While walking out of Barnes and Noble's today, I met a bum who claimed to be God. The guy's got this whole Zeus beard thing going on and he was pretty articulate surprisingly, so I start talking to him, and unbeknownst to me, the world was created in 1955 by this man. Everything before then was a lie and didn't exist. Apparently, the people rebelled against God, and he ended up in California. Somehow, don't ask me how, he winds up in Mexico where he was quickly deported because they didn't like him begging there. You know you've hit rock bottom when you get kicked out of Mexico. Then, God made his way to Brownsville where the cops showed him the highway and told him to "start walking" and that's how he ended up in Houston. I asked him why doesn't he try and make something out of himself(I gave this guy money before and this time), and he tells me he's just addicted to being a bum. He then asks me if I'm in the medical field. I play along and say "Yea, I'm a doctor." He then says, "I knew it man, you know doctors put parasites in your body when they're operating? Do you do that?". At this point I knew the guy was a nut case, but I played along anyway and said "If I did it wasn't on purpose." He then proceeds to tell me about a medical book he found from the 1890's that shows there's a bone in your tongue (LOL, wtf?) and that they don't teach it anymore in today's text books. He asked me where I got my information from, I told him from textbooks, and this oddly enough befuddled him. From there, I slowly walked away for fear that he had a fetish for doctors. Just wanted you guys to know about my conversation with God. ------------------ You are all bàilisdeires and ainmhides who are allowed to witness my dailgneachd. [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited July 15, 2001).]
Should have asked him whether Griffin was a SF or a PF. DaDakota ------------------ How long do I have to endure this ?
TCL, you seem like a very fair guy, but I have to say I am disappointed that you would give money to a mentally ill person in front of a large store like Barnes and Noble. All you are doing is encouraging more panhandling in public places by unstable people. Parents bring their children to book stores, and they should not be exposed to possibly dangerous situations that can occur when mentally ill people mix with the general public. My wife and I donate money to the Star of Hope for this very reason. We, as a society, need to get these people out of "family zones" and the middle of intersections by cutting off all monetary aid in those places. We need to force the mentally ill homeless to congregate where they can get help. In conclusion, every time anybody gives a homeless person money in a public place, the giver hurts the homeless person, and the community. The cliche, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" is very apropos in this situation. ------------------
The guy claimed to have created the world in 1955, and that all history before then was made up. Then he goes on to say that he read in a book from the 1890's that there was a bone in the tongue. Did he not know? Wasn't this book a lie since it was before 1955? Bums these days just don't have the passion they once did to make up consistent whackjob stories. You should have asked him about that, TPL. ------------------ Rockets need power forward. Mo near now. Go near Mo. You can Run from the bet, you can Rave at the bet...but you just can't hide. [This message has been edited by Raven Lunatic (edited July 15, 2001).]
LOL Bah. It doesn't take a genius to know Griffin is a small forward King, the man was not mentally ill in the sense you may be thinking of. He seemed rather intelligent and articulate, so don't take it like I was belittling him. He could have just been messing with me, because I talked to him one time before and he didn't make it known then that he was God. The solution you proposed is very good, in the long run, but realize that wasn't the point of my post, and donating one dollar to a homeless man doesn't promote or have an effect on how and where homeless people are going to beg. Raven, LOL, and what about people born before 1955?! I didn't even initiate the conversation really. Out of nowhere, he let it be known he was God. ------------------ You are all bàilisdeires and ainmhides who are allowed to witness my dailgneachd. [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited July 15, 2001).]
