I got panhandled by a teabagger today

[jmowreader]

It was laundry day. Since my place is too small to hold a laundry pair, I go to the laundromat.

When I was unloading my stuff from the car, this scroungy looking guy came up to me. After he started with the "excuse me, sir," I looked at him...he had a Don't Tread on Me flag patch sewn onto the breast pocket of his denim vest.

So I did the only respectable thing I could think of: I told him that if he chose to fail it was not my concern and went into the building.

[Dawson Leery]

1. I'd do the same.

[madamesilverspurs]

2. I dunno,

when you get your clothes from Goodwill or charity orgs, you don't always have a choice. If you're cold, you're glad for the coat. And if you're hungry, too, the simplest food can seem a feast. I think I'd rather err on the side of compassion, show the best part of being progressive. Ya never know, there but for mercy go you and I. . .


-

[jmowreader]

3. The charity orgs in this area remove patches from the clothes they sell

I like shopping at those stores because it helps out the organization that runs them...and when you go through the racks of clothing, you can see where patches have been torn off the garments--the lines of stitch holes and darker areas on the fabric give them away.

[Lionessa]

4. Exactly, and he could've just been given it. The OP author sounds like an ass to me.

As in ASS-U- and in the case HIM instead of ME.

Jerk.

[Luminous Animal]

8. Proudly proclaiming his cruelty with the scantest information to base his

conclusions.



Die unacceptable patch wearer. Die.

[Zalatix]

11. Oh, come on, what are the odds that this guy wasn't a teabagger?

It's about time these guys got hoisted by their own petards.

[Luminous Animal]

12. Really. Many femists in the 90s wore the "don't tread on me" emblam.

I find it a compelling graphic and I am sure plenty of others do to. It doesn't belong to teabaggers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. You know how many organizations have worn this?

For frack's face, I guess the Navy is full of them, after 911 they flew the first flag of the Navy, which precedes the country...yup, don't thread on me. We even have the one that flew on my husband's boat in storage. It flew on a USN submarine in the very few foreign ports of call.

Oh and in 2008... Before tea baggers, some flew it at Obama Rallies.

Do not make assumptions, please.

[4_TN_TITANS]

21. I'm with you. It may be the Unitarian Universalist or Liberal in me...

but I would err on the side of compassion also. The urge to land a self-satisfying punch on someone less fortunate is not in my DNA.

[Bake]

30. Yes. I'm all for self-satisfying punches, but not on the homeless.

I seriously doubt this guy was a bagger. He's more worried about the base level on Maslow's hierarchy.

Bake

[Mr Dixon]

23. IMO

Agreed, Somehow I don’t think the homeless care much about politics, I could be wrong but I always try and help the homeless politic, race, age and gender are not a factor in my help thoses in need.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Better than getting teabagged by a panhandler, I guess

[jberryhill]

9. He's here all week, folks.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. 10 o'clock show is always different from the 8 o'clock show

[Luminous Animal]

6. Did you ask what about the patch? Did you ask what it meant to him?

And, based on that patch, how could you possibly come to the conclusion that he chose to fail?

Personally, I could think of dozens of other things that I would consider respectable than let a needy person go hungry.

By the way, I, an atheist give money to feed homeless people who are overtly Christian. And when they thank me with, "God Bless you," I say, "De nada."

[Mr Dixon]

24. IMO

Agreed, i just say your welcome but it's all the same.

[coalition_unwilling]

7. Your smug self righteousness is quite unbecoming, especially as

you have no idea whatsoever the provenance of the patch.

[Sherman A1]

14. Well Said

[0rganism]

10. the Gadsden flag is a lot older than the tea party

You don't know a damn thing about that man, how he got the vest, whether the flag means anything to him, or how he ended up begging on the street.

Not helpful.

[Erose999]

16. Indeed, the Teahadists don't have an exclusive claim to it at all. BUT... there is a variation of

the Gadsden flag that they do have an exclusive claim upon:

[Solomon]

19. Looks like a pile of shit in which case the words are

an appropriate warning.

[Luminous Animal]

13. Apparently the OP has run away.

The only respectable thing he could think of.

[Quantess]

15. But maybe your assumptions were wrong?

If he were down and out, it is entirely possible his denim vest was something he found on a park bench, or something he scrounged out of a clothing drive.

Or, he is clueless about politics and doesn't know it is a teabagger patch.

The whole rude behavior on your part was based on your assumption that his tread on me patch means he was definitely a teabagger.

[Robb]

17. Well you sure showed him!

[RevStPatrick]

20. Personally, my policy...

...is to give money to anybody who asks.
But that's just me.

[bluedigger]

22. When may I expect your response to my PM?

And just out of curiosity, how many DUers got there before me?

[RevStPatrick]

31. Well, Dr. Okon...

...while your proposal was intriguing, and I could certainly use 20 percent of $120,000,000, your request for $10,000 to bribe your country's banking officials and my bank routing and account numbers are not something I am willing to give you in PM. However, if you call me at the number I sent you in my response to your PM, I'm sure we can work something out. I know it must be difficult to get that large a sum of money out of Nigeria, and the amount you are requesting is certainly small compared to the ultimate payoff. In the meantime, I am currently working with Mrs Roseline Gupta from Malaysia, who is dying of cancer, to get her $22 million out of that country in order to set up an orphanage.

[Wind Dancer]

25. WOW!

You must be so proud!

Jumping to conclusions is not a reasonable or mature response. You then post a thread about your childish behavior expecting kudos from everybody. Shame on you.

The OP says a lot more about you than the poor man asking for help.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Given how many organizations have used this

Starting with the Navy, before there officially was one, assumptions are never ever safe.

By the way, over here we got a bunch of homeless vets, many of them wear it on their clothing. You know why? Guess what the navy flew on warships after 911? Care to guess what branch they retired from? Did we have a take over of the Navy in 2003 or so that I wasn't aware off? Hell, we have the one that flew on a sub on a few ports of call in storage.

[NCTraveler]

28. The failing here was yours....

Not his.

[B2G]

29. Waiting for a thread from a panhandler who got dissed by a Teabagger today.

Because of an innocent patch he was wearing.

[jmowreader]

32. Actually, the OP went home for the night, but he is back

I saw this guy at a distance when I was coming into the laundromat, and observed him some through the window. In the Inland Northwest, it is easy to tell the difference between the homeless and those who've discovered you can make serious bank panhandling, if you know what you're looking for: the homeless never smoke, and (because we have a good social services network that makes hygiene possible for the homeless) they tend to be clean. The "professionals" all smoke and they're all dirty because it apparently makes them look more believable.

I'm standing by my earlier assessment: opportunist teabagger who would have no problem with eliminating the social safety net.

[JohnnyRingo]

33. AM radios are too cheap.

I think there should be a $1,000 tax on them.

I'm sure there's one in the Oldsmobile he lives in.