The Bogus Beggar - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 12-20-2004, 12:49 PM

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THE BOGUS BEGGAR
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By MARK BULLIET and ADAM TAYLOR
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December 20, 2004 -- EXCLUSIVE

Paula Headley dressed for her job in Midtown — wearing a filthy blanket and a pathetic look on her tear-streaked face.

Then she headed home at the end of a busy day — clad in a casual-chic jogging outfit and a warm hat.

Meet the Fifth Avenue faker — a fixture for four years on the famous thoroughfare, where she begs change from high-fashion shoppers.

Last Saturday, camped out in front of the Louis Vuitton store, it took her only 20 minutes to collect $18 in bills, several dollars more in coins and one cup of cocoa from a middle-aged man who also gave her a gentle warning, "Careful, it's hot."

When work was over for the day, Headley hobbled slowly across Fifth Avenue, doubled over as if in pain.

She walked into a telephone kiosk — and, like Superman, emerged transformed.

Wearing her jogging clothing, she stood straight up, took a sip of the cocoa and strode off.

Headley, 36, claims the blanket, the tears, the bent-over shuffle are no Christmas con.

The blanket?

"That's what I use to wrap myself to go to sleep anyway," she explained.

And the slow, shuffling walk?

That, she said, was because she didn't "want to step on [her blanket] or trip."

But what about those tears?

"If you hold your eyes open long enough, they come down your face," she said. "Or you sit back, you reminisce on the past and it makes you sad."

But she admits the blanket does help her cash flow.

"It takes a long time to get $10" when she's wearing her store-bought clothes, she said.

"When I go out with my blanket, the money comes fast."

Harry Yancey, a security guard at Van Cleef & Arpels, said that before Headley upgraded to a blanket, she'd lie on the street wrapped only in black garbage bags.

"I think she's a con artist," he said. "I pity con artists. To go through that routine is hard. She deserves whatever she earns."

Another area worker was less sympathetic.

"She gets paid more than I do," he said. He estimated that "on a good day, [she makes] $200 at least."

Headley insists she deserves all the sympathy she gets.

She said she wound up on the streets when she lost both her parents at age 24.

"I basically just gave up," she said. "I stopped going to church."

She used to sleep in the station at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue, but when she hit the jackpot with her penniless pageant she gave up sleeping on a bench for nicer digs — an apartment on 123rd Street where she stays with a friend.

Not counting handfuls of coins or the price of a cocoa, the $18 she earned last Saturday would average to a comfortable tax-free $103,680 a year — if she could lie on her corner 40 hours a week. City panhandling laws make that impractical, but Midtown observers say she moves from corner to corner to escape notice.

"Sometimes worried people call EMS for her," Yancey said. "When they come, she gets up and says, 'I'm all right.' "

Really gets my goat these kinds of "beggars." I know that there are plenty of desrving people out there but the charlatans really make it worse for those that do have real needs.

I've seen people like her for years here in NYC. It's a shame and a sham.

I can honestly say I've become quite jaded and no longer "give" directly to people like I used to.

Guthumba · 12-20-2004, 12:53 PM

When I was a kid my dad would look every pan-handler in the face and offer to take him across the street for a hot meal. To this day none have ever taken him up on it...

I use to think that was bad, but this lady has set the bar waaaaay up there...sheesh...

Coppertop · 12-20-2004, 12:54 PM

I saw a similar thing a few years back. Guy was at a local shopping district (grocery stores, restaurants). Next day, there he was again, but this time in a wheelchair! Sure enough, the next day he was in the wheelchair but had on a cast his leg this time. Day after that he had a sad looking dog on a leash next to him. Another time he had a female with him.

This guy was at the same spot every day, unfortunately for him it was close to where many people from local businesses go for lunch. He had to have been spotted as a fake by more people than me. He wasn't there for more than 2 weeks, so I guess people were onto him and stopped giving him money.

filtherton · 12-20-2004, 12:55 PM

I don't give money to beggars as a rule. I don't make enough to justify not using it all myself. Anyways, i have little sympathy for people's best intentions being taken advantage of in a situation like this. From where i sit, this pseudobeggar is about as ethical as all of the used car salesmen i've dealt with.

Nefir · 12-20-2004, 01:36 PM

Its a sad time we live in when people take advantage of the generosity of others in this way. Just one more reason people will withhold kindess from strangers...