The problem here is that there may be 30 good people like you, who want to show this man a little compassion. 30 buck equals quite a bit of malt liquor, and his mental illness will only suffer with alcohol. Of course, if it was God, then you go straight to heaven. ------------------
Wow. And you KNOW for a fact that this guy is buying 'malt liquor' how? Or is it that just all homeless crazy people are alcolholics too? I also like the 'malt liquor' reference. Much more seedy than beer. Really briefly I worked at a slum liquor store in St. Louis (P-X Wine and Spirits) while looking for a real job after college. (I started working at their 'nice' wine dealership & they transfered me to the slums). I can tell you first hand that most of the crazy drunks I have known prefer either cheap vodka or 'Bush' or cheaper beer brands like Drummond Brothers of Falstaff. Not much for the 40's of OE. I appologise, but your post just seems like the propaganda from an someone who rarely deals with homeless people and only gives to feel less guilty about being disgusted. Once again, I'm sorry, but it really struck a raw nerve and I don't mean to say that the above applies to you. ------------------
The vast majority of homeless people have substance abuse problems. I was using malt liquor as an example. Feel free to substitute crack, beer, wine, or vodka. You are looking for an argument here because you don't like my opinion. It does not matter what a mentally ill person orders when he gets to the liquor store, but I am certainly not going to be the person who finances his continuing mental illness. Do you have a problem with that? Thank you for you emotional response. You have no idea what you are talking about, but I appreciate your effort. I have plenty of experience with homeless people. I first became interested at 23 years of age when I managed a small diner on Shepherd. I had a constant problem with drunks who would come in a try to bum money from customers, eat and run, and try to use the facilities. They were a problem for me, but I learned to deal with them on a human level. From that experience, I learned that these people are out of control, and need compassionate people to make proper decisions for them. For that reason, I give money to the Star of Hope, and I help out during the holidays. Your remark that I give out of guilt is so offensive that I will dismiss it and move on. Now, what are YOU going to do to help? Don't tell me, but let me give you a hint. Giving homeless people one dollar at a time is just enough to keep them on the street, and not enough to get them off the street. Good luck with your misguided idealism. ------------------
Give me a break. Assuming that a homeless person is a drunk is like assuming that all women knit and sew. Maybe the guy was homeless because of a gambling problem, bad investments, anything. You try to help people. Turning your back on someone is just as bad as giving them money, so why not give them some money!? You have to look at it both ways Kingrene, you're getting upset at people for giving you a "guilt" trip about not helping homeless people, but you're giving people a guilt trip for HELPING a homeless person! Not homeless people are "out-of-control". ------------------ "Instruments are like women: After a while, you want to make love to another." - Nicolas Godin of the musical duo Air
I should add I'm not judging anybody, but giving somebody a hard time for helping a homeless person is just as bad as giving somebody a hard time for NOT helping homeless people. Even if the homeless guy is "god"! ------------------ "Instruments are like women: After a while, you want to make love to another." - Nicolas Godin of the musical duo Air
I've given spare change to bums at the gas station before, I guess I'm just aiding the exposition of bums to women and children... ------------------ President of the CC.net Realist Club, everyone needs a dose of reality once in a while...
Wrong Rocks, giving money to homeless people directly DOES NOT help them. You hurt them by allowing them to live on the street in miserable conditions. Call the Star of Hope tomorrow and ask their opinion on this matter. They will tell you how misguided your opinion really is. ------------------
One last thing. It is always okay to give a homeless person food or water. My wife and I will often buy a balance bar or a bottle of water for homeless people at the Montrose Walgreens where we shop. Why don't we end this discussion on that note. ------------------
Um, like I said, I wasn't trying to offend you, but it seems I have. Let me attempt to address the point more clearly. I wasn't trying to say anything about you. I was only suggesting that perhaps your wording contained words that had loaded meanings. The compassion which I assume is behind your words is clouded by your choice of verbage. As an example, which I in no way relate to your telling or your verbage, but rather suggest as an extreme case, let me illustrate. If I say "Martin Luther King was a great african-american, championing the rights of african-americans everywhere." or I say "Martin Luther King was a great (insert racial slur) championing the rights or (insert racial slur) everywhere." the meaning is the same until one addresses the cultural meaning behind the words. I am only suggesting that you consider the emotional baggage of your words. AGAIN I AM NOT TRYING TO SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT YOU. Please let me know if you are still personaly offended. NOW: As you brought up the general Montrose neighborhood here's a true story: There is a Stop-And-Go on the corner of Montrose and Westheimer. About 2 years ago, around the beginning of March, there was a somewhat smelly, dirty gentleman who asked me for money as I was walking in to get a 64 ounce soda to support my Diet Coke habit. Historically, every once-in-a-while I get a wild spur up my @$$ and give these gentlemen a $10 or a $20, as I did in this case. I thought no more of it and walked on. About 1 month later I was at the same place and some guy who was looking like he was asking for money was comeing towards me. As I was nearly broke at this