Homeless people? Aren't some of them just plain rude?

Question

They approach you, begging for money, and when you don't have any going spare, they hurl abuse at you.

Don't get me wrong, I have given money to homeless people a few times, I gave a man a £10 once.

But christ, the rude ones are awful. Has anyone here had any experiances with a homeless person?

Chris at lucas- You said "Kindness is free" right...?

Well, shouldn't that apply for both me and the homeless person??

When I have no other money on me apart from my bus fare to get to college, what am I supose to do? I did explain to the man kindly too.

"And we should be impressed because you gave some money a couple of times?

Well I'm sure that really helped a lot of them."

Well, if giving money doesn't help them all that much, what are you complaining about then?

Mommabea- There's a difference between manners and someone shouting abuse and threats at you...

Answer 1

Well, I personally never give money to homeless people. Not because I'm "stingy" but I'd rather give money to a charitable organization, like the food shelter that supports homeless people, than give a homeless person money to buy booze and cigerettes, because that's normally what they do. And by giving them money, I feel like i'm only feeding into the whole "begging" culture. If nobody were to give them money, perhaps they would realize they need to get help and get their lives straight.

I understand that many people come from different backgrounds, and that it's not necessarily someone's "fault" for being homeless, but I do feel that there are many organizations and people who want to help these people in today's society, and all they have to do is seek it. There is not a lack of jobs.

So yes, it is rude. But at the same time, living on the street probably gives you an extra 10 layers of skin and you become that way because you're trying to survive. I guess it's hard to kow what it's like unless you are in their shoes.

Answer 2

People Get Mad And Half The Time It's Nothing Too Do With Other's They Just Take It Out On The Rest Of The World Or There Just Selfish, I Believe EVERY Human Is Selfish In A Way. Earth: We Are Destorying Beautiful Forestry And We Have Destroyed Half Of The Ozen Layer, But Do We Stop Any Of This? NO Animal's/Insects: We Have Got So Many Extinct Animal's And Insects Already, But We Don't Learn. Murder's/Rapest/Crooks: The Law Does Not Punish Them Much! They Still Get Freedom And They Eventaully Get Realised Before They Die, And They Normally End Up Re Offending. My Point Is, Everyone Is BAD In A Way And That Lady Yes She Had No Right, But Maybe Think For A Minute You Think She Is Being Rude And Mean, And Just Maybe She Is Thinking, This Isn't WRONG! Also The Other Lady Might Have Done Something First Too Start It. Also Remember People Are Raised Diffrently, They Have Diffrent Personalities And Diffrent Beliefs. Sadly We Will Never Have Peace In This World. Oceans were put here to divide us, yet we made boats to cross them. People were Meant too Live but We Invented Guns Too Kill Them. As long as there is'multiculturism' there is always going to be conflict. All these different cultures CAN NOT live together. Simple as that, and no matter how hard you 'fight for peace' world peace will never happen. There will always be conflict between whatever parties, for whatever reasons, be justifiable or not... think about it, there's always going to be a group of people who are against another culture

Answer 3

There are lots of reasons why people are homeless! Just think for a minute how you would feel if you were to be reduced to their circumstances. Would you be smiley and cheerful 24/7? when you do not know when your next meal etc is coming from, wondering what doorstep you will be sleeping in, whether you will be safe at night?

Some are homeless through circumstances beyond their control. Some are homeless because they were made redundant. Some are homeless because they had mental health issues that society chooses to ignore, or judge as weakness etc, and if they did not have mental health issues before, they soon develop them.

Some of the "attitude" is a smoke screen which in normal circumstances they would not have,but have had to "harden themselves" against the hard knocks.

99 percent of the homeless people I help out with have depression. They do not want to be in the situation, but are, for whatever reason and yet society, who despise them will not give them a second chance! Depression is an illness which no-one would choose, either brought on through circumstances or chemical imbalance in the brain. A few kind words would not go amiss!

People will say to them "Get a job!" but that is easier said than done! Companies will not give these people a job because they do not have a home address, and they do not have a home because they do not have a job! And look in the papers for housing adverts - No DSS, they say, or Suit proffesional people - ie working people. I often wondered about this when I was homeless (homeless actually means not having a home to go to of your own where you can open the door with your own key, to cook and eat and sleep ....) and someone told me who was in the know that that was because people have properties and rent them out, but do not want to declare that as income. Cash in hand ..... Poor people do not stand a chance! It is a viscious circle!