There was this guy a few years ago who hung out by my university, and would approach people in the street telling them some story about his car breaking down and needing $15 or so to take the ferry, or something like that... He must have approached me at least 3 times on separate occassions with the same story. Another kind of dishonestly, I guess...

canuckguy · 12-20-2004, 01:41 PM

in toronto there was a lady who was dubbed "the shakey lady", she hung out downtown and panhandled..etc she dressed like she was homeless and even had a pretend shake. anyway someone followed her home and she lived in a 1000$ a month apartment or something. she was making some good coin doing her little routine. the local news did a special on her.
bullshit stuff, hope karma comes back in force. I will give change if i have it, but only to people who look like they need it, i hate when some dude wants money "for a coffee" if you just tell me its for booze i'd give them more!

on a side note, once after a long long day of work, i was waiting for the bus and there was 4 teenagers begging for money, wearing tommy hilfiger clothes, nike shoes..etc. was gross, they were from the burbs doing it to be cool or whatever.

TexanAvenger · 12-20-2004, 01:42 PM

More than a few times downtown I've seen this guy at the bus station who rolls around in his wheelchair, blanket over his lap, no legs visible, and begs for "anything you can afford..." And, since I wait longer than him most of the time, I see him leave. But when this guy leaves, he doesn't wait for the bus driver to open up the wheelchair lift, he doesn't try rise gingerly as if expecting tremedous strain on his tired body, he jumps up out of the chair, stretches his legs, folds up the chair, and gets on the bus.

My first thought after seeing this guy's act was, "What the hell? That's maybe one of most underhanded and dirty things I've seen in a while."

Then, I realized that I'd given him five bucks... Jerk.

ironman · 12-20-2004, 01:58 PM

This one time, an old lady knocked at my home, she was in tears and hysterical, she said she had just been robbed and had no money to return home, etc, etc, etc... Long story short, my girlfriend and me ended giving her a complete lunch in our table and like $40.00, just to find her later in the local bar totally wasted. I really can't remember of another time in my life when i felt more dumb and more eager to hit a woman thaa that moment. From then on, i never give money to beggars. I try to have candies in my car all the time in case a little kid asks for money while in traffic, but that's it, if i wan't to do charity, i do it through the church or well recognized organisations.

Redlemon · 12-20-2004, 02:22 PM

This is why I only give to organizations, not individuals. I'll let them figure out who is worthy and who isn't, I'm certainly not qualified to do so.

Mephisto2 · 12-20-2004, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nefir

Its a sad time we live in when people take advantage of the generosity of others in this way. Just one more reason people will withhold kindess from strangers...

In my day, it was called charity and not generosity.

Quote:

There was this guy a few years ago who hung out by my university, and would approach people in the street telling them some story about his car breaking down and needing $15 or so to take the ferry, or something like that... He must have approached me at least 3 times on separate occassions with the same story. Another kind of dishonestly, I guess...

I don't know. Whilst pretending to be worse off than you really are is not really honest, I think people here are being a little sanctimonious about this whole thing.

Let me ask you this. How many of the posters on this thread lamenting this beggar's dishonesty would swap places with them?

No, I didn't think so.

I often give money to those worse off than me. I tend to concentrate on buskers or recognized charities, and I agree this story leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth, but I also believe that things are not as rosy for this beggar as some of you may presume.

Mr Mephisto

snowy · 12-20-2004, 02:31 PM

In Portland, OR there have been reports of rackets set up on busy highway intersections--people panhandle and give a portion of their money to some guy in a suit that oversees the scheme. In order to combat panhandling, drug abuse and prostitution, the Hawthorne district of Portland has started selling "homeless bucks" that will buy a homeless person a meal at a low-cost cafe in the area. Seattle has a similar program in their U District. It helps people who really need help.

canuckguy · 12-20-2004, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironman

This one time, an old lady knocked at my home, she was in tears and hysterical, she said she had just been robbed and had no money to return home, etc, etc, etc... Long story short, my girlfriend and me ended giving her a complete lunch in our table and like $40.00, just to find her later in the local bar totally wasted. I really can't remember of another time in my life when i felt more dumb and more eager to hit a woman thaa that moment. From then on, i never give money to beggars. I try to have candies in my car all the time in case a little kid asks for money while in traffic, but that's it, if i wan't to do charity, i do it through the church or well recognized organisations.

