“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds . . .”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
My thinking on the subject of panhandling here in Boulder, CO has been evolving over the past few months. See these blog entries from the past:
http://maxweller.pmpblogs.com/2009/11/04/please-dont-give-cash-to-panhandlers/
If I were to write this today, it might be titled “Please don’t give cash to panhandlers, unless you can trust that they’re clean and sober”. Many times, what a beggar wants is not what that beggar needs; use your own good judgment. During the Holiday Season, I saw passersby handing out heavy pairs of socks stuffed with hygiene items and Hershey’s Miniatures — a great donation to any beggar, drunk or sober. A few kind words of concern is also a big boost to the beggar’s spirit.
http://maxweller.pmpblogs.com/2010/02/11/boulders-beggars-should-be-licensed/
Written now, this might be titled “Boulder’s beggars, buskers, and vendors of the Denver Voice newspaper should be licensed”. Perhaps $25 would be a more reasonable license fee, with the proceeds being used by the City of Boulder to help support the emergency warming centers operated by Boulder Outreach for Homeless Overflow. (And based on my own experience, I think it’s extremely unlikely that any beggar, busker, or DV vendor here would ever make enough cash to be required to file an income tax return). This license fee would accomplish two things:
1) It would be a way for the those homeless people who engage in these enterprises to give back to society, especially if the revenue is spent as I indicate above;
2) It would give the City of Boulder enforcement power to get rid of the troublemakers who loiter on street corners to no good purpose (making $20 and immediately running to the liquor store or dope dealer is NOT a good purpose).
What is a beggar’s job, exactly? The beggar is a living illustration, for everyone in our society, of the fact that the American Dream has fallen short for many citizens for a variety of reasons – physical disability or mental illness, lack of education or training, poor life skills, job loss and the economic downturn, racism or sexism, etc.
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Here’s a good place to remark on the generosity of blue-collar workers, a.k.a. “the working poor”. As a group, I’ve found them to be more willing to help with cash, food, or other useful items than those who are much more secure financially. And if they don’t have anything to give, they’ll smile and wave to this Boulder beggar. At first, this surprised me. Then, after some thought, I realized that these folks have genuine empathy for the poor person they see on the corner.
Also worth remarking on, I think, is the apparent coldhearted nature of Boulder’s legion of spandex-clad pro cycling wannabes. I’d have thought that folks so very lucky, as to be able to bicycle all day long, would be quite willing to reach out to those less fortunate. This is NOT the case at my corner, where scores if not hundreds of cyclists pass on a daily basis. For each cyclist who has handed me a granola bar, there have been at least fifty laborers who have given me all kinds of donations. If the squirrels at our Main Library had to depend on the cyclists for their sustenance, they’d be furry bags of bones instead of such fat and happy critters . . .
Yes, I’ve encountered the rare knucklehead who will shout out, “Get a f***ing job!” Without exception in my experience, these are well-groomed, upper middle-class white guys driving newer vehicles, probably headed to a nice home and a loving family. Not one would be willing to trade places with me, not even for a day. So why the bitter feeling? I chalk it up to the higher proportion of mentally ill people from all walks of life living here in Boulder, CO and its environs. I don’t dwell on it; when I’m twenty years older and still more senile, it’s that wonderful little girl I wrote about in Part 2 whom I’ll remember.
What does the future hold for this Homeless Philosopher/Boulder beggar? We shall see . . .
Definitely not me, appearance-wise
I've really enjoyed reading this series. It's been enlightening!
Don't you find it strange that a perfectly capable man such as Max Weller refuses to work for a living? He'd rather take advantage of taxpayer-supported shelters and the generousity of donors rather than earning an honest living. He's lazy, and shouldn't be commended or celebrated for taking instead of creating and giving.
What I find strange, dodgerblue81 a.k.a. southsidecubsfan, is that you would continue to torture yourself by reading this blog.
Nobody is forcing you to do so.
BTW, dodgerblue81 a.k.a. southsidecubsfan, so far this season I've donated $100 to Boulder Shelter for the Homeless and $150 to Boulder County Cares.
How about you?