Beggars, big issues etc

[Anubis]

I completely ignore them and very rarely get asked twice.

 

I think I must inadvertently have a permanent look on my face like I want to kick your head in. I always seem to be ignored by charity collectors, smackheads, even the reps abroad who try to drag you into bars/restaurants leave me alone. Which is nice.

 

Everybody knows you only beat up on cripples who only have one hand....

[Strontium]

Probably should be in the world of a woman thread this.

 

My girlfriend gave some money to a homeless guy years ago, depositing a few coins in what she thought was a begging cup but was actually a cup of tea.

 

Also, when she was at a restaurant in Italy; since doesn't have much of an appetite she gave her (largely untouched) pizza to a beggar, who then ungratefully removed various unwanted toppings from the fast food treat in front of her. So beggars can be choosers.

[Sugar Ape]

 

Everybody knows you only beat up on cripples who only have one hand....

 

Objection. I don't discriminate, no hands and missing a foot or feet would also meet my criteria.

[ChrisM]

Last Monday down a sidestreet in town I walked past this geeky looking guy, maybe 20, dressed in a massive winter coat even though it was roasting and looking like he hasn't washed in weeks. Anyway, he says 'excuse me sir, may I have a word?' in a really soft, weak voice. I froze, and he started rubbing his hands together, worryingly close to his pockets. 'I'm a christian, and a little bit scared. Can I have some money?' Needless to say I pooed a little bit in my pants and literally ran away like a big fucking girl. Proper oddball. I've no doubt he had a carving knife on him and would of cut my head off if I hadn't legged it.

[s(k)aturation]

There's always Alan B'stard's line:

 

- excuse me, have you got any spare change for something to eat?

- of course I have, you silly little man.

[Pony Princess]

I treat them with the contempt I give to the chuggers on Bold Street. I was pleased the other day when I walked up Bold Street at lunch and this pretty little thing with a clipboard approached me and I smiled. I kept walking and then shook my head as she said something. I tasted her disappointment.

 

After I had finished my shopping in Forbidden Planet, obviously buying sexy comics and banging hot chicks in the anime aisle, I walked back down Dale Street. As I approached the chugger area, I saw a girl who happened to be of African-origin carrying a clipboard. 7/10, might bang for novelty purposes. She smiled at me and as she approached and said, something I shook my head. Then I noticed the chugger from earlier shout to her 'nah I already asked him'.

 

When I see this kind of thing, I always think... if I signed up for your direct debit... you might get say £2.50 commission? But think how much could you could make if you just came back to my place and sucked my cock... Hmm. Makes you think.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Seems to have been a massive upturn in homeless and desperate in the Liverpool area in the last 6 months or so.  

 

I work up by the Royal which has always been a bit of a grim area anyway but every day now I'm seeing brazen prostitutes touting for business in daylight, half a dozen people sat begging, people drinking on the streets, syringes, folks passed out of their minds.

 

It's a sad state of affairs.

 

I walk passed the Whitechapel centre twice a day.  In the 2 years I have been working in this area it's gone from being quiet to having people waiting outside at 8am.  Families with suitcases, people of all ages, colours etc waiting for help.  Of an evening when it's closed there's still people there milling about, presumably with no-where to go.

 

Leaves a bad taste in the mouth when you can see the new flats in the City Centre popping up from outside.

[Moctezuma]

Agree with your point Paulie, I think that the effects of austerity policies are starting to percolate through into peoples lives and environments; the recent crime stats, reports about the prison service and difficulties of the NHS at the moment are indicative of that.

 

I think rough sleeping has become more prevalent in London recently, based on reports and my own anecdotal evidence. In relation to the authorities attempts to counteract this I notice a few things in my morning commute:

 

When I walk through King's Cross station in the morning there is often an announcement to the effect of 'Begging is illegal at this station, please report anyone doing this to a member of staff and they will be removed from the premises'. It feels quite authoritarian whenever I hear it.

 

I vaguely remember hearing something on the radio about local ordinances being used to ban begging form certain locations.

 

Near where I work is an area that has been developed by a corporation called 'British Land' who basically have their own private security force who I see kicking homeless people out of this 'zone' once in a while. Perhaps they are able to operate on the basis of it being private land but it's fairly apparent that all members of the public can use it apart from those in the most desperate of circumstances.

