Argh.....I suck.......

[Swagger]

So I'm trying to get a couple jobs done today and I hear the front door open.
Standing at the door is a fellow who doesn't answer when I say hello, just stands and smiles.
Once i get within ten feet or so he starts signing (ASL) to which I indicate that I cannot reciprocate.
He then whips out a folded piece of paper from a stack and hands it to me.

It says:
Hi,
I'm selling these bookettes to help feed my family.
Any donation you can give is welcome,
God Bless!

That all it says.
I look all over it and that's it.

I turned him away.
I feel like I should have given him some money, even though my straights are as tight as most, more so than some.
My problem was that I noticed that he was dressed really well. Shiny shoes, nice watch, leather coat etc.
Then I see three other kats also nicely dressed converging on a mini-van in the parking lot all holding small bundles of folded paper just like this guy is.

Scam or am I headed he hell?

 

[ridesolo]

A. Feeling guilty is a waste of time, don't ever feel guilty.

B. Give your chairitable donations to the valid and recognised charity of YOUR choice.

C. Never donate to those who go door to door.

D. Terms like "feed my family" and "God Bless" are often thrown in by hucksters to try amd make you believe they are legit. (Not that I'm saying that ALL who say such things aren't legit.)

 

[Drewski]

Agreed!!

Don't feel bad!! Most recognized organizations don't go door to door looking for donations.

On the flip side, don't be fooled by shabby clothes either!!

 

[Wingspan]

I've had the exact same thing, right down to the leaflet. I didn't give any money either. As the others said, I only donate to established organizations and through official channels.

 

[GroovyAardvark]

A complete scam...... or if not scam, then morally corrupt anyway. Most deaf people do not panhandle. Why do they need to? Think about that. Deaf / similarly disabled people qualify for disability payments.

http://www.i711.com/my711.php?tab=2&article=78

I run into these guys every time I goto LAX. They piss me off. They probably make more money than I do.

 

[RatBag22]

He let himself in?

hell if you did that in the uk, you'd be dead in seconds..... I read this and thought it was a scam straight away.

hmm... I would be shell shocked if someone just opened my front door and let themselves in, as they quote in the simpsons'

"that's a beating"

 

[Basement rat]

I don't donate anything except to the Royal Canadian Legion. VA for you boys down south. 30% of my income is payed in tax. The government feels free to give it to Bolivia - Colombia - Haiti - Honduras - Peru - Afghanistan - Bangladesh - Indonesia - Pakistan - Vietnam - Ukraine - West Bank and Gaza - Ethiopia - Ghana - Mali - Mozambique - Senegal - Sudan - Tanzania and Pakistan...


Now, I would be happy to pay a man for work, but I feel no need to give him money.

 

[IndieSol]

I once gave my money to a little girl for a school fund raiser. Her mom stood behind her at the curb as we talked. A year later and still haven't heard from her, and my neighbor who goes to that very school told me that the fund raiser never happened.

People can be scummy. "No solicitors" now hangs on my door.

 

[Saki]

I'm poor enough I cant donate, I need my money for my cafe addiction.

 

[Swagger]

Well I should have been more clear....I'm at the shop so there's a customer door where *most* can enter without fear of being clubbed like a baby seal.

You're right about how much money he likely had....he was dressed really well.

We have guys that we call 'Corner Marshals' here, some friends of mine came up with that name...they race and corner marshals are track workers stationed at the corners to help clear wreckage, lend assistance etc. Anyway, THESE corner marshals are just bums, but they car pool to the various on ramps of the arterial highways and such around town. Maybe they are in your town too, often holding a cardboard sign expressing how down and out they are and that they just want to feed their poor starving mothers etc......

A news crew did a story on them, followed several and found that all of them lived in nice parts of town drove expensive cars and lived well by being bums. Then the news station got sued....and lost......

unreal...

 

[JRK5892]

not at all! we get them come in to the shop on occasion and try to put them to work but they never want to work only watn free money... when i used to swing a hammer for aliving i would try to get them to come to the jobsite and labor for us but no dice on that 99.9% of the time!

 

[Redbird]

Many moons ago I bartended at a local hole-in-the-wall. One evening this very ratty looking couple wanders in and sits at a table. They order some mixed drinks, and giving them the benefit of doubt, I make them. When I brought them to the table, they guy whips out this bankroll that would choke a horse. They sat for several more rounds, paying in cash each time. All totalled their bill was in the $200 range. The very next day, on my way into work, I spotted the both of them panhandling at the Interstate offramp a few blocks from the bar.

