn't give money to the homeless, they'll just use it to buy drugs. If you give them food, they'll sell it for the money to buy drugs. You shouldn't enable them like that.

That's why I only give the homeless drugs. Cut out the middleman.

While we are talking about beggars here I saw a damn funny sign in Seattle yesterday this guy was using. It read: Father killed by ninjas, need money for karate lessons. Thought it was ingenious and original.

There was a guy sitting with a dog with a big sign that said "Now accepting random Acts of Kindness!" So I ran into subway and bought him a cookie, there were other people who were buying him coffee and such. If there was a sign that said soething like "NEED MONEY" or something I wouldn't have done it.

i find this story creepy. geez, you and a bunch of other people gave a beggar stuff because he had a clever sign and ignore the beggars who might need the help more?

If people now that they can occasionally get food by asking strangers, why would they even consider getting jobs. You are doing nothing but perpetuating laziness and communism.

This is true, but is not the humane thing to do.
It fits in with killing people because there are too many people on the planet.
:sniper: :mp5:

That's a good point. People who frown on giving spare change to bums often say, "You're just enabling their drug habits!"

Well, first, this assumes all bums have a drug habits. And it assumes that drugs are bad. I don't think either assumption is fair.

Anyway, it is ALSO true that giving someone food - or anything that helps them continue on their merry path - "enables their drug habit," if they have one. After all, if they now have food, they can NOW use their money for drugs instead. You just turned their food money (if they had any) into discretionary/drug funding (if they buy any).

So I don't see why people have this elitist approach. Either you give stuff to bums or you don't, there is no "right" and "wrong" way to give of yourself to those in need.

I spotted this somewhat relevant article on another forum I frequent...

that is one of the worst things i have ever heard of

charging someone for helping others!?

:mad:

While we are talking about beggars here I saw a damn funny sign in Seattle yesterday this guy was using. It read: Father killed by ninjas, need money for karate lessons. Thought it was ingenious and original.

lol :p

I spotted this somewhat relevant article on another forum I frequent...

That's fucked up like polio, man.

While we are talking about beggars here I saw a damn funny sign in Seattle yesterday this guy was using. It read: Father killed by ninjas, need money for karate lessons. Thought it was ingenious and original.
I am reminded of the line from Chris Rock's "No Sex in the Champagne Room." He said "If a homeless person has a funny sign, he hasn't been homeless that long. Real homeless people are too hungry to be funny." :p

There was a guy sitting with a dog with a big sign that said "Now accepting random Acts of Kindness!" So I ran into subway and bought him a cookie, there were other people who were buying him coffee and such. If there was a sign that said soething like "NEED MONEY" or something I wouldn't have done it.

Hmm, I wonder if he knew the reference - The Baghdaddies (http://www.baghdaddies.com/history.htm) - their third album is called Random Acts of Kindness. A cultured Geordie bum then.

Anyway, there's a chap on the way into uni who has an Alsatian. I've never understood how a homeless guy can have the money to keep a dog alive, let alone healthy and still be homeless?

Hmm, I wonder if he knew the reference - The Baghdaddies (http://www.baghdaddies.com/history.htm) - their third album is called Random Acts of Kindness. A cultured Geordie bum then.

Anyway, there's a chap on the way into uni who has an Alsatian. I've never understood how a homeless guy can have the money to keep a dog alive, let alone healthy and still be homeless?

Eh, dogs are not terribly picky about what they eat. Not only that, but food that could be consider not healthy for people to eat, dogs can(Their bodies are better at killing germs and such, largely due to a slightly higher internal body temperature, as well as other features). Alot of times, homeless people with dogs will probably feed them stuff foraged out of the garbage. Not particularily good for the dog, ideally, but it wouldn't be that difficult to find something more or less suitable for dogs. Humans, on the other hand, are not nearly as good at eating thrown away food.

Well, if you're really concerned about where the money/food, etc. is going, you could always chat them up a bit. People LOVE to talk about themselves. I used to work in a mall that was more or less near the homeless hub of the city. It was very interesting the way the homeless that lived out of shelters treated the homeless that refused to go to shelters. The only issue I ever have with people giving food to homeless is the type of food they give. A friend of mine saw a homeless guy and wanted to give him a loaf of artisan bread. Filler, sure, but not so nutritional. I suggested he buy the guy some fruit and a loaded sub or just give him a gift certificate to the grocery store he was standing in front of, but he felt it was bread or nothing because he wouldn't feel as bad if the bread went to waste.

