Zone1 Beggars at the Intersection: How do you feel about them? What do you do?

[toobfreak]

Sonic. That place really sucks.

What's the deal with Sonic?

 

[Leo123]

What's the deal with Sonic?

They don't use Peanut oil they use whatever else in their fryers.

Peanut oil has always been the preferred medium for frying. It holds up under high heat whereas other oils from corn, soy, olive, etc. and my worst pick for oil....Canola. This oil will stink and will break down and smoke more. I heard some places are going WAAAY back to natural lard.

 

[toobfreak]

They don't use Peanut oil they use whatever else in their fryers. Peanut oil has always been the preferred medium for frying. It holds up under high heat whereas other oils from corn, soy, olive, etc. will break down and smoke more. I heard some places are going WAAAY back to natural lard.

Well, yeah--- peanut oil will take a higher temperature before it burns, so I can see the advantage in frying with it in a commercial setting, just that I've also heard a lot of bad things about peanut oil too, from a dietary POV.

 

[Leo123]

I would have too. Canned green beans are terrible! Next time, try the frozen.

Come on now.....Canned green beans are the best!! They have a wonderful taste, not even like a real green bean!!

 

[Leo123]

Well, yeah--- peanut oil will take a higher temperature before it burns, so I can see the advantage in frying with it in a commercial setting, just that I've also heard a lot of bad things about peanut oil too, from a dietary POV.

I'm gonna try lard. The butcher sells it in small tubs, like Crisco. I want to try it.....Better not be cottonseed shortening.

 

[toobfreak]

Come on now.....Canned green beans are the best!! They have a wonderful taste, not even like a real green bean!!

Frankly, there are many vegetables that once you've grown them yourself fresh, there is just no ever eating the crap in the supermarket ever again, much less canned or frozen.

Carrots is one thing that comes to mind.

 

[toobfreak]

I'm gonna try lard. The butcher sells it in small tubs, like Crisco. I want to try it.....Better not be cottonseed shortening.

My grandparents used it as did my parents. The stuff works well.

 

[toobfreak]

View attachment 806829

I can't stop laughing at that one.

 

[LuckyDuck01!]

When you see the people begging for money on the corners, you are looking at a mixture of:
Unemployable drug/alcohol addicts.
Scammers. These individuals fall into two basic groups. One is those that actually have a residence and cars and just want to get extra money that they don't have to declare. We have one of those in the next house over. She's been seen driving off and then later seen panhandling on the street. The other is that are just plain lazy and actually make a good amount of money panhandling. There is a Target store not too far from my residence and some panhandlers were questioned there about how much money they got panhandling the parking lot. Based upon their statement, they made more than the average workers in the store.
Veterans, often with PTSD and fall into the drug/alcohol addition category.
People who have lost their non-technical service jobs and couldn't get back into the work force.
Drifting criminals who have to keep on the move to avoid arrest.
Elderly men and women who are unable to get work and have no or insufficient savings to make ends meet.
Mentally ill who can't hold a job and who reject help and those that have no family support. Those people used to at least be housed in facilities, but the ACLU stepped in and said that the government couldn't keep people in facilities for the mentally ill.
Unfortunately, because of the scammers and the fact that they won't necessarily tell the truth or anything to you, I just ignore them, with rare exceptions.
Japan has the lowest homelessness of any nation, but that is in part because of their family culture. Scandinavian nations have reduced it by providing apartments for their homeless population, then try to solve their other problems. Islamic nations claim to have solved their homeless problem, but when pressed, they say that all "Muslims" are given a spot in homes to sleep in during the night. What they neglect to talk about are the homeless minorities. They do nothing for them and thus the homeless figures can't be verified.
The US insists on the homeless getting off the addiction of drugs and/or alcohol before they will be given a room to stay in. The US needs to at least try the Scandinavian method.

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

Who would five that guy money. It obviously took some wherewithal to get the suit. A little too slick if you ax me.

.

I recently gave a guy with his dog $5, but the guy in the cat suit would just see my rear license plate.


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[Mashmont]

Frankly, there are many vegetables that once you've grown them yourself fresh, there is just no ever eating the crap in the supermarket ever again, much less canned or frozen.

Carrots is one thing that comes to mind.

Those slimy baby carrots in bags are disgusting.

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

Those slimy baby carrots in bags are disgusting.

.

I grow carrots in my garden and then dry can them. Straight out of the jar, they're as good as candy.


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[presonorek]

One said that rather than give them money, I should engage with them and offer to accompany them to a restaurant and have a meal with them.

This is the best approach. Ask them what it is that they need. A person that wants drugs, alcohol, or just want to stack piles of cash in his bank account then they will tell you they don't need anything. I have helped homeless people in the tune of hundreds of dollars but the things they requested made sense.

She thanked me for the meal and went on her way .

This was very helpful regardless if she was a bad person or not. Humans need about 1,200 calories a day to survive. You gave her a full days sustenance. You did an amazing thing.

