My question is, 'What made you stop helping strangers?' -- Sometimes you see a stranger who looks like he/she could use some help, so you help them. Then something happens, and you tell yourself you're never going to help a stranger again. Have you ever had such event? -- I was at the town's square, waiting for my friend to show up. I looked at my watch and I was 30 minutes early. Then a guy next to me asked me, "Dude, what time is it?" "Oh, it's 12:30." And he started to chat me up, and then he tells me that he's just came out of the prison, and he has no money to go home, and he asked me if I could spare him some money. So I gave him 10 bucks, and he said thank you and left. Then, another guy comes up to me and asks me what I was doing with that guy. So I tell him what had happened, and the other guy tells me that he's a con, who does that for a living. So I walked away from the square, and returned to check on the guy, and sure enough, he was doing it to other people in the square. That was an event, that made me say to myself that I'm not going to help strangers ever again. -- If you have a story like this, please tell me. I want to hear.
I am always willing to help strangers unless it involves money. I will buy them food, but I will never hand a stranger money. Why? Nothing really happened, I just know most of them blow it on alcohol or unmentionables. If I have the money, we all eat and always need food, so I don't mind buying a stranger a meal even if they aren't going to starve without it, I just don't want to support their addictions instead of encouraging their health. Other than that, I'm always also willing to help people lift/carry stuff, figure something out, etc. I don't think there's enough generosity in this world, so I try to manifest some as often as I can.
Nothing like that's actually ever happened to me. I've heard stories from family members, though. Just recently my grandma gave some lady $5 at Walmart or something and saw her go buy her boyfriend a big pop instead of buy food with it like she thought. She had my little sister with her, so she mostly did it to set an example, something the lady clearly took advantage of.
Hm... it's impossible that nothing like this has ever happened to you... given that you seem like a person who helps strangers all the time. Or... could it be that even when this kind of things happen to you, you are not fazed by it?
was leavin my neighborhood once and down the street a guy was on the corner with a sign that said "homeless with 3 children and a dog, need money for food, will work if needed" so i ended up handin the guy a $10 bill and went on my way, next day he was out there again, and the next, and the next, and the next, lol so on so forth, so i started to keep an eye on how long he was out there, and sure enough he between my side of my neighborhood and the other side of my neighborhood, he was out there pretty much 24/7. and the nearest homeless shelter is an easy 45 minute to an hour walk... and i never saw one kid with the guy over a 3 week period, never saw a dog with the guy, no leash, no diaper bag, no nothing just him and his sign. so yeah, not sure what happened to the guy but you could tell he was into some hard drugs after a while. i'll still help someone but im sketchy about doin it, ya know? theres a legit homeless guy that lives by the gas station and mcdonalds, and during the summer it was insanely hot last year, so if i was at the gas station i'd grab the dude a bottle of water or gatorade or somethin, better than supplyin someones addiction
No, I just learned when I was little that a lot of them are drug addicts and I've never wanted to support their addiction. I've been around drug addicts before who used to bum $5's off everyone, so I know that's all it takes to keep them going.
Hm... so may be it doesn't happen to you because you're smart... you can tell the fakes from the real ones.
idk OP that's a shitty ending to the story lol. Just need to have some faith in humanity I guess, not saying you have to or that its easy but perhaps that is what the ppl that DO give money to less fortunate feel. I would give food/drink, $$ not so much.
I don't really distinguish between fake or legit, I just don't allow them to take advantage of my generosity. I'm only generous with stipulations, I guess. I'm usually "Nah, but I can buy you salad! "
i'll never give people cash, but i've bought people food, helped with roadside repairs, and i pick up hitchhikers. basically because i know if i was in a similar situation, i might want some help.
I was downtown to buy some stuff, I forget why. Some guy asked me if I had a car jack cuz his tires got slashed. I gave mine to him and went into the store to buy something I needed real quick, by the time i got back I had 4 cinder blocks under my car and 3 tires missing where he miraculously found the blocks I dont know. Bitch didnt even leave the car jack. Fuck Detroit.
I don't give people money, but I am always open to helping whenever I can and often offer without being asked. Too many people turn a head the other way. I don't want to be part of that.
Every single heroin addict in NYC asking me for money because supposedly their wallet got stolen, they are from NJ, CT, PA, whatever, and they need to get home. Used to see the same people every day at Penn Station with the same ol' racket. One time a dude aske me for money, said he was hungry hadn't eaten in days. So I said I wont give you cash, but I'll buy you some food. Got a big F U for that. He didn't want food. He wanted dope. And this is why I rescue dogs instead.
Gave $5 bucks to a homeless dude I met on the street. Saw his face in the paper the next day for raping a vulnerable adult female. Never again.
I give them a buck or two but never more. I do have a story for when i was almost bamboozled. A guy had a sign that he was being evicted ad needed money. So I stopped and he told me he needed $60 and he was good. So I was like, I can give $40 if you help me move some furniture. I will drive you to my house. It will only take 20 or 30 minutes. So he's a little hesitant but was like, sure. So he's like, can I borrow your phone? So he calls his friend and is like, I'm gonna come by and see you. He was acting realllly sketchy at this point. Apparently his friend was busy so he asked me to come by and get him later. I was like suuuuuuure. Before he could give me his number, I sped off. Fuck that dude. He for sure wanted to buy drugs. Honestly, II don't care if homeless people spend their money on drugs and alcohol. If I was homeless, I'd probably love to be drunk all the time as well. That guy was a liar and piece of shit though. When you stop doing things for people because you've been disappointed in the past, it shows more about your character than it does about theirs. People suck sometimes and you're gonna get disappointed but such is life. Don't let that stop you from helping those who really need it. I bought this dude a .79 soda and he thanked me like I bought him a damn car or something. I think those moments outweigh the moments of the scam artists. So I won't ever quit. Sorry I didnt answer your question but I think I gave cool advice.
You can totally still help people without it being a random donation to a random person on the street with random results. People who have families and responsibilities have to be careful with their money. Because there is no way I'd take from the mouths of my family to MAYBE feed some one, or MAYBE just get them high. I highly sugest you look into some charities you feel strongly about. Look into how they spend their money. What percent actually goes to helping people and what percent goes to administering the charity. Then make an infomred decision as to what you support. Much better than giving out random cash, which rather than helping someone live, may just help them get to the grave faster
No I don't have a story like that but I don't see anything wrong with helping strangers. Just never give them cash. If they say they need something buy it for them. Although there was one time where I did an experiment. I went to the strip mall by my house and went up to the first lady I saw and handed her money (only $5) she was hesitant to take it and asked why but I just said take it, she took it with confusion on her face and I walked away. That was more of a thing just to see how good it would make me feel. But that's really the best story I have.
When I see that I'm struggling with my responsibilities more than they're struggle for a hand out. Otherwise, I actually enjoy helping others who appreciate being helped..