On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 17:54:03 +0000, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Mxsmanic wrote:
Michael A. Terrell writes:

I never begged. I found odd jobs and paid for my own food. I may have
slept in my truck and taken showers at a relatives house, but I was
never a bum.

Beggars and bums are not synonymous. There are situations and times
in which some people may be temporarily reduced to begging without
this necessarily reflecting upon their habitual industry. It is true
that someone who chooses voluntarily to make a career of begging over
the long term may be somewhat of a bum, particularly in developed
countries where so many other options exist.

The only people I have seen begging fit Rich's description of
alcoholics wanting booze. I've seen them with "Will work for food signs"
and they got ****ed when someone stopped and gave them food instead of
money.

I don't. I thank them gushingly. Let's face the facts, I've been a bum
since long before I became a professional beggar. And like I said, it
takes a lot of pride to go hungry in a country where they throw away
hundred of pounds of food every day because the "sell by" code was
yesterday.

Hell, in college, the guys in the dorm would walk across the street
to the burger joint at closing time, when they were about to toss
the unsold burgers and fries into the dumpster. They just tossed them
to us instead.

The other things I learned in college are, Tang mixes perfectly well
with straight vodka, but it's terribly strong; and how to burn farts.

Around here that will get you arrested. The homeless live in the
Ocala national forest and are treated like trash. A lot of them are
veterans we are trying to help find jobs and get back on their feet but
most want nothing to do with anyone outside of their camouflaged camps.

Yours must be a very cruel society.

He's talking about Florida, the state that got Dubya elected. Of course
they're harsh!

Gee, its easy for you to judge others. Its a warm climate and these
people hive migrated here from all over the country. Some have mental
problems, others are thieves. They make no attempt to fit in with people
outside their small groups, and most encounters are when they are
stealing something. How do you expect people to think of them? They
have been offered help, food and clothing along with a place to shower
for free. Their reaction was to start more trouble. Some have been
arrested a number of times.

I notice a lot of "Them" here, speaking of "judg[ing] others". Maybe
"they" prefer not to receive largesse from a self-righteous boor who
issues his charity with a generous dollop of guilt-trip.

What was that crack about your walking-stick? You're such a victim
because they cut you off in the crosswalk? Is that the old rich white
people who do that?

Just whack them with your stick!

And lately, I haven't been begging, I've been selling jokes. This one's
pretty popular:

Q: How many white guys does it take to change out a light bulb?

A: One.

;-P

Good Luck!
Rich