Oh that just sparked a memory, the first apartment my wife and i had was a dump, just a starter while i was in school and she worked. first week we live there, we get a knock on the door, there is a small kid standing at the door holding a note, he hands it to me , and its from the person two doors down, wanting to know if she can borrow 20 bucks until she gets paid. my wife instantly said no, but i did not know what to say, the poor kid, i just felt for him, so wrote back on the note that we did not have the money, but if needed anything like milk or food that we had something if she needed it. never got a reply, so the money was not for food.
two days later our car got keyed 360 degrees around. very deep as well......lovely. i know it had to her as our car was parked in the corner of the lot and nobody would be just walking by. we moved about the next month, and i got a night job to get us into some place much much better.

canuckguy · 12-20-2004, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian1975

Oh that just sparked a memory, the first apartment my wife and i had was a dump, just a starter while i was in school and she worked. first week we live there, we get a knock on the door, there is a small kid standing at the door holding a note, he hands it to me , and its from the person two doors down, wanting to know if she can borrow 20 bucks until she gets paid. my wife instantly said no, but i did not know what to say, the poor kid, i just felt for him, so wrote back on the note that we did not have the money, but if needed anything like milk or food that we had something if she needed it. never got a reply, so the money was not for food.
two days later our car got keyed 360 degrees around. very deep as well......lovely. i know it had to her as our car was parked in the corner of the lot and nobody would be just walking by. we moved about the next month, and i got a night job to get us into some place much much better.

oh forgot to add, immediately after i closed the door i told my wife that we should have just given the money to lady. after the car got keyed i reminded my wife this daily as we paided the deductable in installments.

Coppertop · 12-20-2004, 02:45 PM

Who would swap places with a fake homeless person? What kind of question is that?

maleficent · 12-20-2004, 02:45 PM

I will glady buy a cup of coffee for anyone who asks, even a donut. But over the years, I've seen stuff in NY, and I've spent enough time in Chicago that I'm realizing it's everywhere, that really makes me not want to help anyone.

The latest one that has really gotten my knickers in a knot was thru a good deed I do. Every year, thru the NYC Post Office, they have an "operation santa" program, where basically any letter addressed to santa ends up here. The letters are then opened up to the public and people can take the letters and honor the kids wishes. You can tell by the addresses of some of the letters that if it were not for the generosity of some folks, there would be no christmas for kids. Well, I've done this for years, and it's a nice feel good thing to do. SOme of the requests are for warm clothes and such, rarely toys... (but I always enclose one) Mail off the package and you are done.

The past two years, right before Christmas, I've gotten letters from kids I've sent packages to... Not thru Operation Santa but mailed directly to me. (now these kids are usually pretty young, 4, 5, 6 years old -- it wasn't the kid who wrote, addressed and sent the letter) Just for grins, I took the letters who were mailed directly to me to the post office when I went to get my new letters for this year, and found ( because the post office keeps a database of what letters were taken because they realized some parents do try to run a scam - and will send in 10 letters) that the letters were sent to the post office, and had been picked up already.

Maybe it's the Scrooge in me, but it ticks me off when people try to take advantage of the kindness of others. Yes, I know I'm supposed to just do a good deed, but still...

A few weeks back, I'm leaving a sandwich shop in Chicago, and practically get accosted by a homeless dude screaming at me that I should give him my lunch... A lovely officer of the law sent him scurrying along his merry way.

Psycho Dad · 12-20-2004, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Mephisto

Let me ask you this. How many of the posters on this thread lamenting this beggar's dishonesty would swap places with them?

I'd not wish to make that swap due to not wishing to stoop to deceit to make a buck. Not because I think that person has a tough row to hoe. There are less able bodied people in the world making a go of it than this apparently able bodied person.

Then again we are all just assuming that this human interest piece for the New York Post is legitimate. It seems that it has become quite common of late for newspaper and local TV reporters to do some kind of bogus charity story this time of year.

denim · 12-20-2004, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maleficent

A few weeks back, I'm leaving a sandwich shop in Chicago, and practically get accosted by a homeless dude screaming at me that I should give him my lunch...

Too bad you couldn't go bulemic on him.

Or offer to give him today's lunch tomorrow, when you're done with it.

Mephisto2 · 12-20-2004, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

I'd not wish to make that swap due to not wishing to stoop to deceit to make a buck. Not because I think that person has a tough row to hoe. There are less able bodied people in the world making a go of it than this apparently able bodied person.

Agreed. But all I'm saying is that this person is not exactly living the life of Reilly. Very few people choose to beg.

Quote:

Then again we are all just assuming that this human interest piece for the New York Post is legitimate. It seems that it has become quite common of late for newspaper and local TV reporters to do some kind of bogus charity story this time of year.

Well, the NYT is world renowned for high standards in journalism. Isn't it? :-)

Mr Mephisto

Coppertop · 12-20-2004, 03:53 PM

The person this article is referring to is choosing to beg.

