Might Offer a Beggar’s Training Class

[Henro]

No, I am not serious…but a current thread here in the OT forum got me thinking.

52 years ago, after separating from the military, me and my trusty, but old, BMW (9 years old, 7th owner) jumped on a passenger carrying freighter in Norfolk, VA, and headed off to Spain, for the start of what ended up being a 14,000+ mile (8 month) ride that ended in Thailand/Laos/Malaysia. Much of it was on dirt roads, where when dry dust splashed up on your feet like water from puddles. eventually sold the bike in Bangkok after another 8 months or so, and changed to boats, trains, airplanes, but that’s another story…

Once I got east of Athens I started running into con artists and beggars supreme. Fact of life at that time; maybe the same today. Like anything else in life, the more you experience the more you learn and understand.

No offense meant to any Indian members participating here, but India was the apex for the “professionalism” of the begging trade. I still have sad memories of beggars laying on a street corner appearing to be passed out with a bowl near their heads for donations. Worst memory is of a guy with a severe facial deformity where his teeth were showing all the time. And others with deformities that were likely not natural. Enough said.

So for years now I see people at traffic lights here in the US looking for a handout. But what do I notice? Usually they are wearing half descent (or better) clothes. They look relatively clean (or better). They are not skinny( so well fed). AND they are usually wearing nicer shoes than I have on. They also walk with a spring in their step.

My advice:

Play the part!

Get some really old clothes,

Rub a little dirt or makeup on your face,

Find some old shoes,

Put a stone in one of your shoes so you walk like you have a disability,

Look sad, like you REALLY ARE down and out…

I suppose I have a bad attitude. My life experience is showing through…hard to change…

In the tone of that other thread, I guess I must be a conservative! LOL…

 

[motionclone]

Id try that training class out but im too busy working 3 jobs being the boss, the office manager and the laborer at my small construction company. Earlier this year i had to take a day off from boss and labor to be the office manager all day long to get my taxes finished so i could pay in lots of money to the fed and state that i earned with doing those 3 jobs.

 

[jimh406]

I think you left an important something out. Go to a city that has lots of immigrants from India, and where the citizens who live there thinks begging is a profession. Btw, those two traits seem to go together.

Try it in my area, and you won’t make a living.

 

[lugbolt]

try it here and you can do well.

There is a well known panhandler here who's taken full advantage. Guy makes about $80,000 a year outside of begging (trust me I know this for a fact). He ain't got one leg so he gets around on a lawn mower. Some jerk burnt his mower so he got another one, paid for by society who felt bad for him. he got the second one scott free through community action, so he came out smelling like a rose. What society doesn't know is that the first one was paid for by insurance. Guy has taken advantage of others and gotten away with it, and made good money doing so. He rides the mower down to the street corner and gets donations from passers by, then goes and mows the grass for folks ($$$), so he does pretty good. I'm guessing he brings in $1500-$2000 a week between donations and mowing.

That's one example

Another, is another guy--this one will make you mad. Guy was standing on a different corner, busy intersection. I stopped in to get fuel for the truck at the gas station and guy walks up to me and says "says main can u spare a couple buck for me to go see my kids?". I had a dollar or two in the console of the truck and felt kinda bad about not giving it to him so I did. Guy walks inside the store and then back out with a pack of cigarettes and a Dr Pepper, opens up the pack, lights one up and sucks on his dr pepper. So I just gave him money that I EARNED so he could just burn it up rather than going to see his kids. At that point, I told myself never again will I give money to panhandlers--and I haven't.

 

[jkrez]

We used to be painting contractors. Over 20 years ago at a shopping plaza that we would stop at for lunch used to be a guy with a sign saying: “Will work for food”. We needed help in the next few days.
I stoped and asked him if he could help out the following da. Told him all he had to do was stand by the paint sprayer and make sure that I did not run out of paint. Told him I would give him 10 bucks an hour cash for the day.
His exact words were “I can make more standing here”.

Every time thereafter if I saw anyone stopping to give him anything I yelled I offered him a job and he refused it.

