at the intersection

[asakiyume]

At more and more intersections, especially ones with multiple lanes of traffic, there are people holding up signs saying they're homeless and hungry and asking if you can spare anything. When traffic is moving, cars are speeding by. When traffic is stopped, though, I guess some people must give, otherwise no one would bother asking.

I feel even more conflicted about this form of panhandling than I do about other forms because it seems dangerous, mainly for the person begging, but potentially for others too.

I've never seen anyone give anything to anyone, until yesterday. The light was red. We were in the left lane, right next to the panhandler, but were resolutely ignoring her. (Usually it's a older man there, but yesterday it was a young woman, all bundled up.) Then the car next to us in the right lane honked. The white-haired woman in that car rolled down her window and called to the panhandler, holding out a ziplock bag containing two water bottle and a sleeve of crackers. The panhandler crossed in front of our car to get to the woman with the bag, smiled and thanked her, and walked back to the island between the opposing lanes of traffic, all before the light turned.

That moment of exchange seemed just . . . good. Both women seemed happy. Putting everything else aside--and I know we can't really do that, but--if you ask, it must be consoling, heartening, warming, any number of other good things, to have someone respond. And the older woman didn't just happen to have that stuff in her car; she must have prepared the bag in advance. It must have been wonderful to help someone, even if just in a small way.

Comments

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite maxims about such situations - good deeds are for the sake of the giver as much as the recipient. We can't control whether or not someone's truly in need, or whether they use our gift for "good" purposes; however, we can give, and feel better about ourselves for having contributed in some small way to alleviating suffering.

I'm also torn on intersection panhandling. It is dangerous, but at the same time, car culture is so prevalent in America that there are areas where there's not really any other option - they don't have the pedestrian density to make sidewalk efforts worthwhile. From a sociological standpoint, though, I'm curious if it's as effective as asking for change in person. One of the aspects of car culture I dislike strongly is how effectively it insulates us from each other; having that glass and metal between us and the person asking (as well as a limited amount of time to dig in one's purse before the light changes) seems to me like it would reduce the number of respondents. Although, given the throughput at any given intersection, maybe the sheer numbers balance out the reduced response rate.

I do try to give when I can. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I have far more resources than I need, and while I do donate to organizations, it hurts me very little to drop a couple of singles in someone's cup. Recently I've been giving out those gift bags my friends and I put together; my favorite reaction so far has been one gentleman who was happy to see the new wool socks in them...and then ecstatic when he turned the bag over and saw the packet of Chips Ahoy. It was a little humbling to realize how bare of small luxuries his life must be.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I love that you did that. And yeah, it's definitely a two-way experience. Both parties are giving and receiving.