Halifax has a lot of homeless individuals living on the streets because of poverty. They live very hard lives and no one knows their life stories. I hate how individuals place stigma upon these individuals without knowing them personally; there have been numerous times where I have been walking down the street with friends and asked for change by one of these individuals. When walking away I often hear my friend say something along the lines of: “They’re just looking for money to buy their drugs/alcohol.” They do not know what the individual needs the money for because they didn’t stop and talk to them. They just placed a stigma upon them, saying that all homeless people must be drug users or alcoholics. I just feel that people should not place judgement upon the homeless individuals in Halifax and should instead stop and think; do I really know this person? —A Frustrated Sociology Student
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2011.
..you’ve got a point .. at least 5% are not users…:)
That’s not a stigma; it’s a generalization.
Well, if anyone is going to know what it’s like to be poor and on skid row it’s A Frustrated Sociology Student.
There is a group of these folks near my place, on Spring Garden, that beg professionally. Some of those people *are* on drugs.
Someone who asks for money for food or coffee, then says “forget it” when you offer them food or coffee, is probably looking to get drunk or high. Fuck them. I don’t owe them a night on the town.
I bought a guy 15 bucks worth of cookies and coffee because he asked for it. When someone is hungry, feed them.
Fat is right. It’s not a “stigma”, it’s a generalization.
i love generalizing homeless people. get a job ya bums
The only story I know is my own OP – so I’ll keep all my hard earned money….but I don’t name call….although my dad did teach me as a kid that they’ll only use it to buy alcohol.
Can I interest you in some swamp land in Florida, OP?
My dad taught me the same thing too, RC, but he also taught me that if they are that hard up that they n eed to beg for money to get a bottle then they can have his 5 bucks.
Though, my dad doesn’t go DT a whole lot, really, so I’m sure his opinion is that of someone who only occassionaly ends up being asked for money and while my dad is all tough guy on the outside, he’s the most generous person on the planet.
I met a girl at Phoenix Youth once who, after being shifted through numerous foster homes in Toronto, was literally driven by her new parents to the middle of the city and kicked out of her car. As a CHILD. Needless to say, her entire life was then driven by survival mode, and by the time she was a young adult, it was all she had ever known. I’d love to see half of those who ridicule the homeless survive one day under these circumstances. That being said, I completely agree with your generalization rant. If you don’t know why a person is homeless, shut the fuck up.
It must be spring, I noticed a few squeegee kids over at the superstore, looks like a fresh crop this year, too.
I offer them a meal or a coffee or some other beverage, when they balk at those ideas, I know they aint panhandling for sustenance, and that’s when I pan on their panhandling. Lazy fucks.
I am sure they get a welfare cheque every month, also I am not a walking ATM machine, I do not like being approached for money or anything for that matter, there are also organizations that feed them etc,,, bumming is there choice, and for the younger ones bumming there is phoenix house, I am a believer of the choices one makes, even if one is shifted from one foster home to another does not mean you have to grow up to be a loser, I knew many people who grew up to be successful with the worst circumstances, its all about choices and seeking help
Oh, little Soc student, you are so fucking naive and gullible. Yes, there are homeless people out there but there’s a sizable portion of this population who are nothing more than scum-sucking opportunists who would rather sit on their duffs with their hands out than do an honest day’s work. You watch this summer and see how many of these little pricks pop out downtown wearing better footwear than you do.
As for the ‘sad’ stories, you can betcha some of ’em took a creative writing class.
lintball, exactly why was she driven downtown and kicked out of the vehicle? It certainly wasn’t because she was well-behaved or anything like that. The only ones I feel sorry for are the mentally ill who lost their homes because bleeding heart liberals decided it was hurting their self-esteem to be either in homes or hospitals. Anyone else can behave themselves, live at home, go to school or work. The kids have a choice as do addicts.
