Beggars Off Highway Exits

[Raskolnikov]

I'm all for helping the needy, but I am sick of all of these beggars who hang out on medians and off of highway exits. I'm even sicker of seeing people give them money. How naïve can people get? These beggars aren't needy; they're scam artists who are making hundreds of dollars per day. The majority of them are taking this money to their dope dealers or to the liquor store.

I know, many people feel sorry for these people, and I'm sure a few of them really are in dire straits--but most of them clearly aren't. If you don't believe that the vast majority of these people are actors and scam artists, you obviously haven't been paying attention. Even the liberal, mainstream news media has noticed it. Their operations are far more sophisticated from the folks who are shaking a cup downtown and begging for spare change. They have professional-looking signs (some are even bilingual), they have dedicated turfs that the leaders of the operation "own," and they work in shifts. Many of their signs are left intentionally vague so they can avoid fraud charges (e.g. saying "one penny please," or "unemployed, please help" vs "homeless, single parent of 5 kids). Their calculated efforts lead me to believe that there probably isn't an intellectual deficit (in other words, these are not the people who were released from Central State 20 years ago).

A lot of the regular beggars have been standing in the same spots for years, which leads me to believe that their situations aren't acute. There are millions of desperate people in the United States, many of whom work tirelessly to improve their situations. This is a far cry from begging on a highway exit for years on end. Why do hard working citizens reward that? All it does is enable their behavior. The simple truth is they're making a killing--all tax free. If this was not lucrative, they would have moved on long ago. Most of them are certainly not driving BMWs, but I've seen them in line for booze at Community Spirits and wandering around in dope-infested neighborhoods.

Most of these beggars' antics are protected by law, and there is very little that can be done to combat it. The only thing that can be done is to raise awareness of the scams. Give your money to charities that help those who are truly needy.

 

[boosteds13cc]

I couldnt agree more! I seen one in Chesterton right on 49 and I80 and was paying for my gas in speedway and I over herd people talking saying the guy just bought a new dodge durango. Make a sign for a job, not for money.

 

[CopperWires]

Good topic. My wife and I passed by a common spot for these people to beg for money and there was 1 person begging for money near the curb and 2 people sitting on the bench behind her counting money. The worst part, we actually witnessed someone giving the woman money while the 2 men were counting theirs.

If you ask me, it all goes back to situational awareness. There are a lot of people that are confined to their own little world and never look around. This problem enables this kind of behavior, bad driving, wrongful lawsuits, and creates victims of preventable crimes.

 

[alloutjdm]

i couldnt agree more...one time i gave some money to one of them and we ended up in the same store when it was time to check out he was paying with his credit card...while he had alot of money in his wallet...never again have i gave money to a beggar...instead i buy them a meal

 

[CTS]

I was walking out of Kroger in New Haven and a guy told me his family was starving and asked if I could give him some money. I told him I don't carry cash, but offered him some of the food I had and he told me they didn't like what I offered and asked if maybe I could go to an ATM.

Yeah, pretty sure if my family were "starving" and someone offered me fresh bread and produce, I'd turn it down because it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. After he left me I saw him go up to a woman (it was very late at night) and I yelled at him to leave women alone and called the police.

I will help someone out who actually needs it in a heartbeat, but these parking lot harassers are 99.99% scam artists.

 

[Lethgar]

See them every once in a while off the 26 exit in Lafayette...never added up to me either. Seems to be a scam to me.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

There was a guy many years ago that had claimed the end of the Keystone S at 86th offramp. He was there every day for years, and he'd go home to his house down by the fairgrounds. He was hardly wealthy, but he was doing alright.

I think there was a tribe of them camping out in the woods NE of Keystone at 465 a while back. You'd see the same ones all the time, and once in a while one going in or out of the woods. That's all gone now, though.

There have been persistent rumors of a van dropping beggars off at their spots in the morning, then picking them up at night, though I've never witnessed this myself.

 

[Dr.Midnight]

There are several of them on Bloomington's West side around the third street exit. There was one guy that I would almost call a professional. He kept a dirty old dog with him with a sign that said, "Trying to Get Home". He always seemed to be raking in the donations.

Funny thing is, I started feeling sorry for the guy, that is until I saw him loading up his car one day. He had it parked behind the shopping strip that Staples is in. It wasn't a fancy car by any means, but it was a decent ride. After seeing that car, I immediately knew that guy was a professional con man.

 

[Ted]

I saw a panhandler in downtown Indy a week ago.

The cardboard sign he was holding, read: "Not going to lie. Its for wine or gin."

 

[gregkl]

There is plenty of help for people in this day and age. Food pantries, faith-based charities, community run places where people can get food and shelter and help getting them back on their feet.

They don't need to be standing at intersections endangering their lives or causing distractions for drivers.

 

[netsecurity]

86th and Michigan exit always has beggars, the same ones for months at a time, then a new one shows up. They even started begging at the entrance to ChikFilA and McDonalds now with their signs.

