So, to get this out of the way, I’m a cisgender white man from a well-off family in a fairly affluent town. I’m making this post because I want to hear perspectives from those who are different from and likely significantly more knowledgeable than me. (Literally as I was writing this post, I came to the epiphany that I should probably more properly educate myself on socialism.)
TL;DR: What is your opinion on giving money to houseless people you see IRL?
I like to consider myself socialist/progressive in thought—in favor of wealth redistribution via various methods, live and let live, freedom for everyone as long as you’re not materially harming anyone, etc.—but I grew up in a fairly conservative household (more socially than fiscally, but even then). Being in a rich area, I never really saw houseless people around unless I went to one of the nearby cities, and the general policy was keep walking and don’t look. My parents definitely raised me to be kind and generous, but more in a detached “give to charity” way.
Rather recently, I’ve really embraced this idea of being socialist, and I’ve become very free with giving my money in particular (though I’m aware I could do more, like join a DSA branch or somethin’). I love giving to non-profit organizations when I can, I support creators I like on Patreon. I’ve even started giving to people on Fedi who I’ve seen need money for whatever reason. Spread the wealth, right?
Now, things have changed where I live, and even in my rich lil burb, you can usually find at least one refugee or houseless person when you go out to a grocery store or something. I just saw a guy who was standing outside a grocery store asking for spare change, and it was a rare occasion that I actually had cash in my wallet. On my way out, I gave it to him. Simple.
But I feel weird about it. I have all these ideas in my head from White America saying that they’ll just buy alcohol or drugs with it or that they’re scamming me or anything else like that. Then on the other hand, I think that it’s just as likely (if not more) that they’re going to spend it on things they actually need to live and how it’s not my job to police how they use their money. And then on the third hand, I think that maybe it would be better to donate money to organizations that help out houseless people than just giving money to random people. Then on the fourth hand—you get the idea.
For those of you who actually read the whole post and didn’t stop at the TL;DR, I have a few questions:
- Why in God’s name did you actually read this whole thing?
- Are these feelings normal or am I just a self-centered prick?
- What are your opinions on giving money to houseless people you just randomly meet?
- As a bonus question for the socialists out there: Any recs on socialism learning resources for someone who likes reading, but doesn’t like reading books?
For those of you who made it all the way to the end, thank you for reading my neurotic ramblings.
EDIT: I didn’t really expect this to blow up… but thank you all so much for your perspectives on everything. It was exactly what I was hoping for and exactly what I didn’t think I was going to get. I tried to read everything and I feel simultaneously less conflicted, but definitely more… not confused, but maybe full of ideas?
I try to keep this approach in mind: the bad actions of a few should not prevent us from doing good by a lot of people. Don’t deprive 9 people of food money you could give them because the 10th might use it on drugs.
I can’t find a source right now, but I believe that begging also lies near the end of the poverty cycle. If someone has resorted to that, it’s likely that they have no other options for income.
If you do not want people hanging around and begging, do not give money directly. However have well funded social services and charities. I feel this way because I lived through a town that got over run with beggers and I am not exagerating. They would even take the train in for the day from the city. Town hired some people to talk to anyone giving them money and ask them to stop. A month later they were gone. People do what works including begging.
I used to give a bit when asked, even when directly asked for “some change for a beer”. That was about ten years ago when I was a student and didn’t have a lot of money myself.
I have always considered myself lucky having been born into circumstances that allowed me to become financially well-off and healthy, even though my parent aren’t wealthy or anything like that.
From this point of view, I always thought giving a little bit away, which I won’t even feel, to someone less fortunate than myself, was very reasonable.
And it is absolutely no business of mine to care what someone does with the money I give them. If I gave someone money and expected them to spend it in a certain way, that would be incredibly patronizing. Who am I to judge? If I lived on the street, I would probably try to make my days a bit lighter with a beer or two or three.
Today, it is different. While I earn good money now, I give less, and it is often on my mind why. I like to believe that it is the external circumstances that changed, though. First of all, the sheer quantity of people actively asking me for money, mostly when I am waiting for a train, would mean a more considerable sum of money than I was used to. Secondly, often the people asking are obviously users. For instance, there is a very active open crack scene where I live. This is different from the beer or two, which I to this day never had a problem supporting. It is often not even homeless people but rather people in dire need to support their opiate addiction.
This has become so obvious that I mostly opt out of giving money. Sometimes my gut tells me that this is one of the “good old beggars” or they just cone across as sincere and I give.
To conclude: opiates are hell and I want the good old times back when I did not feel conflicted when supporting less fortunate fellow citizens with a little change.
Give if you feel like it. Don’t feel bad you can’t or don’t. Acts of charity might not mean much for the world, but at the same time it could mean the world to someone.
Someone once popped in a Domino’s pizza when I was picking an order up, he was trying to count out change for a soda, and also wasn’t wearing shoes. I bought it for him and also gave a spare mask I had (it was covid time and workers felt a little uneasy with this person inside).
The sweet little smile he had warmed my heart (something worth more than $5), the $5 itself meant more to him than me.
Doesn’t matter too much if half the time it gets used on smokes or drinks… if it can help someone out genuinely trying to escape a struggle 1 every 10 times I’m happy.
Hello, I just want to add that it’s not right to request the opinion of BIPOC people to provide information for you. If you want to know the opinion of BIPOC people, read the opinion of some, the resources are out there to learn and do the work. Why should we expect people, who can be repressed by a system to provide the burden of eduction of educating you about said system.
This is such an unapproachable take. Saying things like this really doesn’t do anything to help, even if you believe it’s true.
If a person is challenging the opinion of a marginalized person, I could see this being a reasonable response. This person is pretty clearly attempting to overcome their biases. Telling them to do their own research, instead of pointing them in a direction, is asking for them to find the “wrong” person’s opinion and take it to heart. It’s a missed opportunity for dialogue, and contributes nothing.
