Posted on 12/03/2012 6:52:06 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia
The barefoot homeless man who was given a pair of shoes by a kind-hearted beat cop is wandering the streets shoeless again.
Jeffrey Hillman, 54, was spotted panhandling on the upper West Side Sunday without the $100 boots NYPD Officer Lawrence DePrimo bought for him on a frigid November night in Times Square.
“Those shoes are hidden,” Hillman told The New York Times after he was spotted walking around with no shoes on Broadway near W. 79th St. “They are worth a lot of money. I could lose my life.”
A tourist from Arizona snapped a cell phone photo of DePrimo giving the boots to Hillman on Nov. 14, and the picture quickly went viral, making the selfless cop a national celebrity.
“I appreciate what the officer did, don’t get me wrong. I wish there were more people like him in the world,” Hillman said.
“I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me. And to the officer, first and foremost.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
More likely traded for booze.
Easy come easy go.
A profound irony I suppose.
I was betting, in my head, that the guy would sell them or have them stolen from him.
I had the odds in my head of
70% sell
20% have them stolen
10% keep
Goes to show that poverty isn’t just a financial condition, it’s a state a mind.
for later
I like to help, but I am VERY cautious. I’ll help at soup kitchens, where they eat the food right there and you know it is helping. I helped one guy regularly for several months, where I would get buy-one-get-one-free sandwiches from a major chain (I had a hundred coupons) and give the guy one of the two sandwiches - and he would start eating it as soon as I handed it to him. Give a homeless person anything that can be re-sold? Not in my opinion a good idea.
He knows that more people will give booze money to a shoeless bum. That said, the young cop will still have done a kind deed.....but he should have given that $100 to the Salvation Army for a more effective use of his money.
http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/homeless-man-shoeless-again-in-nyc-despite-boots-1.4286136
According to this story the “homeless” man (homeless by choice as his siblings have said their homes are open to him) is demanding his “piece of the pie”
“He says he’s grateful for the gift, but he wants “a piece of the pie” because the photo was posted online “without permission.”
Gotta love the Democrat base.
“Some people are rich . . . because they work for it. Other people are poor . . . because they work for it.”
Swami Chidvilasananda
When I worked in Manhattan, I always stopped and dropped off a sandwich and cup of coffee for someone. Never gave money.
For years at the terminus of Market and California streets in San Francisco by the Hyatt, you could witness an African-American panhandler begging in a gold and red 49er’s varsity style jacket. It was not a temporary gig for this scam artist as I found out when I noticed that he “commuted” to work from Oakland on the BART mass transit.
We have had several people drop by my church asking for help.
When you offer them food or a ride to where they are going they refuse and want cash then get mad when you don’t give it to them.
but he should have given that $100 to the Salvation Army for a more effective use of his money.”
...I disagree. $100 doesn’t go very far. But a “YouTube” video of a cop trying to help a homeless man is priceless. It went viral. I don’t give nor do I encourage giving to homeless people. I give to the SA. I do believe in the Christmas spirit and that gesture by the cop got mine re-lit.
Years ago a family member ran a coffee franchise, gave a bum some muffins when he was begging for money for food. The guy threw them out as soon as he left - he went back and caught him at it.
Know quite a few homeless. Unfortunately, most are homeless because they don’t want to live by anyone’s rules. Drugs, alcohol, simple selfishness. But there are ones who really have just fallen on horrid times, and there are always the mentally ill, who simply can’t function in society.
They well be gone, sold or traded in a couple of days.
If this guy wanted shoes he would have a pair.
The officer should have saved himself some $ by getting the bum a pair of old shoes and socks from a Goodwill store.
I’ve dealt with drug addicts and drunks enough to know that “They’re hidden” means “I sold them”.
The shoeless man is likely chemically dependent, mentally ill or both and his actions in no way diminish the selfless act of kindness done by that police officer.
