Panhandlers who won't take "no" for an answer

[Grenadier]

Thoughts on this story? Apparently, a panhandler didn't take too kindly to someone refusing to give $$$, and started poking at the person with his crutches.

In an effort to put some distance between them, the guy the panhandler was pestering pushes him away, and the panhandler falls into the street, and gets run over by a bus.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6638184

What seems odd though, is this statement:

"The man fell onto the street and the remained there for a very long period of time" said John Zitzmann with the Houston Police Department. "METRO bus also traveling northbound on San Jacinto didn't see the vagrant, the gentlemen, lying on the street and ran him over."

 

[Drac]

How did a bus driver not see someone laying in the street?? Cleveland passed a law prohibiting pan handling and posted signs saying "Its OK To Say No"..If caught you go to jail...When on foot patrol I cannot count the number of time I have run panhandlers off..

 

[Nolerama]

A lot of the homeless population that would normally be associated as "panhandlers" suffer from the full spectrum of mental health issues and/or substance abuse.

The situation is a sad one. The man refusing to give money to the panhandler is now traumatized by the panhandler's death... as well as the panhandler himself who is not longer capable of asking for money on the street.

I wonder about the bus driver's situation.

In terms of panhandling, I think citizens should be encouraged to not give them money, but direct the individual to nearby shelters/soup kitchens/ rehab centers/ etc. Lot of those places get Federal funding based on the number of people they service each year.

It's a lot better than spending countless police man hours on taking a panhandler to jail for a night; which many abuse since a ride to a night in jail means shelter and maybe a cheese sandwich.

 

[searcher]

I feel bad for the guy who did the pushing. All of the panhandlers I have come across over the years had a bit of drama to them. So, if he stayed in the street for a while after being pushed, I suspect he was waiting for some attention. The fact that he got run over is his own fault, cars drive down the street and he risked it by lying there.

 

[Shuto]

I used to work in downtown Cleveland and I remember the numerous panhandlers on the downtown sidewalks. One guy, however, really stuck out from all the others. This guy had a sign saying "Jokes for $1.00" or something like that. I was intrigued since this guy was providing a product, not simply begging. I gave the guy a buck and then he asked my what kind of joke I wanted. I thought WOW, I actually have a choice. Anyways, he told me the joke, which I laughed at, and I never saw him in person again.

That Sunday, when I was reading the Sunday paper, I saw his photo and there was a story about him. He had just lost his job and was doing the joke selling thing in between looking for another job. I presume that he found gainful emplyment elsewhere, or maybe he got run over by a bus. (tasteless, I know, but I couldn't resist)


That was circa 1982. I still remember the joke.

 

[Hagakure]

I used to work in downtown Cleveland and I remember the numerous panhandlers on the downtown sidewalks. One guy, however, really stuck out from all the others. This guy had a sign saying "Jokes for $1.00" or something like that. I was intrigued since this guy was providing a product, not simply begging. I gave the guy a buck and then he asked my what kind of joke I wanted. I thought WOW, I actually have a choice. Anyways, he told me the joke, which I laughed at, and I never saw him in person again.

That Sunday, when I was reading the Sunday paper, I saw his photo and there was a story about him. He had just lost his job and was doing the joke selling thing in between looking for another job. I presume that he found gainful emplyment elsewhere, or maybe he got run over by a bus. (tasteless, I know, but I couldn't resist)


That was circa 1982. I still remember the joke.

What was it?

 

[Shuto]

Little Johnny went out on Halloween dressed in a Pirate's costume. He knocked on Ms. Smith's door and shouted "Trick or Treat". Ms. Smith replied "Oh, what a wonderful costume Johnny. Where are your buccaneers?" Johnny replied "They're on my buckin' head lady!"

In retrospect, maybe it wasn't worth a dollar. ;-)

 

[Gordon Nore]

The story is a bit skimpy on details for me to form a conclusion. It is terribly sad. Indeed, there are long-term homeless folks with hard-to-manage psychiatric issues, in addition to those who have been ravaged by addiction. I think the very fact of living ones life on the street is, in itself, a recipe for mental illness.

If the panhandler was indeed lying on the road for a long period of time, as the officer indicated, then somebody saw him lying there for a period of time.

As for panhandling itself, I give spare change to panhandlers, provided I have it to give and the person asking for money is courteous about it. It is certainly my choice to do so. I understand that many homeless people are afraid of the shelter system and would prefer to take their chances on the street. A long-term street alcoholic is often someone who is living in terror of rapidly detoxing and dying from it.

Our Provincial government and municipal council conspired several years ago to "clamp down" on squeegee kids. These are street kids who offer to 'clean' your windshield with a squeegee. I'm not crazy about it in that it is unsafe to have people darting in and out of traffic, but to hear the politicians talk about it, you'd think it was the worst pandemic since typhoid.

 

[MA-Caver]

Phil had a thread about the scourge to decent hard working folks known as panhandlers... I laid into him on it.

With the economy and unemployment going on the way it is... we're going to see A LOT more of them in the days ahead.

 

[mozzandherb]

Street people here in Ottawa are not really bothered by the police as long as they arent bothering anyone, but in this case I dont think the pedestrian did anything wrong, he is allowed to not be bothered and if I didnt want to be bothered I would push someone away as well. It is unfortunate what happened, that is a terrible sad story, but I do not blame the pedestrian in this case