Since I had to take Noah to soccer practice when all I want to do is lie in bed, I’m going to do something that I’ve been trying not to do in my blog lately. I’m going to be negative and complain. I used to work in the non-profit sector, so I accept that begging in one form or another is how many agencies survive. The most annoying and dangerous form of this begging is the panhandling at intersections. Some of these guys wear what are clearly legitimate Shriner’s outfits, some wear orange vests and others just stand out there in their jeans and t-shirts. They all carry a bucket with the intended charity scribbled on paper and taped to the side. What irritates me is that they walk between the rows of moving traffic and on multi-lane roads, they run in front of moving cars. Am I the only person who sees the danger in this activity? Will it take a terrible accident for this behavior to stop?
Everyone needs to stop putting money in the buckets if they are in the street.
I agree. It’s crazy. I always worry that I going to accidentally run one of them over.
I hate it when they panhandle like that from corners. I have enough things to feel guilt over in my life–last thing I need is to accidentally run over some idiot out there picking up change…
I’ve seen kids earning funds with car washes that do this same thing. I can’t believe the schools would put their safety on a back burner to earn funds this way.
Knoxville has two different kinds of pan-handlers. The homeless or similar who use cardboard signs that say things like “homeless vet” and the professionals who claim to be begging for legitimate charities. The homeless stand at corners and at interstate exits. They don’t bother me. The “professionals” running around in traffic and knocking on your window bother me a LOT.
Las Cruces used to be full of these panhandlers. They were on every street corner, begging for change. I guess the mild weather here was attractive. After years of complaining from citizens, the city passed an ordinace banning the practice. Overnight, the transients disappeared. I always wondered where they went. I guess to cities more tolerant of their lifestyle…
What drives me nuts are the kids who do it. Sometimes without supervision. It’s usually done to send them to some state championship. It has always bothered me.