Sense and Nonstuff
Oct. 13th, 2004 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dennyWhat if the whole world could vote in the U.S. presidential election? (yoinked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
katyha)
Update: while we're on that subject: how you could influence the US presidential election (yoinked fromdenari)
Poi at Spitz last night was very productive... I figured out three or four things that I've been working on or looking at - although I'm not sure if I'll retain them all - I usually prefer to take in maybe two new things at a time and get those smoothed out before I try to pick up the next thing. Still, I came out of it feeling happy, so that's a result.
On the way there, I bought a sausage roll at a Tube station (live dangerously, eh). It wasn't that great, so I gave the last of it to a homeless guy's dog, which turned its nose up and let it fall on the street, where it was duly ignored. Makes me wonder what I just ate, if a street dog doesn't want any. Anyway, I felt guilty for feeding his dog and not him, so I decided to do my good deed for the day - I went into the McD he was sitting against and got him a double-cheeseburger and chips, and a cup of tea. I wasn't sure if he gets dozens of McD meals a day and would be less than impressed, but if he does then he's a really good actor - I never want to look that grateful for a McD meal in my life, thanks.
There are a lot of homeless guys around the Liverpool Street area, and I'm a bit of a sucker for homeless guys asking for change. I usually set myself a strict rule of not giving out any, because otherwise I'd be giving it to anyone who asked, and I'm not quite that well off that I can spare everything that's in my pockets on a daily basis. I buy the Big Issue whenever I see someone selling one I don't have (and I do check for vendor badges first), and I figure that's the safest route for being a good guy. I used to only give money to homeless guys who weren't obviously drunk/otherwise munged, but then there's this bit of dialogue from a book I read recently:
"It won't help - he'll only spend it on alcohol or drugs"
"And? That's what I'd do with it if I was him"
It's not like I can sneer at anyone who uses drugs to displace themself from a life they don't want to deal with right now - I've been there. A bit trickier to comment on the issue of whether the drugs got them into the situation in the first place, but even if they did - they're there now. Not giving them some change is extremely unlikely to stop them being a homeless drug addict, as far as I can see. It might stop them getting drunk/high tonight, but like I said, who am I to say they shouldn't be doing that?
katyha)Update: while we're on that subject: how you could influence the US presidential election (yoinked from
denari)Poi at Spitz last night was very productive... I figured out three or four things that I've been working on or looking at - although I'm not sure if I'll retain them all - I usually prefer to take in maybe two new things at a time and get those smoothed out before I try to pick up the next thing. Still, I came out of it feeling happy, so that's a result.
On the way there, I bought a sausage roll at a Tube station (live dangerously, eh). It wasn't that great, so I gave the last of it to a homeless guy's dog, which turned its nose up and let it fall on the street, where it was duly ignored. Makes me wonder what I just ate, if a street dog doesn't want any. Anyway, I felt guilty for feeding his dog and not him, so I decided to do my good deed for the day - I went into the McD he was sitting against and got him a double-cheeseburger and chips, and a cup of tea. I wasn't sure if he gets dozens of McD meals a day and would be less than impressed, but if he does then he's a really good actor - I never want to look that grateful for a McD meal in my life, thanks.
There are a lot of homeless guys around the Liverpool Street area, and I'm a bit of a sucker for homeless guys asking for change. I usually set myself a strict rule of not giving out any, because otherwise I'd be giving it to anyone who asked, and I'm not quite that well off that I can spare everything that's in my pockets on a daily basis. I buy the Big Issue whenever I see someone selling one I don't have (and I do check for vendor badges first), and I figure that's the safest route for being a good guy. I used to only give money to homeless guys who weren't obviously drunk/otherwise munged, but then there's this bit of dialogue from a book I read recently:
"It won't help - he'll only spend it on alcohol or drugs"
"And? That's what I'd do with it if I was him"
It's not like I can sneer at anyone who uses drugs to displace themself from a life they don't want to deal with right now - I've been there. A bit trickier to comment on the issue of whether the drugs got them into the situation in the first place, but even if they did - they're there now. Not giving them some change is extremely unlikely to stop them being a homeless drug addict, as far as I can see. It might stop them getting drunk/high tonight, but like I said, who am I to say they shouldn't be doing that?
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-13 02:16 pm (UTC)On another note, there is a guy who sleeps in the doorway of a very respectable cafe where I stop for an amazing, but amazingly overpriced breakfast when I'm working in London, it's in the heart of Millionaire teritory, and the guy is very polite, however when he see's " working guys " he jockingly says " Hello Mate can you spare a few.......grand ".
What I have noticed in y many visits to said bistro, is that a particular woman always buys him two news papers in the morning..she is power dressed and obviously earns a mint, and she knows his first name, every morning that I have been there she buys him a copy of the " Sport " and " The Telegraph " ( The newsagents is next door to the bistro " another well dressed gent I see always provides hime with a coffee and a slice of the amazing sculptured cakes the bistro is " apparantly " famous for..well that's all I get to see in my short time there before the parking meters spring into life at * pounds an hour !!! but I say if his day starts like that, he ain't doing too bad....
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-17 07:59 pm (UTC)I know there are plenty of resources available to homeless people here. If someone truly didn't want to be on the streets, they have options here.
On another note. When I was younger, about 15 years ago, I used to hang out with a lot of great homeless people. This was in Tucson, where the climate and attitude are vastly different. Those people definately chose their lives (after their lives led them on the paths), but they were always friendly to me and my friends. They may have been homeless, but they weren't the same type of people that I run across today. I guess they were more typical ho-bos.