people asking for money on 7th ave

I fucking hate the GreenPeace people. They always trick me. "Do you care about the environment?" "Do you have a minute for the environment?" Yes, but I have no money to donate. "Oh, that is fine," they say. And I sit and listen like an idiot, because I'm thinking I'll find out some way to help or volunteer or whatever. And eventually they just ask for money. Or a pledge to give money. And I'm all, fuck you! I already told you I didn't have any money! So now I just tell them, "No, I DO NOT fucking care about the environment." GreenPeace fucking bastards.

There is a guy on 7th Ave who walks around the 11th to 15th street area and flat out asks for money. He makes it seem like he is going to ask for the time and then says "can you spare some change?" Really annoys me because he walks over and approaches me for it rather than hangs out in at a particular spot on the street.

The homeless in San Francisco do the same thing up and down Market Street and it makes you feel a little violated.

i just walk right by all these people
is that wrong?
i don't even acknowledge them
they cant respect my space
i wont respect theirs

I had a really favorable view of Greenpeace until I moved to NYC and had to deal with the fucking front line bastards. I can still respect the mission, but it is difficult to separate my bitchslap reflex from the word Greenpeace at this point.

And in San Francisco, they are metering the panhandlers, so to speak...

Rather than tossing loose change into a panhandler's empty cup, San Francisco officials want you instead to slide your spare quarters and nickels into a homeless meter.

"The reason people are panhandling is because there's a market for panhandling," Mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday. "We're not helping these individuals by handing out cash. If there was strong evidence to suggest this helped people turn their lives around, we would not be using this approach."

The slogan for the program and accompanying advertising campaign will be plastered on the meters: "Be a part of change. Don't give change."

In 2003, the San Francisco Hotel Council funded a $65,000 billboard campaign that linked panhandling to drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases.

One ad read, "Today we rode a cable car, visited Alcatraz and supported a drug habit."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/13/MNR110L13S.DTL

My answer to all this is simple: "I don't eat candy and I'm a selfish republican who doesn't give a shit about the environment"...

Works like a charm and puts a smile on my face.

I do give to the guys with the signs that read: "why lie, I want to get drunk". It's not original but really pulls at my heartstrings.

kosherdave wrote: [quote=arches]Gentriconfrontation at its finest.

grrooooooan :roll:
That isn't gentriconfrontation, it is a whole different issue.

Fuckhead fundraising frontation. Or whatever.

Duffy'sSis wrote: I don't blame the lady for freaking out. I have had kids with clipboards practically block me from the C-Town to try and sell me their crappy candy. It gets a little threatening sometimes. Just set up a table somewhere and sell from there. You don't have to get all up in my grill.

+1

I lived in downtown Philadelphia for several years before I moved to PS. Philly was infested with canvassers from some sort of save-the-children outfit, occasionally augmented by Greenpeace and/or the Democratic Party. I used to pull out my cell phone and pretend to be talking to someone as I approached their drones; that usually seemed to be sufficient camouflage.

Other than that, the way I always looked at it was, it's a free country and they're on a public street, and they're entitled to make their pitch -- politely. That means they get to ask me, once, if I'm interested in talking/signing up/donating. And I get to tell them no. If they persevere after that, they're being rude, and that frees me from my obligation to be polite to them. Meaning I can tell them to fuck off, in so many words, and not feel guilty about it. I actually thought of having cards printed up with that philosophy on them, so I could hand them to the little trustafarians. Not that it would do much good, methinks.

Sometimes the environment/gay rights/ACLU/yadda yadda people hang out outside my job, sucks when I'm late for work. But they were even accosting me when I stepped out to smoke a cigarette so I made a sign that just read, "BROKE". That way I could smoke and read my book in peace.

I don't mind if people quietly stand on the side of the street with a hat or a cup or something, especially if they're playing decent/quiet music and at least trying to earn their change. However, I hate it when they get right in front of you and accost you and/or verbally abuse you when you don't give them anything. I got called a prostitute by one the other night. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that frankly, since he's begging for dimes on the street, even if I WERE a prostitute, he'd never be able to afford me

wow, i'd be really interested to know about that mookie...

i've given that guy a ton of money over the past year. he's really the only streetperson i ever give money to with any regularity. and i'm not quite sure why...i just do...

if he's secretly loaded, that would change things drastically...

i see TONS of people giving him money too and i always see him eating something. he probably eats more than i do...!

FYI: the folk asking for money for the environment/gay rights/ACLU/yadda yadda... are called Chuggers - CHarity mUGGERS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuggers

Mookie Wilson wrote: i recall reading a post on this message board to the effect that the man who panhandles outside of the supermarket on the corner of 7th Avenue and Berkeley Place actually won a sizable tort settlement some years ago.

Yes - Jake received a low six figure settlement from the city due to a ridiculous, unwarranted arrest. He was off the street for a year or so and then was back. The settlement is well documented, though the rumors about how he blew the money are not, so I'll not comment on that.

As for the crazy "are you Jewish?" guy, I've found an effective way to shut him up. I just ask him "are you?" He is dumbfounded long enough for me to escape.

Drunken Revival wrote: My answer to all this is simple: "I don't eat candy and I'm a selfish republican who doesn't give a shit about the environment"...

That's a good line. I hope to use it.

There was a guy outside the Citibank once who asked me for money as I entered; I had one of those moments when I felt like being snarky and said, "Maybe later." Upon exiting I went right when I meant to go left, so I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around. He had begun following me (I knew he was) and he thought I was turning around to confront him. He looked down at his shoes and slunk away...