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The Professional Panhandling Plague
City Journal ^ | Summer 2008 | Steven Malanga

Posted on 08/24/2008 5:57:52 PM PDT by Lorianne

A new generation of shakedown artists hampers America’s urban revival.___ Barbara Bradley, an editor with the Memphis Commercial Appeal, moved into the River City’s reviving downtown about a year and a half ago, loving its “energy and enthusiasm.” But a horde of invading panhandlers has cooled her enjoyment of city life. Earlier this year, she recalled in a recent column, as she showed some visitors around the neighborhood, “a big panhandler blocked the entrance to our parking area and demanded his toll.” Now a nervous Bradley avoids certain downtown areas, locks her car when fueling up at local gas stations, and parks strategically, so that she can see beggars coming before getting out of her car. “When I hear someone call out ‘ma’am, ma’am’ anywhere in downtown or midtown, I run.”


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: homeless; memphis; panhandling; urban
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1 posted on 08/24/2008 5:57:52 PM PDT by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

Just say “no”.


2 posted on 08/24/2008 6:01:30 PM PDT by Nervous Tick (I've left Cynical City... bound for Jaded.)
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To: Lorianne
I am all over feeling bad for the alleged "homeless".

Here in Seattle it's almost intolerable. These slackers are helping to make cities across the country unlivable.

3 posted on 08/24/2008 6:02:04 PM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Islam: Imagine a clown car.........with guns.)
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To: Lorianne; All
Obama Pay Grade Increase
4 posted on 08/24/2008 6:02:29 PM PDT by musicman
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To: Nervous Tick

Some won’t take no for an answer. They can get quite aggressive.


5 posted on 08/24/2008 6:02:44 PM PDT by driftdiver (No More Obama - The corruption has not changed despite all our hopes.)
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To: Lorianne

Most shakedown artists will try to hold you up if they think they have a chance.


6 posted on 08/24/2008 6:02:57 PM PDT by valkyry1
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To: Lorianne

Within the last couple of years (after some Katrina refugees hit our area, I suspect), I had this fat black woman plop herself down in front of my door and beg me for money with a long-winded sob story—on not one but two different occasions. I didn’t give her anything... on top of everything else, money’s been tight for us too. She got embarrassed the second time. I guess she had forgotten that she’d already attempted to hit me up once before.


7 posted on 08/24/2008 6:04:02 PM PDT by pbmaltzman
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To: Lorianne; BlackElk

Rudy Giuliani for Mayor of Memphis!


8 posted on 08/24/2008 6:05:25 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Obama: Can't kill the innocent fast enough, can't free the guilty soon enough!~ Diana in WI)
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To: Psycho_Bunny

Here in Tampa Bay they have tent cities set up. They set one up in a city park and all the lib whackos were up in arms when the police kicked them out.

The favorite for me is a young lady about 30. One day she’s pregnant, next her car broke down and she’s stuck far from home.

She could be working but she probably makes more begging. Its impressive to see these folks standing all day begging for money in the Florida summer.


9 posted on 08/24/2008 6:05:25 PM PDT by driftdiver (No More Obama - The corruption has not changed despite all our hopes.)
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To: Lorianne
You can always tell who the American tourists are in New York, because they are the only ones who give change to these folks. Southerners have a tendency to be the worst offenders for some reason.

DON'T FEED THE PIGEONS AND DON'T GIVE MONEY TO THE PANHANDLERS!!!

10 posted on 08/24/2008 6:06:22 PM PDT by Clemenza (No Comment)
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To: pbmaltzman

On the door to your house????? Yikes.


11 posted on 08/24/2008 6:09:51 PM PDT by peggybac (Tolerance is the virtue of believing in nothing)
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To: Lorianne; EveningStar

“Spare change? Can you spare some change?”


12 posted on 08/24/2008 6:10:18 PM PDT by dynachrome (Henry Bowman is right)
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To: dynachrome
“Spare change? Can you spare some change?”

Sounds like an Obama-mercial.

13 posted on 08/24/2008 6:19:01 PM PDT by evad (.!.)
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To: Lorianne

I had a very similar incident happen to me...big panhandler, scruffy-looking, bad odor, the whole nine yards...came up right in front of me, blocked my path, and asked for money. I asked him flat-out, “What are you going to do if I don’t give you any money?”

He looked shocked and quickly walked away.

Of course, if you’re not prepared for things to get worse, it’s probably best not to say something like that. But I was pissed.


14 posted on 08/24/2008 6:19:04 PM PDT by JillValentine (Being a feminist is all about being a victim. Being an armed woman is all about not being a victim.)
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To: dynachrome

My sister-in-law saw one standing next to the guardrail at an off ramp in Northern Virginia. She felt so bad with what his cardboard sign said, she went to the store and bought a couple of bags of groceries for him. She went back and gave them to him. Later that night she went by the same location and he was gone...but the groceries had been tossed behind the guardrail. That cured her forever.


15 posted on 08/24/2008 6:19:06 PM PDT by Portcall24
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To: dynachrome

Does anyone disagree that the homeless roaming the streets is an example of liberal values in practice?

It was a liberal idea to make it much more difficult to commit someone for psychiatric care. Many homeless have mental problems.

It was a liberal idea to do away with laws such as vagrancy laws that used to be a way of dealing with loitering and people living on the streets.

The exsitence of so many homeless is due to liberal values being applied to the problems of people who can’t live in society properly.

A good conservative value would be to get these people off the streets and then get to the roots of their problems. If they can be helped to living on their own, fine. If not, maybe they are better off getting the mental help they need. But the liberals prefer to let this problem fester, by saying people have a constitutional right to sleep on the streets. They protest efforts to get homeless off the streets by charging we want to put them in jail. But the liberals have no solutions to the problems of the homeless. They just want them to stay downtown or in the slums, while the liberals enjoy their nice homes on the Upper West Side, or Berkeley, or La Jolla, or Bel Air, or all the other nice neighborhoods of our cities. They would protest if the homeless were in their neighborhood, but if they are not in their neighborhood, the liberals don’t care. How compassionate are liberals if they want to let someone sleep on the street?


16 posted on 08/24/2008 6:24:37 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: dynachrome
If Nobama gets his change, we`ll all be begging for change, in the breadlines.BTW,ever watch that South Park episode about the bums begging for change?
17 posted on 08/24/2008 6:24:42 PM PDT by nomad
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To: Lorianne

Hey, I think I’d actually give money to this guy: he appears to be honest about his debauchery. Other than that, I despise these people. If they’re really hurting, they should take advantage of the Salvation Army and other charities (and yes, I have given, thank you very much).


18 posted on 08/24/2008 6:24:48 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay Less! Sign the petition at http://www.americansolutions.com/)
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To: Lorianne
You don't see too much of them here in Dallas/Fort Worth for some reason. I read here a couple of months ago about a judge in the Northwest forcing a town to allow panhandling. The story said that many of the beggars make $200-300 a day or more.
19 posted on 08/24/2008 6:25:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Barack Obama: In Error and arrogant -- he's errogant!)
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To: pbmaltzman
...I had this fat black woman plop herself down in front of my door...

Now THAT's "in yo face!"

20 posted on 08/24/2008 6:27:03 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay Less! Sign the petition at http://www.americansolutions.com/)
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