Fish and chips, though...not so bad, really. Fish supposedly helps with depression so maybe you made them a touch happier for a couple of hours.

I spotted this somewhat relevant article on another forum I frequent...

Jesus. I worked with Food Not Bombs for years in my city. You wouldn't believe the kind of resistance we got. It was almost impossible to negotiate deals with supermarkets to get access to the produce they THREW AWAY. Safeway freakin' held out for ages, the stingy bastards. I'd like to see what this particular bylaw is actually about...health regulations? That's a huge hurdle too, just getting the proper permits. It's fucking sick. The city doesn't want to fork out the money, or the time or effort to feed the destitute, but they are perfectly willing to spend the money, time and effort to stymie those of us trying to help.

In any case, I'm a big fan of buying people lunch if they are asking for money for food. There are a number of reasons for this, but I want to say up front...'making sure they use the money for food' isn't actually one of them. I'm not there to monitor them.

I buy them lunch because:
- the destitute often feel too ashamed to go into a place to get a meal, or are not given service at all
- if they accept, it usually means I'm spending a bit more money on them than they would have gotten just from me passing on loose change. Doesn't benefit me necessarily but it is nice knowing for sure they're getting something decent to eat.
- WHY THE FUCK NOT. Five, six bucks, the person can have a decent meal. No skin off my ass, even though I'm a student again, and short on cash.

I rarely refuse to give away my change. I really don't care what they use it for. There are exceptions...a few people that I know are supporting a habit...I'll pass them over for someone 'new'. But it's really silly to 'bum shop'. You never really know, and why would you want to? They're asking for money, not for your scrutinisation of their lives.

I customarily give my leftovers to the Mill ave bums if I eat there and have leftovers.

hmmmm does tempe have a constant population of young able bodied beggars? i havent been there in .... 10 years i guess and they were begging money for their DOGS when i was there.


Yeah, there are pretty much only young beggars on mill. They usually sit together in groups of about 5 or 6, and they wear dirty (as opposed to washed) punk clothing.

They obviously do not have the same kind of debilitating mental illness that a lot of bums have. It was my impression that most if not all of them were probably drug users. I could be wrong. They could have just chosen to live an alternate lifestyle.

However, I don't really approve of someone who has the capability to work choosing not to do so. Ultimately, that's the reason why drugs are bad mmkay.

i wouldn't give them the food, just like i don't give them money when im downtown.

When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?

And the King will answer them, "I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me."

Mat 25:37-40

That's a good point. People who frown on giving spare change to bums often say, "You're just enabling their drug habits!"

Well, first, this assumes all bums have a drug habits. And it assumes that drugs are bad. I don't think either assumption is fair.

Anyway, it is ALSO true that giving someone food - or anything that helps them continue on their merry path - "enables their drug habit," if they have one. After all, if they now have food, they can NOW use their money for drugs instead. You just turned their food money (if they had any) into discretionary/drug funding (if they buy any).

So I don't see why people have this elitist approach. Either you give stuff to bums or you don't, there is no "right" and "wrong" way to give of yourself to those in need.

Um, to pretend that their lack of empathy and generosity is a moral virtue?

When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?

And the King will answer them, "I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me."

Mat 25:37-40

No fair quoting scripture in context. The Bible is only supposed to be used to excuse intolerance, greed, and nationalism. If you use it to promote communism you will weaken its magic powers.

Giving food to bums
I'm sure Myrth would agree with me that stuffing food up your bum is not a good idea.

I don't believe in giving anything to "bums" as a matter of principle. Especially since this one "bag lady" I saw near a restaurant I used to frequent came into that restaurant a few times wearing a nice dress and pearls.

I've heard too many stories of salaried people who have jobs and homes who pretend to be homeless so they can get handouts -- and who end up making about $30,000 a year from the practice. Not to mention the fact that a lot of them want the money so they can get drugs. That's why I've seen some people offer to buy food for a "homeless" guy rather than give him money.

If you're truly homeless, go to a homeless shelter.

I feel the same way about electronics vendors. Sony makes billions of dollars, and much of what it rakes in here goes to Japan. Sony does not need $50 per Playstation game. Real technologists produce stuff for the love of the craft. I'm entitled to take those games home with me for free. Hell, they should pay me for spreading good word about their games. If you really want to make electronics, work in a lab.