Ewww…SNAP! TTFN. These aren’t homeless people asking for money (for the most part). If you watch panhandlers’ behaviour, they’re more organized than the government. Down side…union dues.
If I had the time, yes, I would like to talk to them and hear their story. But in the back of my mind all I hear is fraud.
“I am sure they get a welfare cheque every month” – You can’t get a welfare cheque if you don’t have a permanent address.
“the mentally ill who lost their homes because bleeding heart liberals” – Yeah, cuz the Cons have done so much for mental health.
Sure there are scam-artist and hopeless addicts on the streets, but there are also people who ended up there through no choice of their own. As Bro Tim said, some are mentally ill…others have physical disabilities, or other issues that aren’t apparent on the surface. Some of them are veterans who’ve served our country and who have been thoroughly failed by our gov’t when they returned home mentally or physically damaged and in need of support. I remember reading this story a while back that kind of drove it home for me:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/…
I’m not saying that we should all give change to people that we see on the street, but it’s worthwhile to consider that they probably do actually have some value as a human being.
Children suffer from mental illnesses too Bro Tim. A good cause for mental illness can be constant rejection and/or abuse during the formative years. We reap what we sow. A neglected garden can hardly be bountiful when it reaches maturity.
That’s not to say I condone or concur with pan-handling. Unfortunately all the posers have left me wondering who’s legit and who’s not.
The few that I’ve talked to aren’t homeless. Heck, I saw one guy the other guy that’s been on Spring Garden for years now with a cell-phone. I don’t think he uses it while “on the job” but he was on Quinpool waiting for the bus. He definitely can do more than bum for money but for him, bumming IS his job. And he must do a good job at it considering he has a cell-phone, can bus to and from “work” and has been doing it for years.
It’s not my place to question where a lot of them are coming from and whether they’re legitimate but with that lack of pure judgment, I also reserve the right to keep my money.
o.p., you are kinda wrong on the people, supposedly living on the street. there are less than half of what you see, and of that half, 3/4’s of them have a place to go at night.
there is metro turning point, the sally ann, and other places to stay out of the weather, at night. most of the ones you think of as homeless, make more money in a day, than you do in a week. trust me there. there are only a handful of genuine homeless in halisux.
the rest rent their spots, and each day, the” owner”. makes his pickup of spot fees. i have seen this quite a bit, and” bruce”, makes about a grand a day, doing fuck all.
all you have to do, is keep an eye on one of them, check to see what he smokes, drinks, and then drives off in, at the end of the work day. you will be very fucking surprised, i was, almost shit myself. some had better homes than i had, at the time. some of these people, haul in over 50 grand, tax free a year. think of that, next time someone asked you for spare change.
I’m surprised the OP didn’t offer to open a needle exchange program for the homeless also. Or a bottle-your-own mouthwash facility. The typical begging asshole was at Windsor Street Exchange today…..I still can’t fathom why people are stupid enough to give him money. Check out the new Patagonia jacket he tucks behind the support post. Giving these homeless people “spare change” isn’t helping them in the least. They can work like the rest of contributing members of society instead of being leeches.
One mans poor unwashed SGR bum is anothers biomass source. I shouldn’t be so sexist by saying mans – but it fits.
I wish someone credible would do an undercover expose of the bums; I’m fairly certain that a good percentage are professionals and have taken this career path as it’s lucrative, and unlike thee and me, don’t pay taxes.
actually BB they did ….W-5 or the fifth estate..forget which ..and yea quite a few were pro’s and made a VERY comfortable living at it..also..idk bout hali ..but in vancouver you can eat 3 times a day (very well) for free ..and there’s free drop-in centres for tv ..and libraries for internet..so i don’t buy the panning to survive bs…seen it all ..
Whoa, 3 meals a day and free TV/internet? Fuck university, I’m gonna be a homeless person!
