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Deleted member 102481
Unconfirmed Member
You must not live in New York City. This is an easy way to tell between tourist and real New Yorkers. Call me a bad person because you don't notice them I call myself a new yorker.
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People who pretend that homeless people are invisible
- Thread starter Angry Grimace
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Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I've love to hear the explanation about this "irony." These are actual serious conversations, or your case, being abusive for no real reason.
Dude you have such a low barometer for what makes someone an awful person/sociopathic/an ego maniac, etc. So much so that you're coming across as hugely judgemental which is a bad character flaw in itself. Get a grip man.
Rodney McKay
Member
After two really awkward experiences with pan-handlers I make it my policy just to say "sorry man, no cash" or just ignore them.
Once I waited for a friend to pick me up and a guy with sores all over his face starts talking to me for 15-20 minutes about how he has cancer and needs money for the bus so he can get treatment. Eventually I just give him some cash to shut him up (couldn't leave because my friend was picking me up.
Then the worst experience happened on a date. We were getting ice cream and sitting outside and the guy rolls up in his wheelchair and just parks right behind my date staring at me. I try to do my best to ignore him since I am in the middle of a conversation, but he keeps staring and eventually I ask if he wants anything. He gives a 10 minute story about missing his bus and not having money to get back home to his little girl and how he totally doesn't want to just TAKE my money, so he'll sell me this in-box GPS he just happens to have. I tell him I don't have any cash on me (which was true) and he says "no worries, there's an ATM right over there!"
After I tell him as politely as possible that I wasn't going to do that and didn't want a GPS, he starts getting pissed and how he lost his leg fighting for my freedom and on and on and on and then starts staring at me again for another minute before going away. I think he did that with a few other people too because I saw a cop talking to him not long afterwards.
Once I waited for a friend to pick me up and a guy with sores all over his face starts talking to me for 15-20 minutes about how he has cancer and needs money for the bus so he can get treatment. Eventually I just give him some cash to shut him up (couldn't leave because my friend was picking me up.
Then the worst experience happened on a date. We were getting ice cream and sitting outside and the guy rolls up in his wheelchair and just parks right behind my date staring at me. I try to do my best to ignore him since I am in the middle of a conversation, but he keeps staring and eventually I ask if he wants anything. He gives a 10 minute story about missing his bus and not having money to get back home to his little girl and how he totally doesn't want to just TAKE my money, so he'll sell me this in-box GPS he just happens to have. I tell him I don't have any cash on me (which was true) and he says "no worries, there's an ATM right over there!"
After I tell him as politely as possible that I wasn't going to do that and didn't want a GPS, he starts getting pissed and how he lost his leg fighting for my freedom and on and on and on and then starts staring at me again for another minute before going away. I think he did that with a few other people too because I saw a cop talking to him not long afterwards.
Seattle has an incredibly high amount of homeless for the size of the city.
Even in the suburbs I can barely go to a grocery store without having someone beg for change out front, let alone in the city proper.
It's not meant to dehumanize; it's just something I've personally learned through experience. I sometimes say "good luck," or "no, sorry".. but when it's the 20th person on a short walk through the city it gets monotonous.
And even the most "normal" looking homeless person might be unhinged, so you never know WTF you are going to get by responding with anything.. even a polite no. They might follow and try to strike up a conversation.. whereas you'll learn completely ignoring them usually gets them to ignore you.
Even in the suburbs I can barely go to a grocery store without having someone beg for change out front, let alone in the city proper.
It's not meant to dehumanize; it's just something I've personally learned through experience. I sometimes say "good luck," or "no, sorry".. but when it's the 20th person on a short walk through the city it gets monotonous.
And even the most "normal" looking homeless person might be unhinged, so you never know WTF you are going to get by responding with anything.. even a polite no. They might follow and try to strike up a conversation.. whereas you'll learn completely ignoring them usually gets them to ignore you.
Christ. You know us saying we don't acknowledge every single homeless person does not mean we do it 100% of the time.
Get the fuck over yourself. Seriously.
how in the fuck is grabbing the closest value in sheets of paper, and then handing those sheets of paper to another human, who then has to count them and add them up, and then put them into a drawer and give you back other sheets of paper and little chunks of metal faster than pulling out a single plastic card and swiping it?
Orbis Tabula
Member
Now that I think about it, the funniest response to this thread would have been pretending that it were invisible.
This is the post you respond to? What about all the other people who have asked you questions?
BreezyLimbo
Banned
So instead of responding to people you make generalizations like 'Oh these people have a bunch of stories about homeless people when they supposedly just IGNORE them all!'.
Hey OP, why are you ignoring so many posters. Where's your empathy man, you can't even say 'sorry I can't respond' to each post.'
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I'm sure that made Kitty Genovese feel better that everyone "thought" about helping her.
An excuse to play an Anthrax video from back in the day...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtD_GUvu-wc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtD_GUvu-wc
Nickodamus Rex
Banned
This just made my afternoon, ty. I'm actually not against calling them that from now on.
terrisus
Member
PassiveObserver
Member
You do not want to engage with panhandlers. No good can come of it, but go ahead if it helps you feel human.
You posted this on the previous page and edited it out. Not sure why you felt the need to be redundant unless you wanted your post to be noticed rather than rotting on the bottom of the page.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
A Chicago cop once told me to literally say, and only say, "Not today, buddy" if you don't have or want to give money to a homeless person. Those words exactly. Since he told me that 10+ years ago, I've never had someone take no for an answer or harass me in any way.
