Out of gas in Murray KY on way to AZ

midnightsadie wrote:
guy on Tv said he makes over $60k a year begging.

But, what did he have left after he paid his fair share to the IRS? :B

You have to assess each situation independently. After I posted yesterday, we went to my brothers house. On the way I came upon a very busy and popular intersection, Irving park and manheim road (Ohare Airport). I seen a guy walking around ahead. When he came around the cars in full view I figured right away this guy was playing the homeless card real good! No shoes! About 4 pairs of socks on. What looked like 3 pairs of pants, last one turned inside out. Ratty hooded sweater, worn correctly which was odd considering the pants were on inside out. And socks for gloves!

Now this guy was playing it for all it was worth! I'm sure he has collected more than enough to buy a pair of used shoes for a $1.
Why wear pants inside out? Unless you are trying to make it look good!
Definitely had no problems moving around in traffic, so not disabled!
Even his eyes looked like they had life in them. This guy definitely didn't have mental problems because he knew where to be and how to beg!

my daughter felt bad for him. I told her you have to be careful who you feel bad for. I mentioned all the above and she thought about it, and said oh ya! She is very thoughtful and caring, but you can't be blind to the obvious! The only ones that I seen give any money were from 2 SUV's both higher end, Audi and BMW.

I've seen true homeless before, this was not it! Even my son said he probably has more in his account than I do!

IndyCamp wrote:
When you spend a lot of time in big cities like Chicago, NYC, and D.C., you can tell who is really homeless.

Spare me the "they can get help" nonsense, as many homeless people in this country are mentally ill and telling them to just "go get help" is like me telling you to "just make more money and retire tomorrow."

Well stated. Big difference between the opportunists that stand on the street and those that are truly in need. I won't give money, because I don't want to assist them as they "self medicate" and fall further down into despair and helplessness. If someone needs food I will buy them something. If someone needs a jacket, I will give them one.

13 years in patrol as a police officer in a jurisdiction that borders Washington DC I have seen some things. Funding alcohol and drug dependence does not help them, even those that are mentally ill.

You know if any of the giving type here that wants to give to get that warm fuzzy feeling of helpfulness , please next time you travel I-80 from Sacramento East up and you see the beggars/ I'm sorry homeless gotta be PC an all,,, on all the on/off ramps given your money, maybe that will put a dent in our petty theft , car burglaries ! ;)

deleted. Fight away.

I lived that life as a child.. in Cleveland.. Have YOU???????

father (small f).. deserted us when my brother was 2 DAYS OLD..NEVER seen again.
Mother was disabled.... R.I. P. Mom

This is always a touchy subject.

It sounds like many of you live in the suburbs or rural areas, where you don't encounter "real" homeless people.

We spend a lot of time in a big city, and it is easy to see who is really homeless and who is just standing at an exit ramp with a sign.

I once had a homeless guy offer to do 10 pushups in exchange for my wife's cup of coffee. She had not yet taken a drink and we gave it to him along with $10. We told him he didn't have to do the pushups, but he did anyway. This man was clearly living on the street, not driving off in a Corvette.

When you spend a lot of time in big cities like Chicago, NYC, and D.C., you can tell who is really homeless.

Spare me the "they can get help" nonsense, as many homeless people in this country are mentally ill and telling them to just "go get help" is like me telling you to "just make more money and retire tomorrow."

One of the few things we can hope for in life, is to feel good about ourselves.

If it made you feel good, you did the right thing, and had a good day.

The one question I always ask someone before I give them a little cash is.

" Do you think you could get a job if you looked for one "

If they say yes, then I give them a little money.

One guy told me yes, but he preferred to let the young people with families get the jobs. I gave him 20 bucks.

And no I do not know what he spent it on. But at least he wasn't robbing someone.

"Law enforcement need to STOP this. But somehow these people have achieved a 'right' to steal money from the citizens."

Just this past year a man/woman team were compensated heavily when the police in a Missouri city arrested them for being in violation of a city ordnance prohibiting such activity. The ACLU came to their aid and argued successfully that it is not against the law to be homeless.

Over the next several weeks the couple were spotted at many Walmart lots along I-44. This is how they lived.... from their physical appearance it did not appear that either one of them had missed very many meals. They also had a medium sized dog with them that was very well fed. It's culls like this that make it difficult for those that truly are in need.

Thanks. The kids have turned 18 and the MH has stayed parked.

The MH being discussed was a nice clean 2000 era class C. The guy was clean too. He said they immigrated from Europe by plane 3 years ago.

Gale Hawkins wrote:
A guy was at Walmart trying to raise money for gas and food in a class C so some others helped out and I topped off tank. Hoping he makes it to Phoenix.

Nice too see you're still on the Forum. Haven't seen a post from you for awhile.

So was it this guy?