I hate this. We don't know what housing arrangements these people have. I'd rather call them either 'panhandlers' or (ideally) 'bums'.

There used to be a guy who rented a dilapidated house at the corner of a busy intersection a few blocks from here. Every day this asshole would move his bicycle and stuff about 50 feet from his porch to the sidewalk. He would sit there all nasty and pitiful with a cardboard sign and his mangy dog. The dog was a brilliant touch and he got lots of handouts.

He's been gone for a while now: Probably retired to Palm Springs.

Beats disinfranchised. Seriously, many are sociopathic, some are alcohol and drug addicted, and others are mentally ill. A good number choose that lifestyle as well.

Many years ago a French friend of the wife's visited and marveled at the amount of what she referred to as beggars on the street. I've always called them bums.

Just think of all the cash I could get for doing nothing except standing at the end of an interstate off-ramp with a sob story sign, and tax free, too. Sure, there might be slow days, but as a tradesman on piecework, that happens now.

(Obviously that was sarcasm.)

quote:

Originally posted by berto:
Many years ago a French friend of the wife's visited and marveled at the amount of what she referred to as beggars on the street. I've always called them bums.

Yep. +1

Around here we seem to colloquially call them "transients", but realistically there is nothing transient about them. It's a liberal community with no shortage of services (handouts) for them so they generally don't leave.

At work we generally refer to them as bums.

Hobos

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
Hobos

That almost has a Kerouac-esque romanticized slant to it. Riding the trains, doing some work then moving on.

Standing around begging in shifts is more like a racket.

Bums

I guess no good MFers would be a bit over the top?

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
A good number choose that lifestyle as well.

DING DING DING!!!!

There may be some good people who have fallen on hard times due to no fault of their own that are out there begging, but I suspect that number is miniscule. Most of these fuckers are alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, crazy, lazy, hustlers, or any combination thereof. None of these categories are mutually exclusive.

San Francisco is the home of the homeless.

Bums

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
There may be some good people who have fallen on hard times due to no fault of their own that are out there begging, but I suspect that number is miniscule. Most of these fuckers are alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, crazy, lazy, hustlers, or any combination thereof. None of these categories are mutually exclusive.

AND, millions of idiots each day give them a dollar or two, which keeps the cycle going.

Can’t stand bums at every corner begging, but what drives me even more crazy is bums with pets. Pets are expensive and if you can’t afford yourself you should probably get rid of Fido.

I remember a few years ago a local reporter did a story on them. He even followed one of the "homeless" guys to his house. I think the guy even had a Facebook page where he had posted a pic of the money he had gotten, and another of him in a Land Rover he had purchased.
I understand that some of them do have problems, or have fallen on hard time like someone else has said, but some are in that situation by choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
There may be some good people who have fallen on hard times due to no fault of their own that are out there begging, but I suspect that number is miniscule. Most of these fuckers are alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, crazy, lazy, hustlers, or any combination thereof. None of these categories are mutually exclusive.

Shugart, you left off Democrat voter.

I don't really call them anything, but I sure as hell don't give them any money.

We once had a young Russian woman staying with us with her eight-year old daughter. When daughter Dasha felt sorry for the panhandlers, her mom said “That’s his job!” Thought that summarized it pretty well.

whatever happened to that good old name "winos"?

Urban Outdoorsmen.