Homeless professionals advise people to NOT give beggars money, that you can give them vouchers for the local shelter.

Maybe because I am a homeless person I can think like a homeless person. Paying $1,200 a month rent while you make $1,400 a month in income seems stupid if you really think about it. Collecting $100 a day panhandling and keeping 100% of the proceeds creates an advantage that people living regular lives don't have. Never give a homeless person money. Some of them are better off than you. It wouldn't surprise me at all if some homeless people have $300,000 in their bank account. Think about it: if you can save $1,200 a month that's a lot of doggone money. Depending on where the homeless person resides the bad weather days could only be 1%-15% of the time. The other 85%-99% of the time being homeless is paradise.

It is a fact that most homeless are not beggars, and most beggars are not homeless.

I am homeless myself and I am horrified at the idea of panhandling. I tried it once and ended up getting a dollar from another panhandler. Most homeless people you will never see. There are so many resources available to homeless people out there as long as you are willing to play the game. If you reached homelessness then you probably aren't a person who is easily manipulated by games. Even panhandling is a game. I'd say those panhandlers account for a very small portion of homeless.

I have softened recently, when I considered the plight of a neighbor girl my daughter's age who fell into drugs. Nice family, good neighborhood. But she just went bad.

You can't help drug addicts. All you can do is feed them. Jesus said, "the poor you will always have with you." There is no solution to homelessness. It will never go away.

The government could calculate the exact number of homeless, let's say 175,214. The government could build 175,214 houses but then all of a sudden people that weren't homeless before become homeless so they can get one of those free houses. Now the homeless population becomes 1,752,140 people and you only gave away 175,214 houses. You just made the problem nine times worse. This isn't a problem that can be fixed. For that reason people just throw up their hands and say, "forget it". I think the idea of going to talk to the person one on one you will likely get a good feel about what they need/don't need. Some don't really want your help. Some do but the ones that do are usually chasing public available resources not sifting through the garbage for cardboard to make a "anything helps" sign with a magic marker.

 

[Sparker]

When I was a pedestrian in Detroit, I was harassed and followed for a while twice by persistent beggars. One guy said something I didn't quite hear, so I said yes for politeness. He apparently meant something like give me money. I learned to ignore and say nothing to beggars if they stay out of my way.

If they're out in heavy rain, then I could assume they're really homeless, but I don't have the money to make any difference in homelessness.

 

[Mashmont]

This is the best approach. Ask them what it is that they need. A person that wants drugs, alcohol, or just want to stack piles of cash in his bank account then they will tell you they don't need anything. I have helped homeless people in the tune of hundreds of dollars but the things they requested made sense.

This was very helpful regardless if she was a bad person or not. Humans need about 1,200 calories a day to survive. You gave her a full days sustenance. You did an amazing thing.

Maybe because I am a homeless person I can think like a homeless person. Paying $1,200 a month rent while you make $1,400 a month in income seems stupid if you really think about it. Collecting $100 a day panhandling and keeping 100% of the proceeds creates an advantage that people living regular lives don't have. Never give a homeless person money. Some of them are better off than you. It wouldn't surprise me at all if some homeless people have $300,000 in their bank account. Think about it: if you can save $1,200 a month that's a lot of doggone money. Depending on where the homeless person resides the bad weather days could only be 1%-15% of the time. The other 85%-99% of the time being homeless is paradise.

I am homeless myself and I am horrified at the idea of panhandling. I tried it once and ended up getting a dollar from another panhandler. Most homeless people you will never see. There are so many resources available to homeless people out there as long as you are willing to play the game. If you reached homelessness then you probably aren't a person who is easily manipulated by games. Even panhandling is a game. I'd say those panhandlers account for a very small portion of homeless.

You can't help drug addicts. All you can do is feed them. Jesus said, "the poor you will always have with you." There is no solution to homelessness. It will never go away.

The government could calculate the exact number of homeless, let's say 175,214. The government could build 175,214 houses but then all of a sudden people that weren't homeless before become homeless so they can get one of those free houses. Now the homeless population becomes 1,752,140 people and you only gave away 175,214 houses. You just made the problem nine times worse. This isn't a problem that can be fixed. For that reason people just throw up their hands and say, "forget it". I think the idea of going to talk to the person one on one you will likely get a good feel about what they need/don't need. Some don't really want your help. Some do but the ones that do are usually chasing public available resources not sifting through the garbage for cardboard to make a "anything helps" sign with a magic marker.

It’s the lying I object to most about beggars. If they had a sign asking for people to bring them food, I would respect that a lot more. But if they truly wanted food, they’d want to take out at a restaurant. For years, my wife and I considered that a special luxury, so the idea of them wanting restaurant food was insulting and presumptuous to me. We rarely did that for ourselves. My inclination would be to buy them apples or bag of sweet potatoes, one of the most powerful foods there is. But I suspect they would put them in the trash or just leave them there. Beggars don’t want no damn sweet potatoes.

 

[Zebra]

How do I deal with them?

I tell them I drive for Uber and then they donate to me!

nice!