 

The anti-homelessness spikes that caused such outrage last year in various locations have been replaced by tiles with wave patterns on them like those below.

[A Red]

I set up a homeless bloke with the Big Issue and me and another lad keep an eye on him to make sure hes doing ok. He is 63 with no teeth, although reasonably intelligent ,you can see he how he struggled to get a job. 

 

He drives me mad with his lack of ambition with how many he buys to sell as he is scared of being left with unsold mags (he cant return them for a refund) He sleeps on someones sofa and gets housing benefit and although probably not an alcoholic spends any spare in the pub.

 

So fucking what? I cant give him ambition, he'll never think the way I do and I dont give a shit if he injects his money into his arm, he earned it, its his. Its nothing to do with me how he spends his money, I might not agree with it and feel he should think ahead a bit more but its his decision.

 

I pick his magazines up for him each Monday and often speak with the area supervisor who tells me he often gets complaints about Big Issue sellers being seen in the pub or that he is basically funding drugs. His answer is always the same, "who are you to criticise how someone spends their hard earned money? Yes, they may be buying drugs but at least they didnt steal that bit"

 

At least smile and say hello to a Big Issue seller, it makes them feel good. The good sellers dont harass people.  If you do buy one make sure its the current issue (they come out every week) and check his ID.

[lifetime fan]

End of last year the council here tried claiming the number of rough sleepers was 74, a reduction from the previous year!

 

How they tried to say that with a straight face I'll never fucking know.

 

They even claimed it was a reduction from the previous year as the year before they counted evidence from homeless charities but in 2016 they only counted those they saw sleeping rough for themselves.

 

It's a massive, massive problem and it's getting worse month on month.

 

I work in probably the most affluent area of the city, (live in the shithole area mind) and know at least a dozen people who rough sleep there by sight to nod and say hello to.

 

I try to rotate who I buy the big issue off, there's a couple with dogs I always buy some food for and I have to admit there's one guy I chuck a few more quid to than the others.

 

Whenever I'm asked by one of the sellers if I want it and I say I've already got it that week the response is friendly, jokey and I get a bit of piss taking.

 

One of the first things I did when I became manager of the home I'm now managing was each night when staff have to check all food dates at 10pm, instead of binning out of date food they take it out to the rough sleepers.

 

You wouldn't believe the resistance I had from some staff over it. "It's late, it's dark, it's not safe, they're druggies, they're pissheads"...

 

They're you and me in different circumstances.

[tokyojoe]

If you ever get bothered by those chuggers just ask them how much their CEO gets paid.

 

Works wonders.

[PestiRed]

Definitely been getting worse here in the last couple of years. Our delightful PM made sleeping rough illegal on his assertion that there were enough shelters for everyone. Fortunately that law has never been enforced.

 

My drive to work now has beggars at every major traffic light and, on the few occasions that I use the underground, the subways are now packed with sleeping bags

[magicrat]

Its a national disgrace the numbers of destitute now living in the streets , The numbers have rocketed and are entirely down to the Tories, Cuts in subsidies for shelters and chronic under-funding of mental health, withdrawal of housing benefit for young adults , the squeeze on local council budgets in poorer areas. The list is endless and the government is paralysed in an ideological battle over Brexit and ignoring the desperate plight of

the most vulnerable, They are utter scum   

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Remember the word "chugger"?

 

It is a scientifically proven fact that anybody who ever used that word is an irredeemable cunt.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

If you ever get bothered by those chuggers just ask them how much their CEO gets paid.

 

Works wonders.

If you ever get bothered by "chuggers" ask yourself what your fucking priorities are in life.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Its a national disgrace the numbers of destitute now living in the streets , The numbers have rocketed and are entirely down to the Tories, Cuts in subsidies for shelters and chronic under-funding of mental health, withdrawal of housing benefit for young adults , the squeeze on local council budgets in poorer areas. The list is endless and the government is paralysed in an ideological battle over Brexit and ignoring the desperate plight of

the most vulnerable, They are utter scum   

This.

 

In every town and every city, stepping over absolutely destitute people has become normal.  How the fuck did we let that happen?

