Beggars and Buskers...more to the story
Submitted by Betsy on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 19:33
I love buskers. Some are extremely talented and in fact travel around the world to busker festivals. I guess you'd call these people professional buskers.
Then there are the amateur buskers who are also often very talented. I know of the man you speak of who plays his guitar outside the LCBO.
It's worth my change for the smile he puts on my face.
Some people don't have an instrument or any musical talent, but they find ways to make people smile or as you say 'work' for there money.
I once gave five bucks to a guy who recited a poem to me while I was stopped at a Toronto stop light.
In a much smaller town, I made my sons father pull over in the parking lot of a busy plaza....he was giving out his business cards 'will do odd jobs for cash or food'....hand written on a carefully cut out piece of a cigarette pack.
Assuming these buskers are in business for themselves, I have to say I give them a lot of credit.
But have you ever been to Atlantic city? I wonder if the 4 or 5 year old children I saw dancing and singing beside ghetto blasters were there own bosses?
Have you seen the movie "August Rush". Robin Williams plays a very Fagan like character (from Charles Dickens' 'Oliver').
Now, Fagan was the 'pimp' so to speak of a group of very young kids who pick pocketed. They would pick pockets, bring him what they stole and get a small percentage.
In August Rush, the kids were all talented musicians who used the Robin Williams character's instruments to busk the city streets and bring him their earnings.
Hmmm....makes ya wonder who the money is going to when you toss a few coins in the guitar case.
That said, the busker who makes me smile deserves to be paid.
As for those with no talent to share....everyone's got a story. I think its really sad to assume that you can glance at someone and assume to know whether they deserve your help or not.
Here's a story ....a well known street outreach worker in Toronto spent a few weeks earning the trust of a very quiet and wary street kid. One day he sat with the kid on a bench where homeless people often sat. The kid wasnt begging...he was sitting on the bench with one hand pushed deep into his coat pocket. Someone walking by started to berate the kid, telling him he was worthless and to get a job. Little did that person know that that kid came from a home that was pretty decent to all outward appearances. He went to school, got three meals a day.
He also went to bed every night in fear because the uncle who lived with the family sexually tortured him nightly. He keeps his hand thrust deep in his pocket because when once he tried to repel the uncle, he got all of his fingers severed off.
To everyone else he looks like a perfectly capable teenage kid who should probably be working at McDonalds. Everyone doesnt see the hell he went through.
In his eyes, its safer for him to live on the streets of Toronto than to go back home.
That's got to be pretty bad.
I know what you'll say Dave....you'll say, that's one story. Well,everyone's got a story Dave....some would break your heart....but you'd never see that at a glance.
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Begging
OK I won’t say that but I will point out 3 basic differences in our philosophies based on your blog. First you would apparently give your money to most if not all beggars because in this way you would be sure not to miss anyone with a story such as the one you eluded to above. This is the same principle used in our welfare system, blanket coverage to all regardless of real need or authenticity just to make sure the system doesn’t miss anyone with a story such as your young man. Second, the act of giving small change or loonies to a beggar only really provides them with short term minor relief while on the other hand it usually does a lot more for the donor as it makes them feel good and relieves their guilt over the fact that they may have more than the recipient. And finally the long term effect of this behaviour does nothing more than perpetuate the status quo. Most likely you will see this teen as an adult beggar in 20 years, living a less than stellar life and contributing very little to society. I can relate 10 stories such as yours ( I am a bit older of course) that match or are worse than this teen’s ordeals. I can also provide endings to many of my stories that are very positive due to a strong will to do better in life, a helping hand up (vs handout) and hard work. Numerous people face insurmountable challenges every day, many like the teen you cite, and yet they are able to achieve a better lifestyle than begging on the street. I can take your comment “I think it’s really sad to assume that you can glance at someone and assume to know whether they deserve your help or not” and turn it around, “I think it’s sad that you feel everyone begging on the street deserves and needs your help”. Contrary to popular belief those who are of your philosophical persuasion are not the only ones with compassion for needy people. It is only that my philosophy goes beyond compassion and a few dollars towards a system that would help these people get off the streets rather than see them in a life-long career in the professional begging business.
You are partially correct in
You are partially correct in your first statement. Yes, I would just as soon give my money to all beggars rather than try to assess at a glance who I feel is 'worthy' of my help. When I take my son to Toronto, I give him a pocket full of change and he can give it away until its gone....with the understanding that we can't possibly help everyone because we don't have enough money to do that ourselves.
Where you err is in your assumption that the welfare system provides "blanket coverage to all regardless of need or authenticity just to make sure the system doesn't miss anyone."
I don't sit down with each and every homeless person I come across and complete a thorough needs assessment. But our welfare system does. Need is assessed and verified and for those placed on ongoing assistance, their eligibility is reqularly audited.
Your second point about small change being only a temporary fix for homeless people.
You are right. And yes, it does feel good to know that perhaps I have offered something, however small, to a very unhappy, cold and hungry person. It certainly does not solve their problem. I do not have the resources to solve their problem. But I can take the little that I have, that small thing that I own, and use it to make some small contribution to a person who is in crisis. Is that so wrong?
Your final point boggles my mind.
Because I give change to a homeless person I am perpetuating homelessness?
If that kid I told you about is still on the street as an adult, it won't be because I made sure he got a coffee or a hot meal on one day in his miserable life on the streets.
Yes, there are people out there who have overcome incredible odds....like I said before, everyone has a story. That's my point. Who am I to judge what their stories might be?
Do you really think that people want to beg to survive? Do you think they wake up one morning and think 'hey ya, that would be a great life to live'??
Do you think that everyone who ends up on the streets really understands how miserable that life is?
That outreach worker I was telling you about was training a new staff member one night. He took her to an area in TO where many homeless people would spend the night.
The new worker stopped beside an abandoned child's suitcase. It was open and inside, among other things, were a teddy bear and a pair of pink flannel pajamas. Whatever child packed that bag to leave their home thought that wherever she was headed, she would need her pink flannel pajamas and her teddy bear.
I agree that action needs to be taken to get people off of the streets and into safe, healthy environments where they can live to their potential.
But I'm telling you, that that will not happen until people really understand what's going on out there. I dont think you do.
Beggars
I can't believe it you actually gave me a "partially correct"! With all due respect you generally disagree with me on everything and totally disregard my arguments. You see what you don't realize is that I have life experiences that provide me with much more than just an opinion. Therefore I really do understand what's going on out there and it has been going on for a long time. And yes there are people that decide that they want to stay in that lifestyle regardless of what you think. They may not wake up one morning and decide it but it grows on them trust me. If all the welfare programs and all the money the socialists have been spending over the last 50 years helped people off the street why have the number of street people and beggars increased exponentially every year? It’s like the crime statistics that I mentioned before, all the worry and coddling of criminals have done nothing but led us to where we are today. (check the newspaper). Betsy you need to look elsewhere than the same old platitudes that are always trotted out when people talk about these folks. Example, sad stories, you don’t understand, people don’t want to take handouts etc. You have a big heart but feeling bad for them doesn’t help them at all.