4 Votes
The Poor Among Us
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I had a recent experience with a homeless man, or a man who at least claimed to be homeless.He had on clean clothes, the beginnings of a beard, and appeared fairly well groomed. He approached me and relayed his story:
“I’m sorry to bother you, please don’t think I’m weird or anything, but do you have some work around your house that I could do for some money?”
We had just moved into a new duplex, and everything was fixed in our house, so we really had nothing he could do, so I answered him, “No.”
“I just got out of a divorce, I’m homeless, and just need a few dollars for a hamburger. Is there any way you can help me out?”
“Sorry about your situation, but we are heading out of town right now.” (My family and I were on our way to Dallas and had just stopped at a gas station when this guy approached me)
He thanked me for my time and then turned to the next person filling up gas and began his story all over again. My first reaction to him was, “I’ve heard this story before by many other homeless people, and they probably only want money for drugs or alcohol.” My second thought was, who am I to judge this person, who knows, this guy could be the one telling the truth. I was caught in a dilemma. I felt the desire to help, but I was also competing with the feeling that I thought this guy was lying to me. I ended up giving him a little cash because I felt it was not my place to judge someone just because others might be peddling that lie to get drug money.
Looking back on the situation now, I wish I would have walked over to McDonald’s with him and used my debit card to buy him a hamburger. This is the action that I will take in the future, but it did not come to me in that moment. I relate this story because I’m curious as to what our “duty” is to the poor among us. There are some, like Bill VanderMeer, director of the Union Gospel Mission’s Men’s Shelter, who said:
“I think (giving money) is the worst thing people can do,” said Bill VanderMeer, director of the Union Gospel Mission’s Men’s Shelter. “It enables panhandlers. That’s how they make their living and manage their addiction.”
There are many people who’s feelings are quite polar to Mr. VanderMeer’s. With the recent events in Haiti there are thousands of people rendering aid, by way of money and service. This is understandable because you can see the truth of the devastation, it makes their plight believable. My question is, what sort of obligation do we have, if any, to the poor that live among us?
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Second Verse, Same as the First by VnutZ
It’s a parallel to the question of asking people whether they’re going to donate to save Haitians.
You pretty much run into this in NYC all the time. Every corner has one of those tables setup for donating to the homeless. You might drop some change into one but a block later the guy’s yelling at everyone like you have all this money to just give away.
A related anecdote by scottb
A couple of years ago, I was out walking along the street, heading to grab a bite at Wendy’s. A young man came up and asked for money. I declined, after which he got in line behind me and ordered and paid cash for about $10 worth of Wendy’s food.
I’ve been living in the DC area for a little over 10 years, and I’ve been a city dweller for all of my adult life. It’s made me a little cynical on the subject of panhandlers. I’ve seen some of the same people working the same spots for a decade, now. They’re not “out of work”, their job is panhandling.
I think that, as a society, we do want to help the poor. It benefits all of us. But giving money directly to panhandlers is an extremely ineffective way to help the poor.
It seems self-evident that there’s a limited amount of money that’s going to be given to panhandlers, so there’s (by definition) a kind of competition for a limited resource. So the most “efficient” panhandlers are going to crowd out the less so—but that “efficiency” largely comes from experience. The “professional” panhandlers—who aren’t among those we’re actually trying to help—are going to be getting the lion’s share of that fixed resource.
Useful help to the poor should be an organized, community effort. That can mean a government-sponsored effort, too.
Emotional Blackmail by Occams
what sort of obligation do we have, if any, to the poor that live among us?
This is a huge issue, and moreso in my experience in the USA than other developed countries.
I fell humiliated when I see the world travelers in NYC or DC being accosted by beggars in the richest nation on earth (ignoring certain Arab anomalies).
It is a very effective form of emotional blackmail, whether the perpetrators are genuine or not. Give all you have and there will be another one around the corner to make you feel bad again. It is like you have no right to carry change in your pocket in this country. It is also dangerous because begging can be very threatening.
Please don’t use your debit card anywhere near them.
I think begging should be made illegal, and this law strictly enforced in a very creative way. Fines and detention are no use, so we need some kind of compulsory service. Making it just, and without access to a magistrate, would be difficult.
Before we can do that, we must make sure that no one is actually starving or lacking necessary medication.
The first priority for that is to have an adequate welfare safety net, and, after that is in place, we need another smaller net set a little bit lower to catch those who fall through the holes of the big one. Some people will be too dumb, or drug damaged to take advantage of the formal system and we need to protect at least their children.
The second safety net should never provide money, but should pay in services, emergency food, temporary shelter, and support in getting back into the system.
Duty bound to help themselves by anikochan
Poverty is a worldwide issue, with many people in hopeless situations secondary to absent resources as far as jobs/education/reliable food and water supplies/etc. Locally, I believe that money is best donated to relief organizations and never to a person with a good story. I keep granola bars and water bottles in the car, and have had them refused. I still offer if someone says they’re hungry.
If I cut back on my store-brewed coffee/pedicures/massages/etc. I would have a significant chunk of additional change to give to those in need. However, that would be at the expense of luxuries that I enjoy through my own work and time. Selfish? Maybe, but if we all stopped patronizing our area businesses to give that money to the destitute, you end up with a darkened storefront and all it’s employees left without a way to pay the bills and perhaps taking the first of many steps down to being the next person asking me for change.
I don’t donate as much of my free time to community service as I could, but you know something I’ve noticed when I help at my local homeless shelters? Not a single homeless person standing next to me to help sort cans, cook food, clean the beds, etc. I have worked side-by-side with a blind man, an 80 year old with a hip replacement, and a guy with a prosthetic leg over the years. So, why aren’t more homeless there to help themselves? Don’t tell me they can’t get there – they manage to get there in time for a meal and a bed. I don’t mind helping someone help themselves, but too many times people fail themselves.
A Similar Experience by gnifyus
Way back in 2007 I posted a similar story about the panhandlers around Central Square, Cambridge MA I wound up talking to back when I was in college. I don’t remember the context this was posted in. (Read EyeofSage’s comment and my next reply to get the whole thread.)
The point I tried to make from the experience was that an individual has little influence over the whole situation when it comes to homelessness. The opportunist lifestyle becomes very deep-rooted. I would say that there is a chance that interacting with panhandlers might be an interesting life experience, but it might also be dangerous over time.
Saying that, I think it definitely is beneficial to contribute in some way, either money or time with a church, civic group or other organization that deals with the problems of the poor. In doing so, you may not be helping that one guy you saw, but you may be helping a lot of other people in the same situation.
Depends by Jackson
My question is, what sort of obligation do we have, if any, to the poor that live among us?
That very much depends on your chosen religion and level of dedication to it. I am pretty sure that Christians (the only religion that I have true familiarity with) are told to pretty much just give, without judgement, and go away happy they did it. I don’t recall the Bible saying to give only to organizations because poor people are probably liars and panhandlers anyways. So for a religious Christian, the answer is that Jesus has handed down that obligation to you from on high and it’s your choice whether to fulfill it or not.
Now for people who are less interested in teachings of Jesus, the equation is much different. You can help the poor without ever giving money directly to the poor. As for an obligation, I don’t think one exists outside of personal morality. You can still be considered a good person if you never give a dime to the poor.
I personally feel obliged to help the poor (indirectly and occasionally directly, because I am an empathic sucker) because I don’t believe in the idea that equal opportunity exists in America today. I was born with priviledges and opportunities that I know others didn’t get, so I can afford to give of some of the fruits of those advantages to those who were born into less advantageous situations.
So I guess my question in return would be: From where would this obligation originate? Society? Self? God? Other?