Stop giving them money and they'll go away! I don't feel sorry for them one bit. If they can stand there holding a sign for 8 hours a day, then they can work just about any non construction job just as easily. Personally, I have health problems that prevent me from standing so long, so they must be in better health than I.

 

[findingZzero]

>>Liberals are anything but liberal.
>>->If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy guns.
>>->If a liberal doesn't like guns, he doesn't want anyone to be able to buy guns.

1. All generalizations are wrong. Including this one.....

2. Hey, I got one. All conservatives want to suppress the Democratic vote by passing laws making it more difficult for students, the poor, minorities to vote. Yeah, that's it.

 

[tom1025]

Whenever I am encounter I usually give them a hot cup of coffee minus the cup.

 

[femurphy77]

Nowadays a lot of them are working in organized teams, this isn't about helping the needy it's about free money. Seems as if they put as much effort into a legitimate job. . . . .of course then you have taxes, social security, medicare, IRS forms. . . .who's the smart ones here?

 

[mcolford]

Reminds me of when my inlaws took me out to Indy for the weekend for my 21st birthday(they are awesome and a hoot to hang with). We were to St. Elmo's and a panhandler walked up to my F.I.L. (not exactly a small guy) and shook his change cup right in his face, like within 2 inches away. My F.I.L. just stopped, looked at him for a few seconds, and sayd "No thanks, move now. Thank you." And we all continued walking. HILARIOUS!

 

[hornadylnl]

I had a guy tell me one time that the beggars are actually providing a service. Someone gives them money, they can walk away feeling like they've helped the poor. I suppose that's true for those who don't think of the ramifications of what their money is being used for.

 

[ISP 5353]

My son and I have stopped and bought food for them before. I will help feed you if you are hungry, but I do not give money to someone who, it appears, does not handle money very well.

 

[jbombelli]

"We're in one of the richest countries in the world,
and the minimum wage is lower now than it was thirty five years ago.
There are homeless people everywhere.
This homeless guy asked me for money the other day.
I was about to give it to him and then I thought: “He’s just going to use it on drugs or alcohol.”
And then I thought, “That's what I'm gonna to use it on. Why am I judging this poor bastard?”
People love to judge homeless guys. Like “if you give him the money, he’s just going to waste it. He’s gonna waste the money.”
Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do with it? Save it up and buy a wall unit?
Take a little run to the store for a throw rug and a CD rack? He's homeless.
I walked behind this guy the other day.
A homeless guy asked him for money.
He looks right at the homeless guy; he goes “Why don't you go get a job, you bum.”
People always say that to homeless guys - “Get a job” - like it’s always that easy.
This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants.
I'm guessing his resume ain't all up to date.
I'm predicting some problems during the interview process.
I'm pretty sure even McDonalds has an "underwear go inside the pants" policy.
Not that they enforce it very strictly, but technically, I'm sure it’s on the books."

--Lazyboy

 

[CTS]

I need to stand outside of a LGS and hold up a sign "Need money for ammo and range fees."

 

[CopperWires]

"We're in one of the richest countries in the world,
and the minimum wage is lower now than it was thirty five years ago.
There are homeless people everywhere.
This homeless guy asked me for money the other day.
I was about to give it to him and then I thought: “He’s just going to use it on drugs or alcohol.”
And then I thought, “That's what I'm gonna to use it on. Why am I judging this poor bastard?”
People love to judge homeless guys. Like “if you give him the money, he’s just going to waste it. He’s gonna waste the money.”
Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do with it? Save it up and buy a wall unit?
Take a little run to the store for a throw rug and a CD rack? He's homeless.
I walked behind this guy the other day.
A homeless guy asked him for money.
He looks right at the homeless guy; he goes “Why don't you go get a job, you bum.”
People always say that to homeless guys - “Get a job” - like it’s always that easy.
This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants.
I'm guessing his resume ain't all up to date.
I'm predicting some problems during the interview process.
I'm pretty sure even McDonalds has an "underwear go inside the pants" policy.
Not that they enforce it very strictly, but technically, I'm sure it’s on the books."

--Lazyboy

Did you forget your purple text in here somewere?

The difference is, I work hard for my money and so do most people that are being approached. I'm not about to give any to people that prey on the weak. I work in a downtown area and have see this crap on a day to day basis. Some of these people are not completely helpless and they know exactly what they are doing. Sometimes I just sit back and watch bums ask certain people for money and completely pass by others. They ask mostly women, well dressed businessmen, and almost all young people who look like they are coming from or going to work. Some of them are actually quite dangerous. There is no telling what kind of diseases these people have. Its biological warfare if you ask me. When I was a little younger, I was approached early in the morning by a man who was dressed like a construction worker. He fed me a line of BS (proven against other people's encounters) and then showed me his hands. They were all bloody from fresh self-inflicted cuts. They were all over his hands inside and out. I got out of there before he tried to shake my hand. From what I heard from other people, he definitely was going to try to touch me with his bloody hands.