The problem with homelessness is that it's not a simple problem. I suspect this guy is mentally ill. The article says his brother would welcome him into the home, but he's chosen the lifestyle. While I only looked at him shuffling down the sidewalk for a few minutes, I'd guess his ability to choose is severely limited.
>>>...I disagree. $100 doesn’t go very far. But a “YouTube” video of a cop trying to help a homeless man is priceless. It went viral. I don’t give nor do I encourage giving to homeless people. I give to the SA. I do believe in the Christmas spirit and that gesture by the cop got mine re-lit.<<<
But, when you find out the “homeless” man refuses offers to live with relatives, apparently sells the shoes for drugs or booze, and demands his “piece of the pie” from the photo of the generous cop helping his disgusting, ungrateful, self, it tends to quench any spirit of generosity in many people and replace it with a spirit of cynicism.
You are probably right!
He MIGHT be telling the truth about them being a temptation to muggers. A more sensible gift, maybe, would be a $7 pair of Wal-Mart slippers, and even that might make his fellow bums envious.
I wouldn’t consider it money wasted because God notices but I would certainly find a cheaper way to help in the future.
This reflects that a very high percentage of our homeless are in that position due to mental illness, rather than lack of economic opportunity.
yup... when they want food they show up at a soup kitchen, or beg outright for the food
If you have unused fare left on a metro ticket (or multiple tickets), you can go to a ticket machine and have the fare consolidated onto a single ticket, or if you have partial fare, you can add money to it. For example if your ride is going to cost $1.00 and you have two tickets with $0.50 left on them, you can either add $0.50 to one, or have the two combined into a single ticket. You can not, however, redeem them for change.
One evening as my girlfriend and I were returning to the car after a day in the city some female approached us begging for fare. I offered her our two tickets which still had a good bit of fare left on them, and most likely would have got her anywhere she needed to go.
She not only declined them, but got angry that we hadn't offered cash. It made a lasting impression on a 19 or 20 year old...
Misplaced sense of self-dignity. If you told them the sun rose in the east, they'd argue.
The 10% who are homeless, are so by choice.
They choose addiction over food, shelter and clothing.
Anyone who honestly needs temporary assistance has plenty of public and private options.
However, since those options prohibit the possession or use of narcotics, most homeless - more accurately described as bums - do not avail themselves of those options.
The only people who deserve the heartfelt concern of the charitable are the children of these vile addicts who are used as props and cash bait by their contemptible parents.
I read a book where a homeless man shared a scam called a "food drop."
The scam works like this. Scare up enough money to buy a hamburger, which is usually pretty easy. Then go to some building and hang out in front of the building right before lunch. Take a bite out of the hamburger, then put it in a trash can.
When people start coming out for lunch, start going through the trash can. "Find" the hamburger and start eating it. People will shove money at you so you don't have to eat garbage.
So you even have to be careful giving someone a sandwich. Like another poster said, make sure they eat it in front of you.
My Dad knew poverty having grown up on a Reservation. So did the black colleague having grown up on the mean streets of a large city. The third colleague did not, having grown up in a wealthy New York suburb and graduated from an ivy league college.
So when a homeless panhandler asks them for money, only one of the three reaches into his pocket. Guess which one.
The ivy leaguer turns to my Dad and the black colleague and remarks "I feel compelled to help those people out because there, except for the grace of God, go I."
The black colleague looks at him and says "I grew up around these people. If you gave him everything you had, including the clothes on your back, he might even thank you and he might even enjoy them for a few days. But the first time he felt he needed another drink, he would trade them off. He wouldn't change places with you long term if you made him such an offer."
Everyone who is homeless is, because they managed to burn every single bridge with everyone that ever cared for them.
Bridge ignition takes two.
I knew a woman at my old church who, when I met her, was a very respectable-looking middle-aged woman, above-average intelligence. You would never in a million years guess that she had once been homeless.
She told me that before she found Christ she had been a raging alcoholic who used to sleep in the streets and beg for cash. She used to tell people that she needed the money for food, that she hadn’t eaten for days, etc. But then she’d take it right down the liquor store to buy more booze.