Quote:

Not counting handfuls of coins or the price of a cocoa, the $18 she earned last Saturday would average to a comfortable tax-free $103,680 a year — if she could lie on her corner 40 hours a week. City panhandling laws make that impractical, but Midtown observers say she moves from corner to corner to escape notice.

That's a shitload more than I make. Even half of that amount is more than what I make. All tax free.

AquaFox · 12-20-2004, 04:20 PM

these darn schemes are everywhere now, some of them around here been spotted with cellphones, and currently there is a group of black people who ussually have a car just around the corner...

i tried giving one of those guys a pack of crackers and he took the food as if it was nothing, and asked for money again.... if you don't want to accept food, i'm going to assume you can afford it... since that guy, i've really just been avoiding them all together

Mephisto2 · 12-20-2004, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coppertop

The person this article is referring to is choosing to beg.
That's a shitload more than I make. Even half of that amount is more than what I make. All tax free.

There's lies, damn lies and statistics.

To extropolate an figure based upon one six thousandth of the total (20 minutes, out of over 2000 hours annually) is complete bunkum.

This is pants.

Mr Mephisto

Coppertop · 12-20-2004, 05:14 PM

The point is this woman chooses to do this. She has nice clothes and lives in an apartment. Sure, that hasn't always been her situation, but there are people out there with less than that. It is situations like hers that make people give less to the needy than they might otherwise.

Psycho Dad · 12-20-2004, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Mephisto

Very few people choose to beg.

But she apparently has. And she was 24 when she was "orphaned" not 4 or 14. She no doubt had other choices she could have made and certainly some of those would not have involved basically taking advantage of other people's good intentions.

And this was in the New York Post, not times. However I don't esteem much of the media too high these days as it is be it print, radio or TV, but that could be a whole new thread.

Vincentt · 12-20-2004, 05:52 PM

I could make 70 bucks in 20 min. at my old sales job. Then maybe nothing the rest of the day. But with this math... I was almost making half a million dollars a year.

Despite that, this is a horrid thing to do.

flstf · 12-20-2004, 06:05 PM

Being flim flammed by a fake begger ticks me off. But it's minor in contrast to getting my pocket picked by the likes of Martha Stewart and rich Wall Street crooks.

Rodney · 12-21-2004, 07:47 AM

I see a lot of beggars; some of them have been doing it for years, and I'm sure that some of them have a nice place to sleep at night. But about 95 percent of the time, you can be sure that the money is going straight to alcohol or drugs. While being homeless is terrible, food isn't that hard to come by in the streets of a large or even medium-sized city; there are three soup kitchens within a mile of my house. But people still beg "for food" anyway.

TheBrit · 12-21-2004, 08:38 AM

I was approached in the London underground inside a station by some guy who was clearly involved in some sort of horrific accident, he was missing his ears and all the skin on his face had been grafted from somewhere. He asked me if I could spare some change as he's a bit short and can't get home. Now, that's clearly bullshit as you can't get into the station without a ticket and because of the way the underground system works there is no logic in buying a ticket to get half the way then buying another ticket for the other half. In the end I gave him £5 ($10ish), as he was clearly having some sort of difficulty. I suppose some people don't like directly asking for charity and feel they have to make something up.
One thing I'll always like to see happen is this: At the end of the day, Starbucks, Nero etc. will all throw away their food. If someone organised a system by which 5 cars drove around London, picked up all the food they were going to throw away and then gave it to the homeless shelters or the homeless themselves, it would be a better system...

Cynthetiq · 12-21-2004, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBrit

I was approached in the London underground inside a station by some guy who was clearly involved in some sort of horrific accident, he was missing his ears and all the skin on his face had been grafted from somewhere. He asked me if I could spare some change as he's a bit short and can't get home. Now, that's clearly bullshit as you can't get into the station without a ticket and because of the way the underground system works there is no logic in buying a ticket to get half the way then buying another ticket for the other half. In the end I gave him £5 ($10ish), as he was clearly having some sort of difficulty. I suppose some people don't like directly asking for charity and feel they have to make something up.
One thing I'll always like to see happen is this: At the end of the day, Starbucks, Nero etc. will all throw away their food. If someone organised a system by which 5 cars drove around London, picked up all the food they were going to throw away and then gave it to the homeless shelters or the homeless themselves, it would be a better system...

Programs like that do exist, one such organization here in NYC is City Harvest. They take food from cafeterias, hotels and restaurants all the time. The problem is where they have some liability in caretaking of the food since if a homeless person gets ill or dies someone will sue so there are lots of rules and regulations as to what food they will accept. I cannot call them after a party to donate 4Ft of my 6Ft sandwhich because it wasn't properly handled.