/sarcasm
thanks for pointing out the sarcasm to me as a dumbass cook…methinks you’re one of those intellectual lefty nwo types …. not gonna happ’n…
It wasn’t intended just for you, Marty darling, more for general clarity, but you’re welcome anyway.
..well i’m gonna just drink some shine and watch some wrassl’n cos i not be understanding how you would solve the ills of the world by giving the poor and down and out all the luxuries that the more enlightened have..hmmm ..wait a minute isn’t that communism..that’s gone well so far..
It’s cute how you manage to invent some inference of elitism on my part to justify your accusations that I have some nefarious left-wing/Commie extremist agenda. Are you a conspiracy theorist, by any chance, Marty?
Okay, okay OP. Next time I will say, “They’re PROBABLY just looking for money to buy their drugs/alcohol”…
OP: You just placed a stigma on beggars! Not all beggars are homeless! Oh Em Gee! I am so offended by the stigma you have placed upon them. Stigma.. stigma… stigma!! OMG!
I don’t even say ‘no’ to beggars anymore. I don’t even look at them.. I just keep walking as if they don’t even exist. I guess I’m a little jaded.
Go up and down the street and offer them jobs and see what their reactions are. ‘Nuff said.
..of course they’ll say no cause they’ve been exploited and marginalized by multi-national corporations and “the man” ..now if we provide them with a GOOD income a NICE place to live,all the toys that the priviledged of us have, and of course on-going therapy and counselling perhaps they’ll put down their crack pipes and lead some semblance of a “normal” life..
Actually martym, I think you’re describing a Liberal nanny state.
Communist & socialist would make the able-bodied work.
Awww fuck, we need a demorcratic gov like in ‘Starship Troopers'(book not the movie)
yea HP..it’s all socialism,really.and it doesn’t work(pun intended)
Apparently the pirate bum has passed away from a heart attack I heard from a source who heard from an LC employee.
That’s sad. Now who’s going to run for the Greens in Halifax?
He probably will. He won’t do any worse than the new candidate.
LOLz – besides, plenty of squeegee kids to run in his place, as long as nobody mentions that there is actual work involved. But then Vegan Lesmeat would accuse the Greens of pirating her best campaign workers. And then the Pirate Party would file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for defamation…
Feck me!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/bra…
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 was going to use it on drugs or alcohol.
And then I thought, that’s what I’m going to use it on.
Why am I judging this poor bastard.
People love to judge homeless guys. Like if you give them money they’re just going to waste it.
Well, he lives in a box, what do you want him to do? 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 and says why don’t you go get a job you bum. People always say that to homeless guys like it is so easy.
This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants. Outside his pants. I’m guessing his resume isn’t all up to date. I’m predicting some problems during the interview process.
I’m pretty sure even McDonalds has a “underwear goes inside the pants” policy. Not that they enforce it really strictly, but technically I’m sure it is on the books.
“This homeless guy was wearing his underwear outside his pants.”
I guess he thinks he’s Superbum. Yorkee how did you afford your alcohol and drugs. Did you bum for it or work for it. There is a difference.
http://spacingatlantic.ca/2011/04/06/the-c…
I liked the Clyde Street Pirate. He was a character and always friendly.
At my regular morning coffee shop on SGR there was a smiling, cheerful free newspaper girl handing out papers every morining in the freezing cold. When the bus would drive by she would dash 100 yds from the coffee shop to the bus stop to hand out papers to the exiting bus riders.
A few weeks ago when the weather improved a bum with a dog showed up for a couple of days in front of the coffee shop with his tin cup. He didn’t last long. I guess most people thought the same thing as me – I’m not giving you a fucking dime, you fat, lazing ass, dog abusing, fair weather motherfucker when the person standing next to you has worked all winter and I’ve given her nothing but a smile and a thank you.
..vegan lesmeat..sweet! 🙂
*narf* >; )
I have no problem giving some food to an old hobo that will appreciate it. All these young crackheads that will only accept money are useless, and people that willingly support these crack habits are useless.