Beggars

I’ll venture towards society and a few experiments I hope to conduct over time. The first of these will be to pose as a street beggar and see how it is for money, dignity, danger. Bums must be pretty damn protective over a good spot to beg at. So inside of this test there should be a number of different approaches. One you could just put a cup out and see who gives. Another would be just putting out a cup and shaking it all the time (this really annoys me when a beggar shakes the cup) Next you have to play on the pity response trying to wear really beat up clothes. Putting a brown bag (40oz) next to you. Personally I try and give a little something to people doing something, like in China there are usually blind street performers who play an instrument called Erhu, its played with a bow and only has two strings. Gives off a very sad tune, some have real skill others just play. There are also some beggars that are very friendly and outgoing, they’ll say hi to you tell a joke dance…These kind of guys are on the lighter side others can be intimidating and although that really rubs me and most people in the wrong way it does probably scare some people into giving a few coins. In New York City I saw the photograph of a big black guy with a sign that read “Ninjas Killed my Family, need money for Kung Fu lessons…Must take revenge” That makes me want to give him a dollar for no other reason than he came up with a funny, creative idea and it put a smile on my face and gave me a little laugh.
I’ve spent a little bit of time talking to some homeless guys and from what I saw something wasn’t right. One was a bad alcoholic and he used to buy six or so forties to last him through the night, I’m not sure how he got the money for them, but I guess he would beg through the day and then have some cash at the end. He was also convinced that his ex-lover’s father was the leader of the Hell’s Angels and would kill him if he went near this woman he claimed to be in love with. He said they were watching him and that she wouldn’t see him because she knew her father would have him killed if they met. (something about the story didn’t fit for me, but hey who’s to say what’s reality) One night after I had spent a while talking to him the night before I was going to dinner with a friend and saw him. I said hey why don’t you join me and let me buy you some dinner. He agreed and so we went in, the place was a small Tibetan restaurant and they seemed a little uncomfortable with him being there (he smelled pretty sour) he decided he wanted black pepper beef, they didn’t have black pepper beef, he thought it was a regular Chinese restaurant? He ended up getting their equivalent of black pepper beef (it was the most expensive thing on the menu) after eating a few bites he says “Hey thanks, but I gotta go” to be honest I was a little happy to have him leave with the funky smell and all. So he gets his food wrapped up in a to go container opens up his bag and puts it on top of another already full container of black pepper beef? Having felt a little duped by the guy my friend and I change the subject and move on, about 10 minutes later he walks by waving at us with a bag full of 40oz’s over his shoulder. Needles to say I felt a little stupid.
That helped me think about things a little more and even though it became more clear that he wasn’t totally helpless he was living pretty far out on the edge and like he put it “God didn’t make me to sit in an office” I countered that “God didn’t make you to drink all day either.”


It’s a crazy place
The mind of a man on the street
The one with the can and no where to sleep
A funny kind of thing
A funny thing that makes me think.