 

This is the fifth richest country in the world.  GDP continues to grow.  That extra money isn't going on wages (we are the only OECD country in which GDP has grown while wages fell) or benefits or services.  It's going somewhere.  It's time to get angry.

[VladimirIlyich]

What is a chugger?

[Strontium]

What is a chugger?

 

Those glib scumbags who practically assault you in the street and try to get you to take up a Direct Debit for charity, on which they receive a hefty commission.

[magicrat]

This.

 

In every town and every city, stepping over absolutely destitute people has become normal.  How the fuck did we let that happen?

 

This is the fifth richest country in the world.  GDP continues to grow.  That extra money isn't going on wages (we are the only OECD country in which GDP has grown while wages fell) or benefits or services.  It's going somewhere.  It's time to get angry.

 

One of the biggest catalysts was cuts to funding for community mental health care, Outreach teams in all major cities have been cut to the bone and the resources they need to help the homeless get back into mainstream society been taken away. These are access to doctors , police to help with the most unwell to get them sectioned and into care where they can be treated but most of all its the closure of shelters so no one that wants a bed has to sleep rough.  All the so called benefits the cuts have brought are more than outweighed by the problems thousands of rough sleepers , many very unwell, cause,  All false economies and a totally avoidable tragedy,   

[Arl arse]

There's a woman (early twenties) always stands outside Iceland in Runcorn old town, everyone ignores here or looks at her like she's shit. So I decided to talk to her to find out what the score was - turns out she's a human being with feelings and a pretty shitty run of luck behind her.

 

Escaped a war zone (Iraq) with her young Child, a Child who was born with deformities due to being exposed to depleted uranium. She now sells the Big issue in order to feed and clothe her Child and herself, she's on her arse and people look at her like she's a piece of shit, when in reality she's one of the strongest people I've ever met.

 

If we talk to these people and find out their stories we might just start treating them with the respect they deserve.

 

After speaking to her and hearing her story, I told her I'd be back soon. Went to the Devonshire Bakery bought her a pastie roll and gave her twenty notes, she cried like a baby and gave me a hug.

 

Best money I've ever spent.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

What is a chugger?

Somebody working for a living in a minimally paid job in shit conditions.  Specifically, the people who try to get people to sign up for charities.

 

There exist cunts who refuse to donate to charity (as is their right) but refuse to engage with their own decision; they feel a sense of guilt over their lack of generosity, which they lack the decency to deal honestly with, so they project blame onto the poor saps trying to make a living by equating them with muggers.

[tokyojoe]

I've often given to buskers and the occasional BI seller.

 

Just watched the film .'A Street Cat Named Bob'. Gives an insight into how these poor sods try to survive.

[Bjornebye]

There's a woman (early twenties) always stands outside Iceland in Runcorn old town, everyone ignores here or looks at her like she's shit. So I decided to talk to her to find out what the score was - turns out she's a human being with feelings and a pretty shitty run of luck behind her.

 

Escaped a war zone (Iraq) with her young Child, a Child who was born with deformities due to being exposed to depleted uranium. She now sells the Big issue in order to feed and clothe her Child and herself, she's on her arse and people look at her like she's a piece of shit, when in reality she's one of the strongest people I've ever met.

 

If we talk to these people and find out their stories we might just start treating them with the respect they deserve.

 

After speaking to her and hearing her story, I told her I'd be back soon. Went to the Devonshire Bakery bought her a pastie roll and gave her twenty notes, she cried like a baby and gave me a hug.

 

Best money I've ever spent.

 

 

Good man. 

 

Fella gets on the District Line playing guitar with a bag hanging off the end for a bit of change. Plays his heart out. 95% of people just stare at the floor. I turn my music down, listen to him then give him whatever change I've got in my hand. 

 

Of course their are a lot of horrible cunts on the streets for a reason but sometimes things happen. Not everyone is strong enough to stop the descent. I don't mind the ones who try. Even sometimes give change to someone sat looking cold. The ones who semi-demand it can fuck off. 

 

"oy"

 

"im ok mate"

 

"big issue?"

 

"get it delivered mate" 

[VladimirIlyich]

I've never really experienced a chugger. If anybody tries to sell me stuff its just a simple raise of the hand,which means stay out of my space and 'no thanks' and I continue on.

[Mook]

I hope you explain that to them, Vlad as it could be misconstrued...