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Originally Posted by crowonapost
Nathan I agree that there are many just like this. I have ran into them hundreds of times in Chicago. One thing I've found interesting around here is that when I'm on my bike & I go get gas or something people have been interested in engaging me in conversation about the bike, about their own stories & when i just hang & talk with them. It gets pretty interesting.
They at some point will ask for some money...I rarely give anyone any but often times I have found that they appreciate the simple act of acknowledgment & willingness to engage in a real conversation.
I remember once a man who said, you are the first person tonight who simply saw me as a person & said ANYTHING to me, thanks. I didn't give him money but I had no problem acknowledging him. It cost me nothing & gave something in return, humanity.
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Crow
I have a soft heart for some of these people. I was eating lunch one day downtown Jax when a street person came in. I honestly don't know if it was a male or female, they were wearing a dress but could have had a beard although they were so dirty it was hard to tell. They wanted to get lunch but only had enough money for an apple or some such. I had eaten about half of my sandwich and felt so driven I offered him the rest of my lunch. He ate it and then left but left his belongings behind. I picked them up and held on to them. About 20 minutes later he came back and I gave him the bag he had. He thanked me profusely for "watching out for him" I was with an attorney at the time who was shocked that I would do such a thing. After we left the suger in the food must have given him a buzz because the guy (?) was on the street corner fighting with the air. He was obviously a mental case and should have been in an institution for his own good (eventually those people end up dead on the street or murdered in jail when they are arrested for petty crimes)
There are those who deserve our help and we as good Christians are obligated to assist them as much as we can. However, I don't believe that God has told us to give our belongings away to someone who could provide for themselves but is just too sorry to do so.
As far as people being homeless the question is why are they on the street when there is housing available to them. Far too many housing units go to someone who could fend for themselves. How many public housing units are populated by unmarried women living with their well paid boyfriends? You don't think many??? You don't have a clue how this free housing, welfare system is worked by some. Kick them out on the street and put the sincerely needy in those houses.
There are literally hundreds of options in every city across this land. Those panhandling on the street are do so because they are either mentally deficient or too lazy to actually work. Put the mental cases in institutions that the left decided in the 1970's were unnecessary and let the lazy starve.