would you give a homeless veteran some loose change if his breath smelled bad?

Question

Most of the men in my family has served or is serving in the military. I love our military and I am very proud of them.

The other day I saw a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign saying "please help me, I'm a vietnam veteran".

I reached into my purse to give him some money. He saw this and shouted, "God bless you dear, thank you!" .. But then I smelled a very strong alcohol smell on his breath, and I decided right then and there, that giving this man money would not be a good idea.

I just walked away, with the veteran cussing and yelling at me.

It was a good thing I was with my boyfriend, or maybe the "veteran" would probably hurt me

I didn't have time to go to the closest mcdonalds and buy this guy a big mac. You hippocrites call me a bad person, when you'd probably do the same thing I did. The only difference would be, you wouldn't feel guilty about it, like I obviously do. I love the military. My father and his father were Officers, and my youngest brother is in college ROTC. So shut your mouth, if you think you know me, because you don't. I was just asking a simple question, gee whiz. All I needed was a simple "yes or no". Not for you attack my character, I am a stranger, you don't even know me. You have no right to even say you do. Peace!

Answer 1

This is a hard call. I believe he could be a homeless veteran, he may have had trouble when he came back from whatever war, couldn't cope etc. May have had family troubles, we don't know the circumstances regarding the homeless. Anyhow, if he smelled like alcohol, I guess your best bet is to offer to buy him some fast food, because if you do give money it will probably be spent on liquor. Which is very sad. But God bless your for wanting to help him in the first place.

Answer 2

If I choose to give someone money, I personally do it with no strings attached. I have actually given homeless individuals enough money to buy a small bottle of booze. I do not personally use alcohol, but I can't help but think that my little $5 might allow someone to feel happy for a brief period. I do not believe that most of the homeless "want" to be homeless. I cannot begin to imagine how awful it must be to have norhing but what you can carry. There, but for the grace of God go I.

Answer 3

Panhandlers are very adept at using WHATEVER they can to get sympathy from people & get them to hand over money. When I see the "Please Help I'm A Vet" or ANY of those signs, I do NOT give them money, especially if I see them smoking cigarettes. I have nothing against people who smoke, but if these people are so hungry why are they wasting money on cigarettes? or booze which from the looks of many is the case? My stepdad in Oregon saw a guy with a woman & 2 little grimy kids sitting by the road one day with a "Will Work For Food" sign. He went & did what he had to do then pulled up next to the guy & said that he could give him maybe a weeks worth of work (it was haying season). The guy told him to F Off!!! These people are cons. They think if they look pathetic enough & have some little grimy kid sitting with them people will NOT want them near their house, so they will just hand over money to ease their conscience. MY mom told me that where they live in Oregon they had a bad problem with it until people started NOT handing out money, but bringing the people food. One guy got so mad that someone brought him groceries that he threw a can of veggies at the back window of their car & broke it when they drove away.
These people do NOT want food & they will NOT work for food, they want people to simply hand over money so they can buy cigarettes or booze or worse, drugs.

Answer 4

Some of these Veterans suffer flashbacks to Vietnam. The things they saw or did make them that way. "I never walked in that mans shoes or seen things through his eyes, or stood and watched with a helpless heart as a soul within one dies-" No, I won't give money for drinks, but will offer food. I am a Vietnam Veteran, and proud to be one.

Answer 5

No offense to homeless people in anyway, because I understand people can fall on hard times (I have)
but I think his time would have been better spent in a shelter or out looking/applying for a job.
It sounds vary cliche but most of the time, I believe homeless people are homeless by their own faults not the economy (I also live in a state with the WORST unemployment rate)

Answer 6

Wouldn't you be depressed and driven to alcohol if you were had been through some of the stuff this man has been through?? Vietnam Vets have seen some of the most gruesome, scary $hit imaginable. Many of them aren't even playing with a full deck anymore because they suffer from such a high magnitude of post traumatic stress disorder. Give the man a break. No, I don't agree with him wasting away charity money on his alcohol but try to learn to give people the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions. All you can do is your part and it's on him how he chooses to use the money. He will pay for it eventually.

I doubt it would break your bank to give someone a couple of dollars anyway......whether he is a "REAL VETERAN" or not....is not your position to judge. Everyone that refuses to give money to the needy uses those excuses.....they assume the homeless guy on the corner is really a millionaire that makes all of his money panhandling on the streets....Oh im sooooo sure that is true...lmao....please...with people like you, how would anyone ever make a decent living on the streets? get real people & quit assuming everyone is out to screw you over and trick you.

Answer 7

I have been back home to Chicago, and had homeless people in general ask for change. I always refuse, but tell them I would buy them something to eat. I have never been taken up on it. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of people who claim to be veterans, and are definitely not. If I can't be certain where the money is going, there's no way.

Answer 8

I get this a lot in San Francisco. Problem is a lot of these clowns are not old enough to have been in VietNam, name their DI, the unit they were in, their MOS, the Province they were in. One guy claimed he was an Infantry Soldier.......in the Navy.

While the stats in the link don't prove me right, they do bust a myth or 2.

SSG US Army 73-82

Answer 9

A lot of phonies are out there claiming to be Vietnam vets. I once was homeless, but did not ask others for handouts to survive, I survived on my wits and determination.

I have one test I always use, I ask the person who says he was a Vietnam vet, I ask him:
What does Chu hoi mean.
When they can't answer I ignore them, those who have been there and done that know the answer.

Answer 10

There are a lot of fake "veterans" out there panhandling. They use that ploy to gain sympathy. I pass one every day on the same street corner; he has an MP3 player stuck in his ears and a cell phone hanging on his belt.