Faygo · 12-21-2004, 09:53 AM

Wound up on the street when she lost her parents at 24yo? WTF is with that bt then I was on my own for 6 years. What a lazy fucker.

Janey · 12-21-2004, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian1975

in toronto there was a lady who was dubbed "the shakey lady", she hung out downtown and panhandled..etc she dressed like she was homeless and even had a pretend shake. anyway someone followed her home and she lived in a 1000$ a month apartment or something. she was making some good coin doing her little routine. the local news did a special on her..

that's exactly who I thought of when I saw this thread. Because she';s been exposed, the Shaky Lady has been showingup in Montreal:

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Column...09/532725.html

fake beggars:

http://www.torontofreepress.com/2002/reid102102.htm

Faygo · 12-21-2004, 12:44 PM

I think it's pretty funny.

JStrider · 12-21-2004, 12:52 PM

ive been asked for food for money... offered to buy em some food at a nearby resteraunt.... always declined... except once and they guy had some interesting stories about the gulf war in 91... was he a real begger or not i dunno... but he actually took the offer for food... which is more then most people...

nother time was asked for some money for gas so he could get the 40 miles home... i talked wit him about his gas mileage and offered to buy him 5 gallons of gas if he waited till i was done in the grocery store and then followed me to the gas station down the street.... when i got out of the grocery store 20 minutes later he was gone...

canuckguy · 12-21-2004, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janey

that's exactly who I thought of when I saw this thread. Because she';s been exposed, the Shaky Lady has been showingup in Montreal:

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Column...09/532725.html

fake beggars:

http://www.torontofreepress.com/2002/reid102102.htm

damn! she is a bastard eh!

jonjon42 · 12-21-2004, 02:17 PM

yeah this is why I don't give change to beggers...If I'm just coming out of lunch with a doggie bag or something and I know I probably won't end up eating it I'll hand it off to a beggar but I will never give them money.

Grasshopper Green · 12-21-2004, 03:49 PM

I don't give pan handlers money either; I've known several "beggars" in real life who did it for extra cash when they needed to party that night. I've never offered to give a beggar food instead of money, although my brother did once. He told a guy with a sign that said "Will work for food" that if he'd mow his lawn, he'd take him out to lunch. Guess what? The guy declined. I did see a guy on the street the other day with a sign that said "Really need a beer"; had we been stopped at the light instead of driving, I would have given him a couple bucks. At least he was honest!

I did give some money to a girl who offered to wash my car windows for my spare change. However, it seems she had some sort of pimp or something because as soon as she finished, some guy that had been kinda hanging around walked up to her and started talking to her. Anyone ever heard of a panhandling pimp?

Fearless_Hyena · 12-23-2004, 07:16 AM

On a side note has anyone noticed the older black woman who hangs out around Penn Station/MSG who's quite obviously a fake homeless person? She rarely begs for money but just sits on the bench and watches people. Her costume looks like it was bought in a halloween shop! She's got a shopping cart and everything, the clothes she wears are relatively clean and new looking but look like someone intentionally tried to make them look ratty.

She doesn't appear to be suffering from the cold as she's always alert and watching people. She might be an undercover cop or a Homeland Security agent or something, who knows. But she's isn't doing the undercover part of her job well -- she's very noticable

Last time I saw her she was on the bench outside of Joey O's, the pub right next to Hotel Pennsylvania. Funny stuff!

quadro2000 · 12-23-2004, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

The problem is where they have some liability in caretaking of the food since if a homeless person gets ill or dies someone will sue so there are lots of rules and regulations as to what food they will accept. I cannot call them after a party to donate 4Ft of my 6Ft sandwhich because it wasn't properly handled.

And god knows I tried that one....

I'm pretty sure the guy on the subway who is blind and plays accordion isn't really blind...I've often thought about following him after he gets off the subway to see where he winds up going.

We used to give things to this homeless guy who sat outside our grocery store. He was loud and obnoxious, but still had some kind of charm about him that made you smile as he shouted things at you like "wanna get married? I
got food stamps" or "pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"

One week, I had a bunch of leftover food from some event - wrapped granola bars, juice boxes, etc - so I gave it all to him - I left it next to him as he was sleeping. The next day, as I passed him, I asked him if he received the items I left for him. His response was "yeah, you got any change?"

My wife had a similar experience - he asked her for money because he was hungry - she instead went inside and got him a sandwich - and when she came out, he took the sandwich and asked her again for money.

