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Will Work Wave for Food Cash Money
Homeless people all along I-35 put down their signs for a brief moment to do "The Wave" when a local judge ruled restrictions on panhandling unconstitutional. That's right, all the streets of Austin are now open for business. Grab your markers and the biggest piece of cardboard you can find!
Look, we know some people need help. But we know some people are just out to make a buck, or $400/day. We know you've tried to do the math on how much a bum makes, and so have our friends at KXAN.
Austinist, probably like many of you, has had a few interesting run-ins with the homeless population. While attending UT on the government's dime, which we will bust our ass until 2030 (not exaggerating) to pay off, we strategically planned our steps along Guadalupe to avoid being hit up for money by "Drag Rats." One time we were walking behind some kid and watched the following ensue (after the jump):
Bum sneaks up alongside of daydreaming kid walking along the drag.
Bum: "Hey, put your hand in your pocket and show me what you've got."
Kid: "Uh......." pulls out $5 bill. Bum sticks his hand out. Kid hesitantly puts bill in bum's hand. Bum laughs and walks to 7-11 to buy a case of Naddie Light.
Our favorite bum sign in town? "Need money for a taco and beer." Hey, at least he's honest.
We are sure you've got stories to tell, objections to the ruling, objections to our non-PC take on the homeless population, or you might want to share your favorite sign, so post your thoughts in the comment section.
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It is really more annoying than anything...and because there has been an increasing number in the past couple of years, I find myself doubting the sincerity of ANY of the "begging bums". I once was asked for $0.23 for bus fare, so I dished over a quarter. I walked back the other way and was asked the same question by the same person. I was thinking "I just gave you MORE than you asked for." So I've come to distrust them all and I give nothing. I figure my taxes somehow just helped pay for a really awesome homeless shelter.
there was a big story in the DC CIty Paper about 4 years ago about this bum who positioned himself in the busy work district of downtown around 15th street and H. It turns out he made around 80K ayear and a a otel room across the bridge in VA and a bank acct of some sort.
whack!
i always try to give people food instead of money. it is pretty normal that i have leftovers after lunch downtown, so if someone happens to ask me for money along the way back to the office, ill offer them my food. usually they accept. also, at work whenever we have breakfast tacos or bagels, there are always ridiculous amounts of leftovers. ill take them downstairs at the end of the day and set them beside the trash can. another thing that has seemed to be well-received (in the summer) is bottled water. while there are definitely people out there trying to scam others out of there money, there are probably a greater percentage who really do need help. why not give it to them in the form of leftovers that would otherwise go ignored in the fridge (and eventually be dumped, inedible) or other non-monetary gifts (fill up your disposable cup before leaving a restaurant and give them the rest; in the winter, give someone that crappy sweater you've been meaning to throw out). okay enough of that, point made! back to whoring myself out to a pharmaceutical company.
On the drag... to avoid the bums on the westside I roll on the eastside.
Yesterday a bum asked me for a buck. I declined, he was polite. I got my lunch. On the way back, he was talking on a freaking cell phone. What up dude? The only thing outside of his begging that gave him bum cred was his smell.
Being an austinite and a student at UT, I was used to seeing bums around, asking for pennies, quarters, work, etc.. So, you can imagine my surprise when, in the good ol' San Fran, the majority of the bums had signs that said "Need money for weed". Man, San Francisco is cool.
good post for me to comment on considering the domain of my site is "hobonation" and its about austin...
but anyway the worst kind of bums are the ones who yell at you when you dont pay them. "hey brotha you gotta dolla?!?!!?!" "..nope.." "well fuck you then asshole, all yall assholes!"
After living in New York City most of my life, I got used to telling the difference between a real homeless person and a fake bum. Homeless people are usually dirty, dejected, sleeping, and sad. Fakes have signs.
Coming to Austin and seeing the "interstate bums" for the first time seemed so bizzare to me; not only was everyone a fake, they were even business savvy enough to beg in high traffic areas at peak times. And they have enough money to buy markers to write signs with? And what's with the normal looking clothes?
I worked in an office building off 290 where once a week I watched a guy park his car by my office as rush hour approached, and walk out to beg for change.
I just got back from a trip to Southeast Asia and Africa, enduring actual homeless people who actually are starving. They have no hope of getting even the simplest of jobs because there aren't any jobs. Now I'm back in Texas amongst the interstate bums again, who just don't feel like working.
To the Austinites that don't know what to say to these guys, say "Get a job" and give them a dirty look, because it's all they deserve, if even that.
McDonalds is always hiring.
listen- not all homeless people are beggars, and not all those beggars are homeless. PC or not, you can at least be correct.
when you talk about homeless, remember you're also talking about: seniors, families with kids (who make up 40% of the homeless population), people coming out of foster care, people that have had major medical issues, and of course sometimes the mentally ill, addicts, socially inept, lazy motherfuckers that just don't want to work.
i've had jobs working with homeless, and i never give money out on the street. i'd rather give it to the kid at the coffee shop.
i used to be a total sucker for the homeless in DC where I went to college. the scam matt mentioned above isn't unique there; there are tons of people doing shit like that, and making bank doing it. at this stage of my life, i give money to charitable organizations that are doing work to help things like homelessness rather than individuals on the street.
speaking of people on the street, anyone else work on or near 5th and congress? ever notice that junkie that sleeps through most of the day on the sidewalk outside CVS and then aggressively asks for change? that dude pisses me off to no end. i once spoke to a much more personable homeless dude who confirmed my suspician that he's a junkie. i will not finance anyone's herion addiction no matter how pushy and tenacious they are.
ugh! The CVS sleeper: I smell him more than I see him. I always hold my breath when passing by, or I will gag. I don't have sympathy for bums. I don't care what their situation is, I'm not going to know about it enough to decide if it's worth it to "help" them either by donuts or 27 cents for the "bus". With the exclustion of the mentally ill and other countries, people do choose what happens to them. Drugs are a choice. Not working is a choice. Being a victim of your lousy childhood/parents is a choice. Not getting help is a choice. Callous? Sure. But I've known people who pulled themselves out of pretty bad places. Ever since then I think of it as not so "out of their hands" as it seems. It's about having the will to change. And the necessity to change, which we deprive them of with handouts.
This list of comments exmplifies to me why Austin has gone to shite. Lots of yuppies whining about how homeless people ruin the pleasure of their venti low-fat soy latte by asking for a quarter...
Oh it's not the begging that ruins our delicious yuppie coffee, it's the stench. We'll send them your way next time. What? Was Austin at one time full of compassionate pre-coffee bleeding hearts patting the backs of bums saying "I'm so sorry, here's a dime" and feeling good about themselves for not whining about the problem in the very appropriate whining venue of a comments section and keeping Austin from "going to shite" by that one action? Glad I moved here in the shite years.
Too bad there can't be a list like the National Do Not Call register (or whatever) to sign up for bum-begging free strolls around town. Seems like the same thing, except that it's ok to hate the people who have jobs calling & bothering us, but not the ones who don't. funny.
it's too bad we can't post an audo link here to bill hick's classic rant about doing the bum hurdle in nyc, "heyyagotanymoney, heyyagotanymoney, heyyagotanymoney..." and how a guy would ask for money and he'd say, no sorry man not today, and the guy would yell, "fuck you asshole!!" hicks: "oh, wait, where's my checkbook? now do i make that out to Mr. Vagrant or what?" the ones who snap are classic. sheesh.