So again, this is the kind of mentality I addressed. Your solution is no solution, a continuity of the status quo. What we're doing ain't workin'. Full stop. Yeah, that stuff is already illegal. It's also a nightmare to police and enforce, and you end up in the same moral quandaries. Do we treat Good Samaritans like criminals because of a few bad eggs? Do we now have to interrogate all pan handlers? The general and most effective solution is to ban all handouts that haven't been well thought through.
You even said it yourself, there's not enough money or support. So save the extra $3 you would otherwise be giving out and make a year end donation to a worthy organization. Maybe give a weekend of free time. That will go miles beyond just throwing cash out of a car window at a random intersection. Ever wondered how many homeless get hit by cars begging at intersections by the way? It's more than you'd like to know.
Your solution is no solution, a continuity of the status quo. What we're doing ain't workin'.
There is no "solution to homelessness" while there are people made homeless. A society where many people are made homeless is going to be unpleasant. In ways, it should be unpleasant, the unsolved problem, that being the existence of homeless people, should be visible.
The solutions are the existence of jobs, affordable apartments (and mental-health care for those with serious mental disabilities, etc).
Talking about "a solution to homelessness" is essentially saying we need to make intolerable situation orderly - to turn some section of each city into something like an open-air prison. In that sense, "solving homelessness" while there are still homeless is undesirable.
You make good points but your message gets twisted by saying things like "this is the kind of mentality I addressed. Your solution is no solution"
Why not just say, "This is the status quo. I want to change things by --" ?
The reason this article is trending is that the status quo is broken. Instead of outlawing Good Samaritans, why not take the time and make the effort to educate them?
The educational information in your posts is quite valuable and deserves more attention than it is getting.
I realize that I probably sound like a bit of a dick, and I apologize for that, but I've been having this argument for many years and it definitely gets frustrating to explain the situation and have people essentially ignore everything you just said and say "well yeah but what about..."
Part of the problem is the mentality people go into this issue with, and changing that will do wonders for the various initiatives trying to tackle this. That said, it's something I had to go through myself so I should probably be more empathetic
You sound reasonable on first blush but your words are aimed to harm and crush the weak. That you put your apologies for a regime for the policing of the poor in apparently plausible and benevolent terms simply makes your words more harmful.
I think you should be ashamed of yourself.
Edit: Your parent post is very eloquent (if deceptive imho) argument for "give up on helping your fellow human, instead trust the authorities". Are you happy with living in a world like that really?
I never, ever give money to panhandlers. When I lived in a city where the most common panhandling request was for bus fare, I used to carry ride vouchers to give out.
I just don't think you should ban panhandling because it punishes the people who need help instead of helping them.
I also don't support the "this behavior creates problems, so ban it" mentality, as it allows people to avoid addressing the underlying issues.
Ironically, he's also making a strong argument for legislation. Inadvertently, of course. But if the point being demonstrated here is that reasoned arguments based on years of experience and plenty of data in areas where the problem is strongly pronounced have no persuasive effect whatsoever, involving the law may—in fact—be necessary.
Mindless and even well-intentioned behavior can have as much to do with socially adverse consequences as actual malice or recklessness. The more closely you connect law and morality, the harder it becomes to accept this. But that doesn't change the reality that it's possible for lots of individually well-intentioned choices to add up badly.
You even said it yourself, there's not enough money or support. So save the extra $3 you would otherwise be giving out and make a year end donation to a worthy organization. Maybe give a weekend of free time. That will go miles beyond just throwing cash out of a car window at a random intersection. Ever wondered how many homeless get hit by cars begging at intersections by the way? It's more than you'd like to know.