HOMELESS. WILL FIGHT RABID RACOONS FOR FOOD.
Now don’t take this as a rant against homeless people, although it may seem that way. Today I happened to go south on Route 1 going to pick up my car from the garage it was getting repaired at. And when I entered the city the first thing I am greeted by is a homeless man carrying a sign. The sign read HOMELESS. PLEASE HELP. THANK YOU. While the sign is obviously simple and to the point I have one question to ask, Why should I help you? From my point of view you aren’t even trying to help yourself. I have never, and I have done a good bit of driving in the city, never seen anyone give a sign carrying homeless person anything from their car. Of course that’s not to say it doesn’t happen but I have never seen it.
Secondly, my wife brought up this point, there are a ton of stores (especially in the Northeast Philly) area that pay people to stand on embankments and street corners to carry signs for their business. Drive around the Welsh road area or Franklin Mills section and you see these disheveled looking people carrying signs about the carpet store, or some place going out of business or maybe the car dealership, or even the fast food joints. Most of these places are paying these people in cash, it’s probably not good money but it is something, and well something is better than nothing and at least you are attempting to help yourself and not rely on the charity of the working public on their way home from their jobs.
And finally, if you are going to stand in the middle of the street or on a street corner holding a sign at least get creative with your signs. Come up with something flashy and catchy. Something like HOMELESS. WILL FIGHT POLAR BEAR FOR FOOD. Come up with something original that catches my eye. Maybe if you get me to laugh, I will at least point you in the direction of the nearest homeless shelter where you can get some of the food I donated. Point is, help me help you. By standing in the middle of the street waiting for a handout you are more likely to get hit by a car than anything else.
Related posts:
I saw 2 guys down on Columbus Blvd the other day, by Home Depot with a sign that read “Hungry, Hungry Hobos.”
I thought that was clever. (still didn’t give them anything, though)
http://timandkendra.blogspot.com
(soon to be with you on Metroblogger!!)
I have done a good bit of driving in the city, never seen anyone give a sign carrying homeless person anything from their car.
There is a guy down at Pier 70 who lives inside the old trolley tracks and gets car hand-outs. Usually people will go to Wal*Mart or the grocery store and pick up a small thing for him. He’s lived there for almost two years, too.