General Discussion

yellowcanine

(36,814 posts)

41. Greeting someone politely is not "beginning a conversation". This woman was not polite. There is a

Wed Feb 22, 2012, 11:25 AM

Feb 2012

difference between mocking someone and politely saying "hello." I have interacted with plenty of homeless people and I have never had a simple greeting devolve into something negative. If you treat people like the human beings they are there will not be problems. Of course if someone is obviously psychotic it is probably best to avoid them but if a person is simply asking for money there is no need to be rude. A simple greeting with eye contact treats them like a human being. If they press you can say gently but firmly, "I am sorry, not today." Again, there really is no need to be rude and certainly no need to mock people.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

55 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Reminder: Don't mock panhandlers on the subway [View all] Renew Deal Feb 2012 OP

That's one way to get "three hots and a cot." NT MADem Feb 2012 #1

What would have hurt if the woman would have given her a buck? She should of shut her mouth. southernyankeebelle Feb 2012 #2

the homeless woman likely has some form of mental illness.. frylock Feb 2012 #3

Yes I think your right. It is sad. You know you pray because it could be you threw no fault of your southernyankeebelle Feb 2012 #5

She didn't seem to learn from this incident Renew Deal Feb 2012 #13

We have two people behaving badly, but the one with the knife was by far the biggest asshole. MADem Feb 2012 #7

I agree. The lady should never ever pull a knive. If the republican party keeps giving these southernyankeebelle Feb 2012 #10

I rode the subway in NYC for over 20 years and never saw anything like that happen. libinnyandia Feb 2012 #4

Me too. Never saw a panhandler be anything but meek, Chorophyll Feb 2012 #6

I've also used the NY subway countless times and never saw anything like this Cali_Democrat Feb 2012 #8

Exactly. HuckleB Feb 2012 #12

Just a few weeks ago I saw a womans rear end on the subway. Renew Deal Feb 2012 #15

Oh, God! HuckleB Feb 2012 #18

Thankfully not in the subway car Renew Deal Feb 2012 #19

Why do you think this is something unusual in human history? HuckleB Feb 2012 #22

I Am Sure Since Eve Ate The Apple People Have Been Defecating And Urinating In Public DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2012 #25

You actually think defecating in public is new? HuckleB Feb 2012 #33

I Meant To Say Have (My Bad) DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2012 #54

Wow, someone taking a shit in public wouldn't faze you? happy ash wednesday Feb 2012 #49

In the 70's it was more common. nt Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #31

your experience shanti Feb 2012 #55

Any panhandler is an unfortunate stranger, who's story we don't know bhikkhu Feb 2012 #9

Many of them are crazy and belong in mental hospitals chrisa Feb 2012 #11

If you simply said hello, and told them you couldn't help today, or that you could... HuckleB Feb 2012 #14

I'm not sure what you're saying. Renew Deal Feb 2012 #16

Hogwash. HuckleB Feb 2012 #17

That might be good advice for some places, but not a NYC subway car. Renew Deal Feb 2012 #20

Hogwash. HuckleB Feb 2012 #21

Greeting someone politely is not "beginning a conversation". This woman was not polite. There is a yellowcanine Feb 2012 #41

I live in Manhattan and in my neighborhood I know most of the homeless, and I smirkymonkey Feb 2012 #51

Very bad advice. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #30

Bzzzzt. Wrong answer. HuckleB Feb 2012 #32

Feel free to do it. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #34

That's funny. HuckleB Feb 2012 #35

I was born and raised in NYC. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #36

Again, visit the rest of the country. HuckleB Feb 2012 #37

Yeah, having lived in 5 states stretching across the NE, South, and West I am admittedly sheltered. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #38

Your red herrings do not matter. HuckleB Feb 2012 #39

My advice keeps people safe though, yours does not. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #40

I imagine we often rationalize our LanternWaste Feb 2012 #44

It only takes one paranoid schizophrenic to ruin your day. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #46

There are no mental institutions left JitterbugPerfume Feb 2012 #29

Having worked with the homeless, I think it's wrong to give them money Bucky Feb 2012 #23

I Have Interracted With The Homeless Hundreds Of Times And Given Them What Little Money I Could DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2012 #27

it's interesting to hear this from somebody who's worked with this population renate Feb 2012 #50

If Somebody Is That Close To Rock Bottom My Giving Them A Few Bucks Isn't Going To Hurt Them. DemocratSinceBirth Feb 2012 #53

Just another day among the elite, if you ask Newt. n/t JHB Feb 2012 #24

As you do unto the least of them JitterbugPerfume Feb 2012 #26

That woman who mocked her must be a real mean-spirited person. Guess she won't do that any more. nt raccoon Feb 2012 #28

THis is another reason not to ride the subway - warning, nudity AngryAmish Feb 2012 #42

Don't mock panhandlers at all. Iggo Feb 2012 #43

straphanger? snooper2 Feb 2012 #45

What sort of lowlife would mock another human being just because she's a panhandler? baldguy Feb 2012 #47

So, it's OK to refer to her as a panhandler, vagrant, or beggar woman, but not to mock her slackmaster Feb 2012 #48

It's not okay to pull a knife, but what a freaking idiot she was. closeupready Feb 2012 #52