If I've got a single, I'll give it to somebody, along with any loose change in my pocket.
Here's why:
You people who won't give a guy a buck because you think he'll spend it on drugs and alcohol are being disgustingly arrogant. I'm sure many of us on this site are fairly well-to-do and won't be bothered by the lack of a dollar or two. To withhold such money because it's not being spent on what WE want it to be spent on is being unfairly judgemental. Playing god by dictating who to give money to and what sort of person deserves money is hypocritical. Do you think homeless people live on booze and crack? I live near Georgetown in D.C. which has several homeless people, some of whom I've gotten to know personally. To condemn the homeless for their situation and refuse to help somebody get a sandwich or something because you don't want them to spend it on alcohol demonstrates, to me, a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem of homelessness. Yes, many homeless people are in their situation because of a bad choice they made. But so often, they're predisposed to these choices because of the environment they lived in -- through no true fault of their own. Ultimately, what it comes down to is that you don't need that change in your pocket. But the homeless guy you try not to look at DOES. So next time, in an acknowledgement that you can't glean somebody's essence and personality in a brief glance, give the guy a dollar.
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