There seems to be alot of them out there nowadays...what do you say to Bums who constantly ask you for money or cigarettes?
Ignore them? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwRmZifqF-w&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwRmZifqF-w&feature=related[/ame]
I usually just tell them to (*)(*)(*)(*) off. The worst though are the guys who come into a nice neighborhood and dig through the trash on trash day.
I don't carry money and my credit card is maxed out. Gotta (*)(*)(*)? Edit: The English slang for cigarette is F A G. What's PF's definition?
I just tell them don't have any money. The first time someone gave me a sob story and asked me for money was years ago when I was walking in CA. I gave him $5.00, then he asked if he could buy me a drink! That really pissed me off. Now all beggars get the brush off.
I shake my head and say "no". They usually catch me when putting money in a meter or when I'm grabbing change out to get a pop. So its pretty obvious...I have money. When I smoked....I didn't have a problem giving out a cigerette and once a whole pack.
I had an experience w/a homeless woman where I regretted trying to help her. I just left my bank which was across the street from my work, the Red Cross, when she asked me for some $. Told her I didn't have any, but if she was hungry, go to the RC where I worked and I'd give her a cup of coffee and a donut. She came and after she sat down in the canteen, I made the mistake of going back to my office instead of sitting there while she was there. Later Margaret, the volunteer asked me not to invite her in while she was working. Asked her what happened and she told me this female was so nasty and rude to her - sneering at her saying crap like 'you think you're so much better than me, but you're just a low-life (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)'.. etc. I was livid. Margaret is a very sweet, gentle lady and enjoyed volunteering. I told her she'd never get in our chapter again and the days that followed, she'd show up and I'd meet her at the door, telling her she wasn't allowed in and told her the reason why - her treatment of the volunteer..... no apology, no nothing - just demands....... But that evening after first inviting her into the RC, my son & GF stopped by after eating at a burger joint and started telling me about this homeless woman at the counter when they walked in, demanding and arguing w/the waitress that she was entitled to the largest coke - free. My son told the waitress he'd pay for it - then asked the woman if he could buy her something to eat. She said no, but asked for $. He told her he wasn't going to give her $, but would buy her a hamburger....she demanded $. My kid turned to the waitress and told her to cancel out the coke, he wasn't buying her anything.... while they're telling me this story, I asked them if she looked like - and described the one I had to deal with - yup, it was the same woman..... One time I had just left work and this very able-bodied guy walked up to me and said "Lady, would you give me enuf $ so I can buy myself a quart of beer?" I got mad - the dam nerve! Shouted "Look, bubba, I wouldn't give my own kid enuf $ to buy a quart of beer! Get a job and buy your own!"
My neighbor is one of them. She smokes and gambles and spends her $700 pension in a matter of days and comes to me demanding money. I would tell her to bugger off but as she's mentally ill, I worry what she could do if I refused. I refused once and she went bat(*)(*)(*)(*) crazy on me. I never give anything to people in the streets. Never have, never will.
Ummm .... Mak - you need to make a phone call or 2 about your neighbor. There's no way in hell I would put up w/that! Call LE, find out who her landlord is - call someone and find out how you can be protected from her. Maybe she's not as 'crazy' as you think, but she knows she has you scared and it's working for her.....
The estate agents over here don't have to tell you anything about their tenants, its the privacy act. You have no right to know. I just keep my doors locked. She's nice enough but sometimes she's off her meds and then she's nuts. The old lady who used to live her before me said she turned up at her door with a knife. But yeah, I give her money to get rid of her - as long as she pays me back. If she won't pay me back, she gets nothing and I'll deal with her attitude.
I'll usually give them change or a couple ones if I have it in my pocket. I don't pull out the wallet though! Once had a guy ask me if I could help him out with a down payment on a cheeseburger. I got a laugh, he got a dollar.
Ok - you didn't say she paid you back. The way you wrote it, she demanded $ and scared the hell out of you if you didn't give it to her...... I have some odd neighbors also and I'm a real pro at ignoring them....
Haha, just turn the TV down and keep really quiet, eh? I think we've all wanted to avoid our neighbors at some stage or other.
If they refuse food and demand money, they are probably wanting to buy drugs or alcohol. That lady sounds like a right piece of work! Sadly there are some people in this world who are just like that woman, thinking everyone should bend over backwards to help them.