You acknowledge them. You don't have to give money. You don't get harassed. Win, win, win.
You acknowledge them. You don't have to give money. You don't get harassed. Win, win, win.
HOLY FUCK....like holy fuck.
I didn't want the OP to miss it since he seems to be missing a lot of posts asking where he lives.
If I see someone hurt, or in danger, I will react, homeless or not. You sure like painting with a wide brush..
Yeah it's totally one encounter and not years of encounters, how did you know?
Ah. So the point you're making is making the other person feel better. That's different.
OP cares. He'll read every post. It's why he's still posting.
not_so_special
Banned
not they arent...like you poor attempt of drive by post
Hobos are not homeless people. The entire continent of America is their home.
I find this hard to believe...but maybe our SF homeless are just more aggressive so it seems like there are more.
BreezyLimbo
Banned
Here comes the strawman!
"G-G-GAF won't agree with me! Let me put up this completely unrelated Strawman about how ignoring this womans screams is equivalent to ignoring homeless people!"
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Deleted member 102481
Unconfirmed Member
they are in the subway
I don't see the empathy in lying by telling them you don't have any money. I do respond by saying that, but I am not obliged to. I'm not gaining anything, they are not gaining anything, it's just a formality. "Yes, I acknowledge you are talking to me, but I'm not going to help you. Move on."
How this makes someone an egomaniac baffles me.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Well, at the very least, merely thinking about the person being there isn't really the same thing.
PseudoKirby
Banned
The world is out to get your attention.
and sales people are told to never say accept no for an answer.
you're the kind of person they target.
Huw_Dawson
Member
Begging is illegal in Britain. That doesn't stop Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester being insane for this, though. There are probably fifteen to twenty homeless people in that square for most of the day. The police do not do anything.
OTOH I have yet to meet a homeless person in Liverpool, weirdly.
The thing is that it might very well be that 80% of the people are out-of-luck people who need the money to survive - but the other 20% are scam artists and crazy people.
OTOH I have yet to meet a homeless person in Liverpool, weirdly.
The thing is that it might very well be that 80% of the people are out-of-luck people who need the money to survive - but the other 20% are scam artists and crazy people.
Kano on the Phone
Member
You pretending a quick, meaningless "sorry" is empathy is way worse than anything else going on in this thread.
CrimzonSamurai
Member
It's not a uniquely American phenomenon. I was in Beijing in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 you couldn't cross the street as foreigner without being surrounded by homeless Chinese trying to sell you broken watches with Mao's face on them, or those bearskin hats that are Russian but tourists buy them because they think "lol communism." Anyway, when I went back in 2007 they had just finished the Olympics construction and as the final stage of that, rounded up all the homeless people in Beijing and trucked them out to the countryside (or worse, don't actually know where they took them), but when I was back after they had done that it was like a completely different city.
Putting your card in a machine, putting your PIN in, waiting for it to clear, getting your receipt back. Usually ends up being about the same as paying in cash (i work in a shop and it mostly seems to be the case).
Also, lots of small shops near me have minimum spend before you can use a card. Buses only take cash too. Just makes cash easier.
you two catchin' feelings about a post I made not directed at anyone in particular. I think I hit the mark
ProfessorLobo
Banned
Yeah, I still try to talk to the homeless but it's hard not to get colder every time. I moved to Seattle a few years ago.
Or you know; maybe people don't give money any more because they eventually realized they were being scammed?
I used to give homeless people money all the time.. got scammed.. even had a laugh about it before with a homeless guy who asked me twice in the same night for gas money, holding an empty gas can in his hand. (an incredibly common scam.. "my car is out of gas, it's down the street")..
"You asked me that on my way into this bar bro and I gave you twenty dollars!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!! Well I'm out of gas again!"
He seemed much more hyper the second time.. I wonder why? Probably not the crack he smoked.
dinazimmerman
Incurious Bastard
Sarcasm is fun.
Max Armstrong
Member
Why is OP not answering every post? Doesn't he have time to stop and answer everyone?
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I don't agree that its meaningless. I think it means more than you think it does, which is probably the fundamental point of disagreement here.
You're probably the 20th person to go with this drive-by post.
Sure. But the point I'm making is that your initial statement doesn't make certain assumptions. The point I'm making is that just because I don't physically recognize them doesn't make me some inhumane monster because I do recognize them. Just mentally. Previous experiences, emotions, and logic dictate that I recognize them in my mind and move on.
I remember seeing this one stretch of sidewalk as we walked towards the ferry terminal that was essentially a wall of panhandlers.
Loool are you for real? I'm sure you bleating on a fucking message board with empty rants and saying the odd platitude to a homeless person on the street is really making their lives better. You sound like you're some 12 year old emo kid who looks around at people on the street feeling superior to them all for inane reasons like these.
not_so_special
Banned
well to be serious..the excuse some of the people used to rant about homeless people sound to me like the excuse some racist use to paint in the same light other minorities
bennywhatever
Member
I don't get it very often, but I was feeling generous one day and gave a homeless guy every coin in my pocket (around $1.80 or so) and he said "The fuck is this?! I can't get a bus ticket with this! Fuck you!"
So I just ignore them now, unfortunately. I feel bad for it, but that just really grinded my gears.
So I just ignore them now, unfortunately. I feel bad for it, but that just really grinded my gears.
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