Please do not judge. Give them a kind word if approached and then quietly think to yourself "There but for the grace of God go I!"

A lot of my homeless people are lovely if they only have a listening ear, a cup of tea in the warm somewhere.

I love them to bits!

Answer 4

For years I gave money to homeless people because I always thought how terrible it must be not to have a roof over your head for the night. Now things have changed. A couple of months ago I gave some money to a homeless person and he said 'I see you've got some more money there, can you give me a bit more?' I gave another guy some money but later he saw me, snatched off my glasses, and demanded another £10 before he would give them back. Homeless people do abuse you, and I always excuse it because they are homeless. But as other respondents have said, you can offer to feed them, but they nearly always just want money. I don't know why they can't or don't work, and I'm certainly not always convinced by anyone who says they have bipolar disorder (for example). I know people with bipolar disorder who hold down jobs. I've taken homeless people under my own roof, but 9 times out of 10 they've stolen what they can and cleared off to find the next gullible person.
I used to pay monthly to the Big Issue but I've stopped that too. I think we need to look at this question, because I found out one day that beggars (or some of them anyway) actually make more money than I do, and I work 60 hours a week in a nursing home.
I want to help people but experience of them has made me very cynical.

Answer 5

Yes! They have a sign saying 'hungry and homeless', so I went to MacDonalds and got a Big Mac meal, only to be told that they couldn't eat it as they were vegetarian and another one said they couldn't accept food in case it had been poisoned! What they really mean is that they only want money to spend on drink and/or drugs! A lot of them bring a wee puppy with them for the 'sympathy' vote too! Beggars can't be choosers - or so I thought!

Answer 6

Refuse everyone a hand-out; see what their reaction if, and if it is good, then reward them with the money. If they are rude, then you have the last laugh.

MOST of these people in First World Western Countries, are lazy, drug and/or alcohol addicted people playing the the generousity of others. In most cases you shouldn't give money, buy them a burger. Most will use the money for booze or a hit.
There are agencies for the truly needy, and few need to beg on the street in the USA< CANADA, UK, GERMANY, AUSTRIA or France (and many other countries as well, that I've less familar with.)

Answer 7

Keep in mind that many of them probably aren't quite right in the head, anyway -- granted, some folks are homeless because of temporary circumstances. But the ones that can't quite seem to get it together enough to establish themselves in a permanent situation have a bit of a screw loose somewhere in the first place. One shouldn't expect perfect manners from someone whose dinner is probably out of a trash bin.

Edit: I see you do no appreciate understated humor. Oh, well! Manners is simply a way of interacting with other people. Good manners takes into consideration the effect of their words and actions on others. Bad manners, on the other hand, do not. Screaming at other people when they refuse to hand over their hard-earned money is definitely bad manners at the very least. :-)

Answer 8

My mother and I were once followed and verbally abused by a homeless guy because we didn't have a cigarette to give him. If we had one to spare we would of gave it to him, but he just could not accept the concept of us not having any and automatically took our"sorry we don't have any" as a personal attack.

A few years later I found myself in that same part of town when another homeless man asked me if I could spare some change for a coffee. I gave him a 5 dollar bill. He acted like I gave him a hundred and gave me a big hug and said "god bless you" He was so kind and appreciative about it that I wished that I had more to give him.

So I guess its all about who you encounter. Some homeless people can be a$$holes who give the kindhearted ones bad reputations.

Answer 9

If I have change I will give it but there is one guy who sits, all day, every day just beside an ATM mchine across from my office. He waits until people have withdrawn money & then harasses them. As far as I can tell he is making no effort to help himself out of his situation. He merely sits there under his blanket, no matter what the weather.
Surely his time would be better spent looking for a job or a flat.

Answer 10

I had some guy who was ostensibly selling the Big Issue on the tube, I don't think he was a genuine seller, he asked me to buy it and I said I couldn't as I had no money, which I didn't, and he started abusing me as he walked off on a crowded platform.

I always say I'm sorry for not having money, because I would really like to be able to help. As people have said, many have mental illness and addiction problems and maybe the guy on the tube was one of them. I've found that most people are okay though.