More recently, a couple of years ago, I stopped at a redlight where there was one of the "Homeless & Hungry" beggers. I was in the work truck (I work for Keebler) and had some snacks in the cab with me. I motioned him over and gave him a half dozen or so boxes of crackers and cookies. The "wtf" look I got was kind of annoying, but not near as much as when I saw him later that day selling the snacks I gave him.

I don't "donate" to these types anymore. I give to established charities and let them distribute the funds where needed.

 

[rockcitycafe]

okie dokey, this is something I know a bit about, my girl of many years is a professional ASL interpreter, so she works with deaf people all the time, it's her job after all. now, if you're deaf you qualify for disability compensation, which is a big issue in the deaf community, because most deaf people have jobs and lead productive lives and frankly get pretty pissed off when other deaf people claim disability instead of getting jobs like they do. so in this case, you weren't wrong to turn him away, he may not even have known ASL, but was acting deaf to get some sympathy. if he came to a deaf person's house and did the same, he'd probably have a serious problem... my bet is he was scamming you, and in the rare case he was actually deaf and couldn't feed his family, he has a legal disability for which he can receive benefits...

 

[dead bound]

I had some kids come by the house selling candy bars in a walmart bag. They had a legit looking sign up sheet where you marked what kind you wanted and how many. So I slapped my $5 down on some snickers, put my hand out, and they say "These are for display, we will bring yours back." I lost that $5.

The only ones I pay now are the little kids in the neighborhood that offer to rake leaves. 2 kids bring a rake and a roll of bags. My good deed.

 

[VonYinzer]

Amen... I work in a pretty impoverished part of the city. Theres a guy whos always on a corner with a "vietnam vet hungry and homeless" sign. One day i was loading up my truck, and he stared talking to me. He explained that he was an out of work carpenter and his family split etc... I told him to hold on and went and got him an application to my company. gave him a couple bucks and my lunch out of the truck. Drove away feeling pretty good. Than a couple days later, a fellow employee who lives in the neighborhood mentioned the guy. I told him what happened and he started laughing. he told me to get in the truck, he had to show me something. We drove up the road a bit, and stopped at a park near the high school. What did I see, but this fucker selling drugs to fuckin teenagers. Not only that but he had a huge wad of cash in his hand. Apparently hes a known dealer and acts homeless so the locals pay him no mind. If I had a piece on me that man never wouldve walked out of that park.

 

[Rocan]

living in new york city, i have seen it all.

i turn away all beggers. there is no excuse for it. there is always work. if you cant hold a job, you need to change yourself and work harder. thats not to say im heartless.

i know a LOT of heroin junkies. one day i just started meeting them and started talking to them. they are good people, just messed up and now their addicts. one of them was a damn good guitarist, and we talked a while, played a bit when he slipped in and out of sleep. did not ask me for a penny. i could tell he was thirsty/hungry, so before i left i gave him what was in my pocket, 5 bucks. sure, its possible he spent it on a fix. but you know what, when people deep down have a good heart, they deserve a chance and a little compassion.

its just the lazy scum who feed off the hard work of others who dont deserve a penny.

great story. i knew this "homeless" man who would panhandle daily. everyone knew him as he would talk to everyone, and though slightly nuts, wasnt a half bad guy. long story short, he was loaded. i mean, had over a million dollars to his name. who woulda known. none of us did.

 

[Drewski]

Good stories, all!

Once in awhile you might run into a legit case.

On morning on the way to work, my wife stopped at the bank to use the ATM machine. Outside was a young man about 17 yrs of age. At the time, our boys were in their late teens. When my wife passed the young fellow on the way back to her car, he asked if she had some change so he could buy breakfast. Her honest answer was"no" she only had 20 bucks. The fellow said thanks anyway and that was it. My wife went to her car, but something about the boy touched her heart. She drove up to the curb and rolled down the window and waved him over. She asked him what kind of breakfast he would like, because she was going over to McDonald's for a coffee. He was flabergasted! She said he was so surprised by her offer, he could hardly answer her question. He basically said, "Anything!" but my wife said, "If I'm gonna get you breakfast, you might as well get what you want!" He laughed and gave her his order! She told him to wait there, went through the drive through and brought him his order. She said he was beaming from ear to ear! They talked for a minute or 2 and he told her he had run away from home a couple o' hundred miles away from Toronto. He had nowhere to go at this point and wasn't sure what he was going to do. He thanked her and they went there separate ways.

She said it could have been a scam, but her gut said no.