point I immediately blurted out, "I'm sorry I don't have anything right now." And he gets this funny look on his face. As it turns out, it was the guy I saw before, but he tells me that now he has gotten a place to stay thanks to a church and he is managing to get some money by selling roses on the corner. He came up to tell me how helpfull the money was and give me a rose to give to my girlfriend. So, What I am trying to say, Kingrene, is that I was not trying to offend you, yet I still was attempting to defend homeless people. Even if the vast majority of them are crazy drunken slobbering idiots, not all of them are. I felt I owed it to the memory of the flower guy to make this point clear and suggest that you might consider, though not feel obliged to use more sensitive wording. AGAIN I AM NOT TRYING TO INSULT, DENEGRATE, BELITTLE, OR OFFEND YOU IN ANY WAY. I APPOLOGISE FOR THE CONFRONTATIONAL TONE OF MY ORIGINAL POST. Thank you. ------------------
Otto, tough love is still love. Substance will always trump style in my book. Have a good night. ------------------
I applaud you guys who gave some cash to those guys. Kingrene, I also applaud you for giving to the shelter, but why do you have to rag on these guys for their generosity? You are coming across with a rather pompous air in this little debate: Originally posted by Kingrene: Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated! What I'm trying to get at is that instead of applauding their generosity while at the same time offering a different method of helping the homeless, you're telling eveyone how wrong (you think) that they are. You're also making some very harsh generalizations about the homeless, which I find rather offensive. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
Please elaborate. I am not looking for a confrontation. However I get the impression that you are. If you are a pompus elitist that assumes all homeless people 'children' please let me know so I can respond appropriately. Vague, arogant, self-congratulatory responses lack substance, but rather are heavy on the very style which you denegrate. Please expound. ------------------
If you want to see the one time that trickle down economics actually works, give a homeless guy some money. I have no qualms with giving someone money (though I get tired of it, and I don't really want to live at marginal utility just to be like Jesus). I do sometimes feel a responsibility to people > 45 or so. I read some crazy stat that a large # of the homeless men that you meet are Vietnam Vets. They went and lived/observed horror and then were thanked w/ a huge batch of **** you when they came home. It's those men that will drive me bankrupt. Thank goodness for harsh Utah winters.
Let me just elaborate a little bit. A while back, on the discovery chanel or somesuch cable network I saw a program about HPD. Let me just preface this by saying that I know quite a few HPD officers and most of them are really good people. So this program follows a couple of guys around, COPS style, and at one point one of the officers says something to the affect that his experience in his job has made him a racist. This resonated for me and for 2 or 3 years, this statement bounced around the perhiphery of my mind, and I think this is why: Say you're a cop in a squad car. Imagine that 9 of 10 people you arrest are African-American. This is your data set. The human brain is wired to take alot of information, evaluate using incomplete information, and elaborate and varied decisions using that evaluation. It is, therefore, natural for the aformentioned cop to be a racist. His decsision is based on the information he has recieved and his analysis of it. Directly sampled data shows that 9 of 10 criminals are african americans. Therefore it is logical to assume that any African-American he sees is a criminal. HOWEVER the officer's brain is not configured to handle non-evident data. For instance, maybe the obvious data point (being African-American) overlaps with a less obvious data point (being poor) for reasons that are beyond the immediacy of his mind. It's not the fact that they're african-american, but rather the fact that they're poor, but his brain locks on to the 'african-american' factor as it is most clear. This goes back to a couple of universal truths. The concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' seems to be one of the over-riding truths of american justice. One can not be judged for simply belonging to a population. My point is, that no matter how many sick, depraved, crazy homeless people you meet, each should be given the benefit of the doubt and treated as a human being first and a homeless person second. This is because homeless people are homeless for many reasons. It seems much more comefortable to assume that all homeless people are flawed in some way, but this is simply not the case. Step outside yourself for a minute and accept this. Secondly you state: Is this not a positon, like the HPD officer, which is inheriently biased? In this position you never delt with the homeless people who went about their business and never caused trouble. The only time you were called to deal with homeless people as manager was when they caused trouble for your store. As a store manager that is your job. Deal with problems. If they wern't a problem you wouldn't deal with them. Therefeore, as with the aformentioned HPD officer, your sample of homeless people is limited to those who cause trouble. Recognise this and trancend this. Just because the homeless people you dealt with are a pain in the @$$, doesn't mean that all of them are. In summation, no mater what your experience, adult human beings deserve to be treated as such until proven otherwise. This is one of the 'universal truths' mentioned when the country was founded. It is one of the thing that seperates us from countries like IRAQ, where people who fit a specific profile are killed simply because of the profile. Please, think about this. ------------------
i think kingrene thinks hes god..... ------------------ "The early bird may get the worm, but so does the bird that finished off the tequila bottle the night before"
