Thread: Do you give money to homeless people on the street?

Originally Posted by Zaya

Не подаю.

спасибо за подробный ответ, но ты ничего не говорила о бабушках. Им тоже нельзя дать деньги? Они тоже по пивным магазинам ходят?

2 BlackMage:

Gypsies ask you for money? Didn't even ask me... just tried to steal it.

-tdk

They just try to steal from me too, which is what makes me angry.

I would say the best way to get money out of me is to play some cool music and carry a sign about how you lost your leg in Chechnya.

Originally Posted by Spiderkat

Originally Posted by TATY

They are all druggies and alcoholics. The police should pick them up and dump them in the countryside. I live in the centre of London and there are loads of tramps and general undesirable sorts around.

Don't give them money. Give them a kick in the head.

No offense but this is the way snobs and people of the polite society think about poverty and believe their shиt doesn't smell.

My shіt may smell, but at least I don't smell like shіt.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

спасибо за подробный ответ, но ты ничего не говорила о бабушках. Им тоже нельзя дать деньги? Они тоже по пивным магазинам ходят?

И по пивным и по водочным...

I very seldom give money to homeless people on the street. I don't think that the money I give them can really help. As some of you have already said, the vast majority of homeless people are alcoholics and druggies. Giving them your money, you automatically provide them with alcohol. There are a lot of poor people in Russia and it's very hard to determine which of them really needs money for treatment. I disagree with TATY that they're all druggies and alcoholics. Some of them really needs money for treatment.

I also saw the TV report mishau mentioned. Even if you feel great pity for homeless and/or disabled people (I do) you should be aware that all the money you gave away to the beggar might get into his owner's hands. That's what really annoys me. I want to help the person I'm giving my money away to, but not his owner.

I agree with kalinka_vinnie that the babushkas standing in the freezing cold are victims of 'perestroika'. Some of them cannot find a job, others just don't want to. That's, imo, the chief reason why there are so many poor 'babushkas' in Russia.

Homelessness, at least in the west, is fundementally a symptom of mental illness. Substance abuse may be a cause of that mental illness, or it may just be another symptom (afterall, there are plenty of drug addicts and alcoholics with a perfectly good roof over their heads). As has been said, giving them money cannot make their situation any better, and may in fact help them to prolong it.

I only wish that every snotty judgemental stuck-up middle-class prick like Tatu would get to experience his own life, or watch that of a friend or family member, fall apart to that extent at least once, just a s a lesson in compassion.

Of course, it's a bit different in countries like Russia where the safety net isn't adequate at present.

I said sometimes 'cause I give to the Redcross a lot, which pisses me off. Their all ringing their bell and they talk about on teh news how they need extra donations 'cause of all the shit that's gone down and since I have a soul (don't tell anyone) I give them quarters, and sometimes dollars if I have them. I usually don't. But I get pissed when I do. 'Cause I give it to them...

We don't have any beggars here, we have homeless people...but no beggars.
At least they've never asked me for money.

Those jinglers on the other hand...I have no clue what I'm talking about.

Homelessness, at least in the west, is fundementally a symptom of mental illness. Substance abuse may be a cause of that mental illness, or it may just be another symptom (afterall, there are plenty of drug addicts and alcoholics with a perfectly good roof over their heads). As has been said, giving them money cannot make their situation any better, and may in fact help them to prolong it.

Very true. There are loads of druggies and alcoholics with a perfectly good roof over their heads, especially in highly developed countries.

I said sometimes 'cause I give to the Redcross a lot, which pisses me off. Their all ringing their bell and they talk about on teh news how they need extra donations 'cause of all the @@@@ that's gone down and since I have a soul (don't tell anyone) I give them quarters, and sometimes dollars if I have them. I usually don't. But I get pissed when I do. 'Cause I give it to them...

We don't have any beggars here, we have homeless people...but no beggars.
At least they've never asked me for money.

I don't really know if it's possible to donate to the Red Cross in Russia. I guess you can since it's an international organization. But it doesn't really matter because I don't have a clue how I can donate some of my money to the Red Cross. I have a soul too (you can tell whoever you want about it) but I won't donate much money to any charity unless I earn loads of money not to care about the way I spend it.
In my opinion, homeless people are constrained to beg because of having no other chance to live on what they receive from the government.