the cost of convenience

Dear god,

please save us form ourselves....

Exhibit A:






Exhibit B:



Exhibit C:



Exhibit D:






Exhibit E:


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some thoughts

On Panhandling/Begging

Panhandling is an expression of the reality of our society.

It makes people uncomfortable who experience it who are not in that situation.

Often times these people are pushed to outskirts, it is made illegal, called soliciting. 

It tends to bother non-beggars, people who have money, so in an effort
to give non-beggars a more comfortable shopping experience beggars are
often banned from an area or a storefront for this reason. 

Money is influence.

People with money have the option to give the beggar money.

People who are willing may have some qualifications for such a person
or maybe will opt to buy them food instead of giving them money.

some beggars have elaborate stories.  They could be true or made up.
But whether or not the story is factual or not there is a true expression
of need.

There is a double standard applied to beggars.  A lot of people will say that
they only want to give a person money if they know that they are going to
spend it on a necessity such as food, or paying rent.
The contradiction is that a person with money has the privilege of spending money
on whatever they want.

A common defense for a person not to give a beggar money is that they
may be feeding their drug habit. 

This line of thinking may be detrimental to the "legitimate" story of a person
who is actually distressed and stranded and really needs money to catch a
bus.  

Human services and non-profits replace the kindness of individuals.

When one donates money to a non-profit there are many hidden costs associated
with that organization for example the Executive director of the Sierra club makes
upwards of 200,000.  Non-profits become competitive job markets. 
And when something becomes your job naturally there is a desire to
increase pay.