I stopped giving to him after those two instances.

thecoldone33 · 12-23-2004, 08:45 AM

When im driving and i see beggar's on street corner i feel bad but then i remember these kinds of stories. Alot of them area fake, or going to use your money to buy Drugs/Alcohol.
*Remembers that SImpsons episode*

skinnymofo · 12-23-2004, 09:30 AM

there was a guy several years back that my parents met whose day job was panhandling. He would go to the salvation army and get some the junkiest clothes he could find, buy a can of beef stew and a can of dog food. Empty the dog food and wash it out, then put the stew into it and sit at a corner. He was easily making over 80 dollars a day looking pathetic eating stew in a dog food containers.
Theres also this probably 17-19 year old girl who stands over by the pike place market, im sure those of you who live in seattle have noticed her, she has a sign that says "dreaming of a big mac" im always on the bus when i see her or id offer to take her out.

12-20-2004, 12:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Guthumba Tilted Location: Columbia, SC	When I was a kid my dad would look every pan-handler in the face and offer to take him across the street for a hot meal. To this day none have ever taken him up on it... I use to think that was bad, but this lady has set the bar waaaaay up there...sheesh... __________________ Locusts and honey ... not since John The Baptist has there been a voice like that crying in the wilderness. ... Every man knows he is a sissy compared to Johnny Cash -- Bono.

12-20-2004, 01:36 PM	#5 (permalink)
Nefir Junkie Location: Louisville, KY	Its a sad time we live in when people take advantage of the generosity of others in this way. Just one more reason people will withhold kindess from strangers... There was this guy a few years ago who hung out by my university, and would approach people in the street telling them some story about his car breaking down and needing $15 or so to take the ferry, or something like that... He must have approached me at least 3 times on separate occassions with the same story. Another kind of dishonestly, I guess... __________________ You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance

12-20-2004, 01:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
ironman Smithers, release the hounds Location: Guatemala, Guatemala	This one time, an old lady knocked at my home, she was in tears and hysterical, she said she had just been robbed and had no money to return home, etc, etc, etc... Long story short, my girlfriend and me ended giving her a complete lunch in our table and like $40.00, just to find her later in the local bar totally wasted. I really can't remember of another time in my life when i felt more dumb and more eager to hit a woman thaa that moment. From then on, i never give money to beggars. I try to have candies in my car all the time in case a little kid asks for money while in traffic, but that's it, if i wan't to do charity, i do it through the church or well recognized organisations. __________________ If I agreed with you we´d both be wrong

12-20-2004, 02:22 PM	#9 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	This is why I only give to organizations, not individuals. I'll let them figure out who is worthy and who isn't, I'm certainly not qualified to do so. __________________ I can't read your signature. Sorry.

12-20-2004, 02:31 PM	#11 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	In Portland, OR there have been reports of rackets set up on busy highway intersections--people panhandle and give a portion of their money to some guy in a suit that oversees the scheme. In order to combat panhandling, drug abuse and prostitution, the Hawthorne district of Portland has started selling "homeless bucks" that will buy a homeless person a meal at a low-cost cafe in the area. Seattle has a similar program in their U District. It helps people who really need help. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

12-20-2004, 12:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
Coppertop Getting Medieval on your ass Location: 13th century Europe	I saw a similar thing a few years back. Guy was at a local shopping district (grocery stores, restaurants). Next day, there he was again, but this time in a wheelchair! Sure enough, the next day he was in the wheelchair but had on a cast his leg this time. Day after that he had a sad looking dog on a leash next to him. Another time he had a female with him. This guy was at the same spot every day, unfortunately for him it was close to where many people from local businesses go for lunch. He had to have been spotted as a fake by more people than me. He wasn't there for more than 2 weeks, so I guess people were onto him and stopped giving him money.

12-20-2004, 12:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
filtherton Junkie Location: In the land of ice and snow.	I don't give money to beggars as a rule. I don't make enough to justify not using it all myself. Anyways, i have little sympathy for people's best intentions being taken advantage of in a situation like this. From where i sit, this pseudobeggar is about as ethical as all of the used car salesmen i've dealt with.

12-20-2004, 01:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	in toronto there was a lady who was dubbed "the shakey lady", she hung out downtown and panhandled..etc she dressed like she was homeless and even had a pretend shake. anyway someone followed her home and she lived in a 1000$ a month apartment or something. she was making some good coin doing her little routine. the local news did a special on her. bullshit stuff, hope karma comes back in force. I will give change if i have it, but only to people who look like they need it, i hate when some dude wants money "for a coffee" if you just tell me its for booze i'd give them more! on a side note, once after a long long day of work, i was waiting for the bus and there was 4 teenagers begging for money, wearing tommy hilfiger clothes, nike shoes..etc. was gross, they were from the burbs doing it to be cool or whatever.

