Thursday, February 21, 2008

Have you no manners?

So in NYC there are a lot of homeless people (aka bums). They always ask you for change giving a varied list of the things they need the money for. Please note I'm a New Yorker now so I'm a bit jaded. When you first come here you look at people with pity and try to help every homeless dude with a cup. Then you realize you've got got.

    NYC Bums top scams for getting money (listed in random order)
  • Can you spare some change so I can get a cup of coffee:
    I heard this just this morning. Is someone homeless really trying to get their Starbucks on? I doubt it.
  • Anything will help, I have a family to feed:
    this one is usually executed by women with a sign explaining how they lost their job and have 4 kids. My question then is where are the kids right now? Are you begging for money to pay your babysitter?
  • F*$K food, I need money to buy beer:
    Oh the honesty guy. He gets a laugh for being honest, at times I have been moved to enable this drunk to get a Heineken.
  • I need money for the subway (or bus, or train) to get home:
    Really? Well how did you get here in the first place? Maybe the long walk home will give you time to think about how you got in this predicament in the first place.
  • By giving me money, you're keeping me from robbing people:
    this semi-threat is baseless. The cops will keep you from robbing people, you can't snatch a wallet, then blend into the crowd with your jacket made from rat fur
  • Ninjas killed my family, need money for karate lessons:
    the guy who has this sign is a Times Square favorite. Tourists stop, take pictures, and for a moment forget this man just pissed on the ATM machine.

The bums are getting rude too. This bum who was black said to me, "Yo n!gga can I get some change?" Word? What happened to "Sir, do you have any spare change?" or anything besides calling me the N word.

The worst is when you don't give them money they say, "Have a good day, God Bless you." Really? Trying to guilt me out of 50 cents? I look at it like this, out of all the people on God's green earth, that homeless dude doesn't have the power to give out God's blessings. He might be able to give out Satan's curses, but not God's blessings.

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