Ever since I refuse to give a panhandler any of my hard earned money.
Wife and I have since bought a slices of pizza or paid for meals, but will never give cash again.

 

[skeets]

One Xmas we went into Pittsburgh Light up night, lot of folks and pan handlers. Anyway one was working the crowd where we were and when the festivities were over we headed to the T to go back to the parking lot out side of town. So this guy gets on,, no big deal,, rides to the end of the line where the parking lot is. Runs out of the T through the gate and is gone, OK I get it. So we load up in the truck and lo and behold here comes that same pan handler in a brand new Escalade and cut me right off and after several naughty words I saw who it was and told my wife, there is the homeless guy you wanted me to give money to, in that new Caddy. At that point I thought I was in the truck with a drunkin sailor she said words I never heard her say before,, SO yeah they aint all homeless

 

[Oliver]

Henro I think your begging classes could really help them and you could charge them for it because they make plenty of money even not doing it right!
Another tip is to suggest they actually DO something when begging, maybe playing music or cleaning your windshield. I was impressed with one beggar when walking in Pittsburg on the sidewalk in a busy retail section. The sidewalks I'd been walking were typical fairly dirty and littered with cigarette butts, wrappers, etc, but he stood there beside his donation pail with a broom and garbage can and his sidewalk was spotless.

 

[BXHoosier]

Around here, the beggars hang out at gas stations and ask for money for gas, but they won’t take gas if you offer it to them. A few years ago, I was pumping gas and a brand new loaded Chrysler 300 pulled up on the other side of the pump. Heard the guy speak, and I immediately recognized his voice from a previous encounter with the guy. He was running the same scam as before with the same tattered paper map, claiming he was lost and needed money for gas. When I stepped around the pump, he immediately shut off the car. I’m assuming he did that so I couldn’t see the navigation on his radio screen. Told the idiot I wasn’t giving him anything and to get lost. After he left, a friend who was also at the station said the guy begged him for “gas money” first. Friend offered to buy him some gas. Guy said he’d rather have money for gas than actual gas. Friend told the guy he didn’t have cash. The beggar then asked “Don’t they have an ATM inside?” Seriously!

 

[Daren Todd]

try it here and you can do well.

There is a well known panhandler here who's taken full advantage. Guy makes about $80,000 a year outside of begging (trust me I know this for a fact). He ain't got one leg so he gets around on a lawn mower. Some jerk burnt his mower so he got another one, paid for by society who felt bad for him. he got the second one scott free through community action, so he came out smelling like a rose. What society doesn't know is that the first one was paid for by insurance. Guy has taken advantage of others and gotten away with it, and made good money doing so. He rides the mower down to the street corner and gets donations from passers by, then goes and mows the grass for folks ($$$), so he does pretty good. I'm guessing he brings in $1500-$2000 a week between donations and mowing.

That's one example

Another, is another guy--this one will make you mad. Guy was standing on a different corner, busy intersection. I stopped in to get fuel for the truck at the gas station and guy walks up to me and says "says main can u spare a couple buck for me to go see my kids?". I had a dollar or two in the console of the truck and felt kinda bad about not giving it to him so I did. Guy walks inside the store and then back out with a pack of cigarettes and a Dr Pepper, opens up the pack, lights one up and sucks on his dr pepper. So I just gave him money that I EARNED so he could just burn it up rather than going to see his kids. At that point, I told myself never again will I give money to panhandlers--and I haven't.

I always wondered about the dude on the mower. Seen him many times working that intersection.

I haven't given one of those dead beats a dime in years. Since I lived in Florida. I was taking gramps in to do his grocery shopping. We daw a down on her luck girl. He handed me a $20 to give to her.

After we got parked, I mentioned that I don't give them money. Well.... that kicked off a storm. I had to do my Christian duty, Yada Yada yada...

I said well.... let's do the math. In the city I live in, (Orlando), on average there are 4,000 vehicles that will go through an intersection in an hour. If each person gives the beggar a buck, how much money did they make in that 1 hour?????

That ended the argument