I give it to them. Whenever I have money on me smaller than a 5, I give them money. When they do something for it like play an instrument or sing, I will often give a 5 as well. I am a student, but I come from a good background. So even though I don't have a lot of money to spare, those sorts of people need the money a lot more than I do. I sometimes get comments from people about how I shouldn't give money, but I do anyways. Which leads me to a side story, which I find funny. A few weeks back, I was in downtown Chicago bar hopping with some friends. So I had a decent amount of money in my pocket. When a guy asked, I gave him like 3 dollars. He asked a friend of mine, and he told him "you are just going to use it on drugs and alcohol!!" I was like dumb ass, that is exactly what we were going to use it for!! We are going from bar to bar, using all our money for alcohol and drugs(more alcohol, but whatever), and he had the audacity to make a comment like that!! I even told the guy at the time, hey if you want to use the money I gave you for drugs or alcohol, to be my guest!! PS. The only people who actually bother me, are the ones who ask for money, and then when I don't have any money, hassle me. I have had people tell me "you are a rich white boy," when in fact, at the time, I was a poor college student. That sort of irritates me, because they act as if I have some obligation to give them money, or as if they are entitled to the money I have. That bothers me, but otherwise I usually give money. And 9/10 homeless people thank you whether you give them money or not. Actually their favorite is usually some gibberish about god loving me or blessing me, which of course I think God should have spent more time blessing them!!
I was walking back to my place after running in the park when a guy tried to hit me up for some money. I didn't have anything on me as I was wearing running shorts without pockets. I tried explaining that I didn't have any money or pockets to carry it in.... but oh no. He offered to sing me a song (which turned out to be some incomprehensible rap) in exchange for money, but despite declining the offer, the crazy SOB followed me for like two blocks (with a few of his boys in tow). The further we walked the stranger the guy got. His voice started getting angry, and he kept getting closer and closer until he was basically shouting in my ear. It made me so uncomfortable that I turned around and squared off, but fortunately a couple of his fellow boozers grabbed him and started talking some sense to him. That was just one of several odd encounters with beggars near downtown K.C.
Our rogue Prime Minister, Bliar, said we should give them nothing, so I always try to cough up a quid or two. If somebody is forced to humiliate himself to the extent of begging in the street, the least people can do is give him as much money as they can afford.
This subject always reminds me of one time when I was waiting for a bus downtown to go home after work and realized I didn't have any money on me. Buses required exact change and I started digging like crazy in the bottom of my purse, coat pockets, make-up bag, anyplace I thought there might be some loose change. Ended up finding enough to ride the bus... MINUS ONE CENT!! Stood there and pondered what to do... do I get on the bus, throw all the change in the machine and hope it wasn't smart enough to know I shorted it a penny? That option didn't appeal since I could see myself being humiliated by being called down for shortchanging the machine... and not having a penny to give the driver! Finally broke down and asked a stranger for one cent. They gave it to me and we had a good laugh. Depends on the person asking whether I give $$ or not. If they're pushy, I just say 'sorry, don't have it' and walk away. But if it's somebody who's obviously down on their luck, I'll usually give them a dollar. Unless they've got a really good story, I rarely give to 20-somethings. Get a haircut... get a real job.
Reminds me of the second beggar I ever met - we didn't have them until Thatcher here. It was in Oxford, and as we walked a long a tall, soigné sort of figure came up out of the darkness. 'I wonder if you could help me?' he asked, in a very upper-crustish sort of accent. 'What's the trouble?' asked I. 'Well', said he, 'I often find that I have more in my pockets than I know what to do with, and I expect it is the same with you. At the moment I have none whatever, so I am going around asking for some. Anything will do, if you don't have much'. A priviledge to help it was. The first announced that he was an old Welsh miner wanting to get home. 'Where do you come from then, was?' asked I, and soon we had moved into our own language. I gave him a fiver when a pint cost under a quid and he told me off for my bad Welsh!' We are a proud people!
LOL, it's always the stories that trip them up, isn't it? Last spring I attended a conf in Chicago. Me & a friend were walking across bridge over the Chicago River and a lady walked up to us crying. Said her daughter was in the hospital giving birth to her grandchild and she needed $14 for the train to get her there. Now I know transit is expensive, but $14 seemed a little steep! We each gave her a few dollars and said that was all we could spare. THEN she started crying louder and told us she'd just gotten outta the hospital after a bout with a stroke and felt faint! We knew we'd been snookered at that point. Either that or ran into the unluckiest woman in Chicago! She shoulda stopped at the daughter story. It's easier locally, because I know most of the homeless shelters and soup kitchens and can point people in the direction of help. Problem is, they usually want that 'pint' more than a hot meal or a helping hand.