Inkblots

Thats a very very good question.

you can give a man a fish, as they say, but he learns nothing till you teach him and make him get his own fish.

I once saw a "homeless" man going to an ATM machine and taking out a gold credit/ATM card out of his pocket. Later he went over the computer screen just next to the ATM machine and was checking stocks. I couldn't believe it.

I had just picked up my fiancee's father at the airport in Chicago when a man walked up and asked, "do you have any money for a man without a home?" When the man walked up, my fiancee's father was looking for his address book in his luggage so he could make a call. When he told the gentleman that he had to make a phone call first, the homeless man thought my fiancee's father needed a phone, so the man pulls out a cell phone and offers my fincee's father to use it. In the end, my fiancee's father found the phone number he was looking for, gave the man a few dollars and used my fiancee's phone to make his call. I later found out that all three of us were wondering how a homeless man can afford a phone.

It's not like a cellphone is that expensive -- you can get a prepaid one at 7-11 for something like 30 bucks or less. No real mystery.

What amuses me more is people passing around stories like this as a way of justifying not only not giving these bums spare change, but also being downright meanspirited toward them. When someone hits the skids, they don't necessarily lose every single thing.

And yes, to address your real, overarching fear: You too can end up just like them.

CT--
I did not post this story for the reasons you suggested. I have passed a dollar bill out the window several times, which was sometimes literally the only cash I had. My main issue is that I personally do not want my money spent on a cellular phone (which I consider a want instead of a basic human need) when it could be spent more effectively. With the few dollars he collected yesterday morning, he could've spent that money on a trip to the McDonald's across the street, a bus pass to the homeless shelter where he would get lodging and food for the night, or an excursion to the thrift store where he could purchase some much-needed shoes or clothes. I can sympathize with being out of money--I'm a grad student living off loans and right now my bank account is overdrawn--but I certainly would not spend the money I do make on something like a cell phone if I had a more pressing need of food, clothing, or shelter.

If the man wants to call someone, so be it. I'm happy that he has someone in his life that he can call and laugh with. That isn't my point--I would've gladly given him a quarter to call his friend or family member on a pay phone if his sign had said "Please let me call my mother." The $30 he spent on that "prepaid cell phone" from 7-11 could've gone a long way in meeting his genuine needs.

Well said Anna, you've got nothing to feel bad about. I personally think most of these bums probably make a good living. Not all, but some and you have to assume that if someone is paying for a cell phone, he's probably already eaten and has a place to sleep.

Here we get "homeless" people selling 'The Big Issue'. I bought one - once

Whatever happened to just buying booze?