12-20-2004, 01:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
TexanAvenger Born-Again New Guy Location: Unfound.	More than a few times downtown I've seen this guy at the bus station who rolls around in his wheelchair, blanket over his lap, no legs visible, and begs for "anything you can afford..." And, since I wait longer than him most of the time, I see him leave. But when this guy leaves, he doesn't wait for the bus driver to open up the wheelchair lift, he doesn't try rise gingerly as if expecting tremedous strain on his tired body, he jumps up out of the chair, stretches his legs, folds up the chair, and gets on the bus. My first thought after seeing this guy's act was, "What the hell? That's maybe one of most underhanded and dirty things I've seen in a while." Then, I realized that I'd given him five bucks... Jerk.

12-20-2004, 02:45 PM	#14 (permalink)
Coppertop Getting Medieval on your ass Location: 13th century Europe	Who would swap places with a fake homeless person? What kind of question is that?

12-20-2004, 02:45 PM	#15 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	I will glady buy a cup of coffee for anyone who asks, even a donut. But over the years, I've seen stuff in NY, and I've spent enough time in Chicago that I'm realizing it's everywhere, that really makes me not want to help anyone. The latest one that has really gotten my knickers in a knot was thru a good deed I do. Every year, thru the NYC Post Office, they have an "operation santa" program, where basically any letter addressed to santa ends up here. The letters are then opened up to the public and people can take the letters and honor the kids wishes. You can tell by the addresses of some of the letters that if it were not for the generosity of some folks, there would be no christmas for kids. Well, I've done this for years, and it's a nice feel good thing to do. SOme of the requests are for warm clothes and such, rarely toys... (but I always enclose one) Mail off the package and you are done. The past two years, right before Christmas, I've gotten letters from kids I've sent packages to... Not thru Operation Santa but mailed directly to me. (now these kids are usually pretty young, 4, 5, 6 years old -- it wasn't the kid who wrote, addressed and sent the letter) Just for grins, I took the letters who were mailed directly to me to the post office when I went to get my new letters for this year, and found ( because the post office keeps a database of what letters were taken because they realized some parents do try to run a scam - and will send in 10 letters) that the letters were sent to the post office, and had been picked up already. Maybe it's the Scrooge in me, but it ticks me off when people try to take advantage of the kindness of others. Yes, I know I'm supposed to just do a good deed, but still... A few weeks back, I'm leaving a sandwich shop in Chicago, and practically get accosted by a homeless dude screaming at me that I should give him my lunch... A lovely officer of the law sent him scurrying along his merry way. __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

12-20-2004, 04:20 PM	#20 (permalink)
AquaFox WaterDog	these darn schemes are everywhere now, some of them around here been spotted with cellphones, and currently there is a group of black people who ussually have a car just around the corner... i tried giving one of those guys a pack of crackers and he took the food as if it was nothing, and asked for money again.... if you don't want to accept food, i'm going to assume you can afford it... since that guy, i've really just been avoiding them all together __________________ ...AquaFox...

12-20-2004, 05:14 PM	#22 (permalink)
Coppertop Getting Medieval on your ass Location: 13th century Europe	The point is this woman chooses to do this. She has nice clothes and lives in an apartment. Sure, that hasn't always been her situation, but there are people out there with less than that. It is situations like hers that make people give less to the needy than they might otherwise.

12-20-2004, 05:52 PM	#24 (permalink)
Vincentt Addict Location: Tokyo, Japan	I could make 70 bucks in 20 min. at my old sales job. Then maybe nothing the rest of the day. But with this math... I was almost making half a million dollars a year. Despite that, this is a horrid thing to do.

12-20-2004, 06:05 PM	#25 (permalink)
flstf Easy Rider Location: Moscow on the Ohio	Being flim flammed by a fake begger ticks me off. But it's minor in contrast to getting my pocket picked by the likes of Martha Stewart and rich Wall Street crooks.

12-21-2004, 07:47 AM	#26 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	I see a lot of beggars; some of them have been doing it for years, and I'm sure that some of them have a nice place to sleep at night. But about 95 percent of the time, you can be sure that the money is going straight to alcohol or drugs. While being homeless is terrible, food isn't that hard to come by in the streets of a large or even medium-sized city; there are three soup kitchens within a mile of my house. But people still beg "for food" anyway.

