Beggars

[Brucelles]

I am working in Paris at the moment. It's my favourite city in the world, and I have seen most of the biggies, so it's a real bummer that it's beauty is greatly diminished for me by the huge numbers of beggars cluttering up the place. I literally had to step over some to get to work today.

The thing is that I sympathise with poor people, it must be pretty unpleasant to be down and out in Paris in winter. I just don't give to beggars on principle. I cannot feed them all so I don't try. I occasionally give money to buskers who are crap (beggars with a flute and a bit of gumption) but never to beggars with animals.

I believe that the begging community knows that many of us don't give a fig about lazy skiving economic migrants, but do care about animals, so that’s why so many of them have pets with them. I mean, why would a beggar have two kittens if not for sympathy? This really gets on my end. I see literally hundreds of cats and dogs sitting on scruffy blankets with their owners begging. Today I went past a woman with a puppy in the morning on the way to work, and then, when I went to lunch I went past the same spot and the puppy was still there but a young lad was doing the begging; standing in for mum, I guess.

So I will never give money to them on the basis that it will encourage them to all get animals and sit out there waiting for suckers to feed them. This encourages people too poor to properly feed themselves to get animals and feed them crap too. I saw one guy feeding his dog a bag full of chicken bones he had scrounged from a butcher. If my French was good enough I would tell them why I am not giving money, but c’est la vie.

So what do you lot do?

[Funkstar]

I never give to beggars.

I don't like doing it, I would rather give to charities supporting the homeless.

[Lee H]

yeah same here. I never give to people who are strategically placed near cashpoints.

I hate queuing for the cashpoint and hearing the words "spare any change" when they plainly know that cash machines do not spout out coins, unless things have changed since I last used one at 1 pm today.

half the time they also have nike air trainers on worth about 60-90 quid a pair so I'm afraid it appears they are making too much from begging if they can afford things like this to wear and refrain from giving them cash.

[nichomach]

People have pets for lots of different reasons; maybe some do for the reasons you suggest, but equally I know that many people that sleep rough have pets for company. These may be people who are excluded from social interaction not merely by reason of being poor but by physical or mental health issues; the incidence of mental health problems among the homeless is staggeringly high, as is the incidence of addiction, be it to alcohol or drugs (yes, there's an element of choice about that, but less so if you consider that the incidence of mental health problems among those with addictions is ALSO very high, and vice versa). You don't give to beggars, fine. It's your money, and I wouldn't think of trying to pressure you to do otherwise. You may also be correct about some of the reasons why some beggars have pets. You're not right about all of them, nor necessarily about that being the sole reason in the cases where it is a factor. Furthermore, the animal may be theirs from before they were homeless, or may have been a stray. As I say, your call, although I'd call to mind the eulogy to Old Drum given by George Graham Vest.

[TheAnimus]

try Moscow in the winter.

[Salazaar]

Buy a Big Issue or buy them some food, don't just give them cash though.

[samcross]

I never have and never will give money to beggars.
Though I do buy the Big Issue as I feel the people selling it are at least making an effort.

[Funkstar]

try Moscow in the winter.

San Fransisco can also be really bad

[Saracen]

I never give to beggars.

I don't like doing it, I would rather give to charities supporting the homeless.

Ditto.

For my reasons, see this thread .... here

[handscombmp]

If i was to give them anything i'd give them a drink or some food as i know some of them are on drugs or someones taking the money off them.
After working at an airport i see them as more of a pain than i do sorry for them as they are constantly trying to get money of tourist about to go on holiday

[Barakka]

San Fransisco can also be really bad

This is the only place i've ever given to beggars (or Panhandlers as they call them), on the last day of our trip we realised we had pockets full of US tin money that wouldn't be worth changing back so we went out and gave it all to the most genuine and worthy people we'd seen during the stay.

Going somewhere like San Francisco makes you realise how sheltered we are from it in the UK, really strange when they can come up to you when you're eating in a restaurant.

[TeePee]

I once had occasion to visit the CCTV control room of my town in England, and while there I watched a beggar walk back to his car, a newer-model BMW no less, presumably for his drive home. I was told this was common, and I believe it.

While there are genuinely homeless people, usually as a product of mental illness, etc, there are enough social services that no one has to be homeless. The vast majority of beggars aren't homeless, and the vast majority of homeless people are there be choice.

Regardless, survival of the fittest. If you're incapable of living in our society, don't expect me to help you if you aren't prepared to help yourself.

[Brucelles]

Buy a Big Issue or buy them some food, don't just give them cash though.

There's no Big Issue in France, but if there were I'd buy it. I also give to the silly old sod who plays the accordion really badly in the Gare de Lyon. He tries, and he has an old dog, but busking is not begging.

[Fraz]

I gave up giving money to beggars when the mobile phone of the begger I was about to give money to started ringing...

[Steve A]

I Dont give money to beggars!

reason ::

There is plenty of help for homeless people regardless of what some people think, there are plenty of jobs for them to get also regardless of what people think.

So i would be giving money to Lazy people who just cant be arsed doing anything.

So no .. if you want money or food ..... get a job ...

[Main]

I stopped giving money to beggers when I started seeing them with a can of booze in their hands more often than not, because it became obvious that just giving them money wouldn't help them.