No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
So goes the sage advice of one of my coworkers. This adage was put into practice on me today.
I took a trip to the library then to Market Square to get some food. I was asked for money by a bum. I told him I would buy him food instead. He told me he wasn’t allowed into any of the restaurants. I told him I would bring it out to him. I go to the restaurant, order food, and sit down to wait. I get up and look out the door once to see that he is still there. He is still outside, but has moved to a different part of the square. I sit down again and continue to wait for my food. My food arrives, and I take his food outside before even starting on mine. He is gone. I eat my food, exit the restaurant, and spend a few minutes looking for him, but he is nowhere to be found.
I feel that, whenever I get burned like this, I must take something with me to prevent it from happening again. It seems to me that the only way is to refuse any handouts to any bums. I want to be nice, but what can I do when my philanthropic efforts are thwarted?
What do people do who live in bigger cities where this is a more pervasive part of everyday life? I have heard that panhandlers in NYC make $50,000 per year. Is it good to give only to organized charities and always refuse bums?
What a conundrum.
What about trying to carry small food things with you, granola bars or trail mix packs or something? Then you can just pull that out of your pocket right then and there and give it to them…What if that guy that you told you would buy food for thought that you had forgotten him? Who knows…Also, it is good to carry small food items with you anyway in case of your own emergency!
That’s a good idea. I’ll give that a try.
i was told by someone who worked for knox area rescue ministries to deny them both money and food, directing them to a shelter instead. i guess it’s the “teach a man to fish” theory. either way, it works for me. i tell them “no” and give them directions to where they can find long-term help.