Last night Kmart and I went to a Baltimore blogger meetup. We walked past a bunch of dorky looking patrons at the bar, and knew that they were our people.
We enjoyed fresh pizza, and in house microbrews for about an hour and a half, and then we decided to head back to the apartment and watch American History X.
On our way to my car, we were stopped by a guy who was asking for money for food, and I gave him the two remaining slices of pizza.
“You can have this.”
“Oh. Cold pizza. Okay.”
We continued walking, and quickly made it to the car. As we were driving out of the area, we drove past the street where we had met the guy. My pizza box was sitting on the ledge where the guy had been standing when we gave it to him, and the guy was gone.
That bastard didn’t even eat it! I was pissed.
I think people who are poor, or strung out, or drunk, or not quite smart/sane enough for “regular” society are persona non grata to most of our country. They don’t get the medical attention they need, and are treated as pests instead of people. But how are you going to ask me for money to get food, and then belittle what I’ve given you, and then not even eat it?
Just tell me you want crack, or booze, or whatever. I may actually be tempted to give you money. Probably not, but I’ll at least be surprised at the candor.
This is why I don’t give people money on the street. You can never tell the people who need money for food from the people who are looking for their next high. They both need our help, but only one of them has to lie about it.
