I was doing the Friday Fill-in thingy and number five got me to thinking. You know how panhandlers will stand at the highway off ramps and busy intersections collecting money with little signs saying, “I am desperate” or “I am broke”. I always wonder how you can tell which of those people are truly desperate and which of them just make their living that way. I always feel guilty for not giving them money, but at the same time, I feel like I work hard, and I do not want to give money away to someone who doesn’t want to get a job (I don’t mean someone who cannot get a job). I always feel guilty if I do not give them money, but my husband always tells me that they make more money than I do, but can that be the case with everyone who stands on a corner asking for money? So my question to you my bloggy friends is how do you decide which people to give to or do you at all?
1. You get cookies for Christmas.
2. I find that it is best to get right to the point.
3. It's holiday time.
4. Life is often ridiculous!
5. I feel more blessed when I read about others who are not.
6. I’m done...goodnight!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to making dinner, grocery shopping, tomorrow my plans include going to the movies, cooking, and knitting and Sunday, I want to decorate the tree and veg!
2 comments:
You know, my husband lost his job (and the accompanying $82,000) last year, and we didn't beg on the streets.
I've read and heard too many stories about panhandlers who are "managed" by what I call pimps. They're given a cut of what they make each day, sometimes a couple thousand a week. They're picked up and dropped off and just have to stand there and beg. I won't give money to someone who's begging. I won't give to the United Way (I know of some organizations right here who take money from them and use it in ways that are at odds with the grants they get). Sometimes I'll give to the Cancer Society. Mostly, though, I give to our Key Club at school, which raises $5000 (this year in just a month) for a needy person. This year, it's going to a teacher's son who was paralyzed in a car accident a year ago.
I also give to the local SPCA and the Yorkie rescue group I'm a part of.
I won't give to any organization that calls or mails to beg for donations. I won't give to the Salvation Army; I feel very uncomfortable walking past them on my way in and out of stores, but I know too many people who've scammed them of money.
If I had enough money, I'd give to funds set up to help children with cancer, or preemies, big time.
I've seen them work in "shifts" on those corners. One person will come by to relieve the other person who was there.
Some of them earn much more than my mother receives from her retirement. While mom has to judicious about her spending, some panhandlers take their earnings and spend on simple "luxuries" instead of actual "necessities". My mom sometimes jokes that they live better than she does.
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