Giving money
Aug. 31st, 2014 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timI wrote this as a comment on a friends-only LiveJournal post, so I'm reproducing it here.
"I figure that since my employer doesn't monitor how I spend my paychecks to make sure I don't spend it on booze, drugs, porn, etc. but rather only on nutritious food and sensible clothing, I am going to give to people on the street, and in fact I am going to assume giving to people on the street does more good than giving it to white people with good salaries who decide which people on the street are deserving (which is more or less what [REDACTED] said, I'm just agreeing with her).
Since I believe that I am rather good at figuring out how to spend money on things I want and need if someone just gives it to me, I'm not going to condescend to poorer people and assume they're not as good at it. (In fact, they're probably better at it, having managed to survive this long.)"
I'd add to this that I see an analogy: donating money to disease-specific charities (especially for diseases whose cures are open-ended research problems and that tend to affect people who are privileged enough not to die young of an infectious disease) : supporting global public health efforts :: donating money to white people with good salaries who will then decide how to allocate it among the poor (after taking their own cut) : giving money on the street to people who ask for it.
That said, I won't usually give on the street when I'm with other people, since in my experience that leads to pressure on the other people to give too, and I guess I put my friends' comfort first... which may not be the right set of priorities. I also don't give every time I'm asked, but I would like to give more often. My reflex (trained into me through years and years of living in cities and being influenced by people who were anti-giving) is just to say "no". And truthfully, I read this one _Babysitters' Club_ book when I was six or so where one of the characters opens up her wallet to give money to a panhandler and the more street-wise character scolds her with "he's just trying to get you to take out your wallet so he can steal it", which left its imprint on me (the bad thing, of course, wouldn't be losing my wallet, but shamefully being "gullible" which is obviously the worst thing you can be). Anyway, I'm trying to train myself out of those reactions.
"I figure that since my employer doesn't monitor how I spend my paychecks to make sure I don't spend it on booze, drugs, porn, etc. but rather only on nutritious food and sensible clothing, I am going to give to people on the street, and in fact I am going to assume giving to people on the street does more good than giving it to white people with good salaries who decide which people on the street are deserving (which is more or less what [REDACTED] said, I'm just agreeing with her).
Since I believe that I am rather good at figuring out how to spend money on things I want and need if someone just gives it to me, I'm not going to condescend to poorer people and assume they're not as good at it. (In fact, they're probably better at it, having managed to survive this long.)"
I'd add to this that I see an analogy: donating money to disease-specific charities (especially for diseases whose cures are open-ended research problems and that tend to affect people who are privileged enough not to die young of an infectious disease) : supporting global public health efforts :: donating money to white people with good salaries who will then decide how to allocate it among the poor (after taking their own cut) : giving money on the street to people who ask for it.
That said, I won't usually give on the street when I'm with other people, since in my experience that leads to pressure on the other people to give too, and I guess I put my friends' comfort first... which may not be the right set of priorities. I also don't give every time I'm asked, but I would like to give more often. My reflex (trained into me through years and years of living in cities and being influenced by people who were anti-giving) is just to say "no". And truthfully, I read this one _Babysitters' Club_ book when I was six or so where one of the characters opens up her wallet to give money to a panhandler and the more street-wise character scolds her with "he's just trying to get you to take out your wallet so he can steal it", which left its imprint on me (the bad thing, of course, wouldn't be losing my wallet, but shamefully being "gullible" which is obviously the worst thing you can be). Anyway, I'm trying to train myself out of those reactions.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-08-31 12:09 pm (UTC)Some of these people are exploited by 3rd parties to collect money, which is why I got in the habit of asking what a person wants to eat or giving them some form of bagged food and/or ordering it for them from a local bagel shop or something rather than giving money.
Unless I mean, if you know the person and know that they are not victim of such a situation, then your solution works. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-08-31 02:11 pm (UTC)In some places (for example, Berkeley), the culture is so that homeless people won't usually accept food directly from somebody (the thing to do is to leave usable food in a container/bag on top of a trash can or newspaper box -- I could speculate as to why this is, but don't know exactly).
(no subject)
Date: 2014-08-31 02:41 pm (UTC)I did the food buying thing in DC, where buying food was generally acceptable (the neighborhood I lived in really had a lot of homeless people especially toward the end) but what you described about Berkeley is interesting.
either way
fully agreed with this. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-08-31 08:42 pm (UTC)So thank you. Its nice to see someone else out here trying to work and figure this shit out.
*I think part of that is being poor and being constantly treated like I'm stupid/worthless/lazy for being so and thus compensating and trying to appear together all the time.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-06 03:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-01 03:00 am (UTC)I think it's a good thing, but does have the disadvantage that you don't get economies of scale doing it that way.
And, well, it's a individual solution, not a group solution. Which is good and bad - good in that those individuals get choice and freedom, but bad that it doesn't change the system.
And truthfully, I read this one _Babysitters' Club_ book when I was six or so where one of the characters opens up her wallet to give money to a panhandler and the more street-wise character scolds her with "he's just trying to get you to take out your wallet so he can steal it"
Was that the same one where poor Mary Anne pockets the lipstick sampler at Bloomingdale's? I think I've just figured out the real reason I liked Mallory and Jessi the best. It's because they were marginally less worried about looking ridiculous than the other girls. (Except for Claudia, who I also liked.)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-06 03:16 pm (UTC)Hmm, maybe? That sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't remember. Though I only read the first 43 BSC books or something like that :)
I liked Kristy and Mallory the best, I think. (In retrospect, it's obvious why I id'd with them: Kristy was the confident butch one, Mallory was the geeky one who was always the youngest in the group :)