Choosy Beggars
Between this story and the one that we had a little while ago about the guy buying a cigarette, I’m beginning to spy an interesting pattern in the way that a lot of people relate to panhandlers. Namely, a lot of people expect panhandlers to use any money they are given to buy food and food alone, and if they want anything other than food, some people feel like that’s dishonest.
But is that reasonable? There are other needs a person might have beyond food, and asking for handouts might be the only way they have to get money for those needs. Is there really some social contract that has been broken? Is it an unwritten law that you may only beg to get money for food?