And this is the socialist scam writ miniature.
And now the government is doing their panhandling FOR them.
My experience is that the truly homeless don't beg or panhandle. Most panhandlers don't have their stuff with them. If they have somewhere else to leave their stuff, they're not homeless.
Anyone who honestly needs temporary assistance has plenty of public and private options.
The public options are often dangerous. I wouldn't ever want to be forced to stay there. But you are correct that the truly homeless generally know where they can go to get a bed or a meal.
However, since those options prohibit the possession or use of narcotics, most homeless - more accurately described as bums - do not avail themselves of those options.
There's a lot of paranoia involved in homelessness. They need psychiatric help, but are too paranoid to get it. Also, many have a condition called "anosognosia" where they literally can't see they have a mental illness, so they don't get treatment. It's a much more difficult situation than the usual conservative bumper stickers can address.
The girls were all happy to pull over and give him food. I wasn't done; I pulled off of the cross road into a parking lot where we could see him but were hard to see. He took a drink, and ate a few fries while looking around, then walked to a dumpster an threw the whole thing away.
The girls were really mad! They wanted to go tell him off. My point? If he was really hungry, he wouldn't be bu the freeway. This is his job. He sells felling good about yourself. He, and all like him are frauds. Find a good charity, Churches are usually good choices, donate there, it's where people in real need go.
YMMV
Delph
Hey, the last time the guy panhandled barefoot, he got a hundred dollar pair of boots out of it. Why wouldn’t he try it again?
Getting your idea of just giving food is good however along with it I’d like to include some fake dollars with Bammy’s face in the middle with the inscription “In Me You Trust”. Should be legal tender and honored by any fawning leftist establishment.
You just know the reaction to that would be “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS! I VOTED FOR MITT ROMNEY!”
“They are worth a lot of money. I could lose my life.”
Thats as believable as jumping to the conclusion that he sold them for booze.
Both are eminently possible. For the same reason you wouldn’t ever want to give a Rolex to a bum....
When I had a couple of contracts in downtown DC I would offer lunch to the panhandlers who asked me for money. Every single one of them cursed me out and I never bought a single lunch.
it tends to quench any spirit of generosity in many people and replace it with a spirit of cynicism.”
...you’re correct. It teaches a great lesson. Give. But not to homeless people. Put some thought into your giving. I like local giving.
Two years ago, about 10 miles from where I live, a Father of 4 murdered his wife and went to jail leaving his 4 young girls completely on their own. No relatives and some friends. We gave money to a fund that was set up for them.
Hard to believe that in such a case the Department of Humanistic Services or whatever it’s called didn’t swoop in... unless these “girls” were grown.
A few years ago I was driving home from work and stopped at a light near an overpass. There was a beggar out with a sign, “Hungry. Please Help.” I had my lunch bag in the car and hadn’t eaten my grapes or two hard-boiled eggs, so I gave them to him before the light changed.
The next day I was driving the same route, came to a stop at the same light, and there on the ground, in almost the same place, was a bag of grapes and two hard-boiled eggs, untouched. I NEVER give to beggars any more.
And this rule can apply to addicts as well. My brother is/was a pill addict. Used to come around asking for money for food and gas for his truck. I ordered a pizza, sat down with him for a bit, told him I had a 5 gallon container of gas that he could have. I took it out to his truck, filled it up, and he made up an excuse that he had to go. I said, “I thought you were hungry?”
“Well, I was looking for some cash so I can eat later,” he said.
He wasn’t interested in eating. He wasn’t hungry. He wanted money for pills and was pissed that I ordered a pizza and gave him fuel from my personal stock instead of giving him cash.
A co-worker who lived in the heart of downtown Los Angeles said that the number is closer to 100%. He told of a panhandler who took a vacation to Tahiti.
A victim of hyperthermic feet syndrome!
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