12-21-2004, 08:38 AM	#27 (permalink)
TheBrit Psycho	I was approached in the London underground inside a station by some guy who was clearly involved in some sort of horrific accident, he was missing his ears and all the skin on his face had been grafted from somewhere. He asked me if I could spare some change as he's a bit short and can't get home. Now, that's clearly bullshit as you can't get into the station without a ticket and because of the way the underground system works there is no logic in buying a ticket to get half the way then buying another ticket for the other half. In the end I gave him £5 ($10ish), as he was clearly having some sort of difficulty. I suppose some people don't like directly asking for charity and feel they have to make something up. One thing I'll always like to see happen is this: At the end of the day, Starbucks, Nero etc. will all throw away their food. If someone organised a system by which 5 cars drove around London, picked up all the food they were going to throw away and then gave it to the homeless shelters or the homeless themselves, it would be a better system...

12-21-2004, 09:53 AM	#29 (permalink)
Faygo Banned	Wound up on the street when she lost her parents at 24yo? WTF is with that bt then I was on my own for 6 years. What a lazy fucker.

12-21-2004, 12:44 PM	#31 (permalink)
Faygo Banned	I think it's pretty funny.

12-21-2004, 12:52 PM	#32 (permalink)
JStrider Poo-tee-weet? Location: The Woodlands, TX	ive been asked for food for money... offered to buy em some food at a nearby resteraunt.... always declined... except once and they guy had some interesting stories about the gulf war in 91... was he a real begger or not i dunno... but he actually took the offer for food... which is more then most people... nother time was asked for some money for gas so he could get the 40 miles home... i talked wit him about his gas mileage and offered to buy him 5 gallons of gas if he waited till i was done in the grocery store and then followed me to the gas station down the street.... when i got out of the grocery store 20 minutes later he was gone... __________________ -=JStrider=- ~Clatto Verata Nicto

12-21-2004, 02:17 PM	#34 (permalink)
jonjon42 Psycho Location: inside my own mind	yeah this is why I don't give change to beggers...If I'm just coming out of lunch with a doggie bag or something and I know I probably won't end up eating it I'll hand it off to a beggar but I will never give them money. __________________ A damn dirty hippie without the dirty part....

12-21-2004, 03:49 PM	#35 (permalink)
Grasshopper Green ...is a comical chap Location: Where morons reign supreme	I don't give pan handlers money either; I've known several "beggars" in real life who did it for extra cash when they needed to party that night. I've never offered to give a beggar food instead of money, although my brother did once. He told a guy with a sign that said "Will work for food" that if he'd mow his lawn, he'd take him out to lunch. Guess what? The guy declined. I did see a guy on the street the other day with a sign that said "Really need a beer"; had we been stopped at the light instead of driving, I would have given him a couple bucks. At least he was honest! I did give some money to a girl who offered to wash my car windows for my spare change. However, it seems she had some sort of pimp or something because as soon as she finished, some guy that had been kinda hanging around walked up to her and started talking to her. Anyone ever heard of a panhandling pimp?

12-23-2004, 07:16 AM	#36 (permalink)
Fearless_Hyena Hello, good evening, and bollocks. Location: near DC	On a side note has anyone noticed the older black woman who hangs out around Penn Station/MSG who's quite obviously a fake homeless person? She rarely begs for money but just sits on the bench and watches people. Her costume looks like it was bought in a halloween shop! She's got a shopping cart and everything, the clothes she wears are relatively clean and new looking but look like someone intentionally tried to make them look ratty. She doesn't appear to be suffering from the cold as she's always alert and watching people. She might be an undercover cop or a Homeland Security agent or something, who knows. But she's isn't doing the undercover part of her job well -- she's very noticable Last time I saw her she was on the bench outside of Joey O's, the pub right next to Hotel Pennsylvania. Funny stuff!

12-23-2004, 08:45 AM	#38 (permalink)
thecoldone33 Tilted	When im driving and i see beggar's on street corner i feel bad but then i remember these kinds of stories. Alot of them area fake, or going to use your money to buy Drugs/Alcohol. Remembers that SImpsons episode

12-23-2004, 09:30 AM	#39 (permalink)
skinnymofo Addict ed to smack Location: Seattle	there was a guy several years back that my parents met whose day job was panhandling. He would go to the salvation army and get some the junkiest clothes he could find, buy a can of beef stew and a can of dog food. Empty the dog food and wash it out, then put the stew into it and sit at a corner. He was easily making over 80 dollars a day looking pathetic eating stew in a dog food containers. Theres also this probably 17-19 year old girl who stands over by the pike place market, im sure those of you who live in seattle have noticed her, she has a sign that says "dreaming of a big mac" im always on the bus when i see her or id offer to take her out.