I was driving through Aberdeen the other day and I saw this yellow sign mounted on an electrical pole. It said NO PANHANDLING. I wanted to take a picture of it, it was so wonderful, but I was trying to drive and fiddle (illegally) with my phone/camera, and the end result was not productive. The sign went on to say something about "keep your money because it will just go to alcohol and/or drugs". Not the exact words, but the general idea. I loved it!
When my brother and sister were little, eons ago, they saw the first panhandler in our area. They were on their way to the store with my mom, and there was the man on the side of the road with a sign that said something about being homeless and hungry. They were horrified. At the store, they convinced Mom to buy a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter for the guy. Needless to say, the guy was not overjoyed upon receipt of the donation.
I have seen a man at my intersection several times, and each time he has a sign that says something like "Just Need Gas". At first you would think that he is a stranded motorist, but I have seen him multiple times. It would be quite coincidental if he indeed has run out of gas in this area several times in the last month and has no money. The thing about this guy, and most of the other ones, is that they don't look hungry and they have decent clothes. My gas beggar - he has a really nice red and black jacket that he wears, and it looks clean. He also has a pot belly, doubtful the kind that is indicative of someone starving to death. The guy I saw this morning had some camo pants on. I have looked at camo pants in catalogs and stores, and they aren't cheap! He also had a haircut and was also quite filled out; he did not look gaunt or weak from hunger.
It's a sad thing that we don't help people any more because of these posing scam artists. They have lots of gimmicks, from sitting in a wheelchair (generally motorized), to having a dog with them, to a sign that talks about raising children. All different ways to get to your pocketbook via your emotions.
What do you do when you're the first one in the line at the stoplight and there is a panhandler standing there? Do you talk to your passenger, pretend to talk on the phone (hoping a cop won't come by), blow your nose for a long time, look interestedly at the cars going by??? Stare the person in the eye grimly? Do you give the person money?
My children can tell you my rants against the off ramp panhandlers! "Mom! Don't run over them! Don't hurt them!" Now I try to show NO reaction at all. I look around as if they were invisible. Inwardly I am still irate that I must go through this effort of not noticing them! I would like nothing better than to see these able-bodied people set to work. I remember the legless, one-eyed woman on the sidewalk in Mexico selling her crochet work.
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