Seems to me that feeding the homeless is unambiguously a first amendment right.
Saying this doesn't invalidate some of the reasons why it might be a bad idea (although many of those reasons seem like...a stretch), but then again the first amendment allows you to say (and, I claim do) some stupid stuff.
I think giving money to panhandlers is dumb but I do it. It's clear to me that when I pull out a couple of bucks I'm expressing my concern for that person, for the social issues that may have helped them end up there (or they may simply have had their own problems, or own bad luck) and my feelings about myself as a person, which may be noble, base or guilty.
I also, when I think of it, donate to charities that help the homeless (it's a problem here in Palo Alto, though less than it used to be now the city council fell prey to the real estate lobby and shoved all the homeless shelters aside). I know a wholesale approach is generally more sensible. But sometimes a little "retail therapy" of this sort is valuable too.
Saying this doesn't invalidate some of the reasons why it might be a bad idea (although many of those reasons seem like...a stretch), but then again the first amendment allows you to say (and, I claim do) some stupid stuff.
I think giving money to panhandlers is dumb but I do it. It's clear to me that when I pull out a couple of bucks I'm expressing my concern for that person, for the social issues that may have helped them end up there (or they may simply have had their own problems, or own bad luck) and my feelings about myself as a person, which may be noble, base or guilty.
I also, when I think of it, donate to charities that help the homeless (it's a problem here in Palo Alto, though less than it used to be now the city council fell prey to the real estate lobby and shoved all the homeless shelters aside). I know a wholesale approach is generally more sensible. But sometimes a little "retail therapy" of this sort is valuable too.