Talk:Begging

Can you please found something about the history of begging??

Thanks

I got the article started, if anyone can help with the article I'd really appreciate it. During my recent vacation in Chicago I came face to face with begging a few times. It's what led me to get the article started.

• One night I walked about a block from the hotel to the local Walgreens. While I was checking out, a man came up and began asking me for money. The man was getting quite pushy. During the night, a security guard was in the establishment, and the cashier had the security guard remove the man from the store. The guard said it wasn't the first time the man had been a problem, that he was regularly doing this.
• A couple times I was asked if I had any money to spare. I also seen people sitting on the sidewalks asking passerby for donations.
• Another thing that came to mind was that when I was driving near Midway Airport, this man was trying to sell stuff to drivers. He was going up and down in between cars, and darting in and out of traffic. I just remember thinking how incredibly dangerous it was. If I had a cell phone on me, I might have called the police to report it. Not only was the traffic quite heavy, but there were a number of semi trucks on the road. All it would have taken was one wrong move and the man could have been seriously injured or even killed.
• Finally, one time about 15 years ago, a transient came to our farmhouse, and asked if we had any jobs he could do.

I'm sure there's other stories out there on this subject that would be just as interesting, if not more so.

JesseG 04:15, 21 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Believe it or not, not all who beg are homeless or even neccessarily poor and the article should not have made such a claim.

- A very valid point. When I worked in a grocery store a "professional beggar" came in on a daily basis to change his dollar bills in for something larger. He almost always had at least $100. He lived in an apartment, and when it rained he would sometimes call a taxi to take him home.

NPOV?

The first few entries in the list of "spange lines" seem to be described in a somewhat contemptuous manner. Note, for example, the quotes around the word "clever."

Beggars may be dangerous

I have one beggar who who called me a murderer after he said that he had to feed their families. He called me a "murderer" because that I refused to give them money. When I noticed he had a big, long knife in his pocket, I immediately gave him some spare change and scrambled off to my car as fast as I could. -- Stevey7788 06:02, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Cyberbegging and Begging on the Internet

I propose a merger. Cyberbegging is just attracting spam (HTML links to promote their cyberbegging site). -- Perfecto  19:31, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

Cyber Begging Article Does Not Need to Be Merged

No need for a big long debate. There is a mature article about this subject under Internet begging. Also, Internet begging is a distinct enough phenomenon to warrant a separate article. Schmeitgeist 23:40, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Revisions

I made a number of changes -- many of the sections were riddled with contemptuous and clearly biased language. All instances of the pejorative term 'mark' were changed to 'solicited' or a variation thereof, and words like "clever" were removed.

I also removed a ridiculous sentence that suggested begging was inexcusable in times of economic prosperity & which had been linked to a newspaper editorial page. Nickinmontreal 01:38, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Just added in under 'use of funds' that giving people vouchers or actually buying them food doesn't always help. I don't know how to cite as a reference that someone I met once had been begging to try to get accomodation for the night, but instead he'd been given about thirteen burgers from the fast food outlet down the road which really did not help. Dragongirlhellfire (talk) 14:29, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

It's a not uncommon experience, but it's original research, and needs a source. JNW (talk) 14:42, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Crime

In SEVERAL areas of the US, this is considered a criminal matter, incl. "Vagrancy" punishable by a 30-180 day stay in JAIL, pending if the judge is pissed at the defendants. 205.240.146.156 05:58, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Any comments ? 205.240.146.156 06:00, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

sounds like one way for the truly needy to get free food and shelter for a few weeks... 199.214.24.219 (talk) 23:56, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Other kinds of beggers

What about the salvation army kettle drives, aren't they begging for money,or are they "asking" for a "donation"? Or how about little leauge hocky teams, girl guides,or other "charities" that stand out side buisnesses(malls,convienience stores,gas stations) and "solicite" for money? It's still begging,one is nicely presented, while the others not. A beggar is still a begger...just food for thought

Heck, for that matter, what about PBS? Never quite understood why panhandling laws don't apply to them.... -- Kendrick7^talk 22:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Charities such as the Salvation Army are usually licensed to bellring for donations. They do not use the money, either, it is used to give food and clothing to the poor and homeless. As for groups such as scouts, sports teams, and clubs, they are usuallying selling candy bars, popcorn, cookies, or other small items for money. This is obviously not begging, as the consumer paying money gets something in return... just food for thought. --204.248.58.136 (talk) 01:02, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Medieval begger

I found the picture of the Medieval begger somewhat comedic. If other people think this is funny maybe it should be removed. It's next to 'real' beggers who are obviously in a bad way and then there is this guy who is in a park in some first world country dressed up with an almost grin on his face.

Sure, some are in a "bad way", others go panhandling as a joke - it varies. However, the picture caption could be updated a bit to make it more realistic - no need to censor an appropriate image. 134.117.137.66 22:57, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Distinctions

I dislike that this article is the target of a redirect from Panhandling, and specifically mentions "peddling" in a bad context a few times. These two things have virtually nothing to do with begging. Begging is asking for money. Peddling is selling things as a Peddler, a completely unrelated article that doesn't even link back here. I myself have sold my crafts (origami models, of the 2-8 hour variety) in situations that would qualify as peddling. Sparr (talk)

Wholesale deletion of Folk Wisdom Concerning Begging

The parenthetical explaining the edit is dismissmissive. I think the section is useful and up to WK standards. I'm putting it back. David in DC 14:30, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Vote for deletion. Paul Slocum 18:46, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

I agree. Apart from the dubious concept of "folk wisdom" and it being irrelevant to the article itself, which is already a bit of a mess as it is, the second supposed example of "folk wisdom" may qualify as such but has nothing at all to with begging.GBH 12:06, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

OK, I'm convinced. Thanks for discussing it here. I'll go delete it now. David in DC 14:16, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Removed 'Begging techniques'

This section was deeply prejudicial, including words like 'ruse', 'subliminal psychological interrogatories'. There may well be some truth in some of what was said, but it is all based on original research and unverifiable claims. Not encyclopaedic at all. This is a good topic for an article, and could be so much better than this. Annatto (talk) 21:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC) I disagree. The section you removed would be encyclopedic. There must be a study of techniques used by beggars (that could be used for reference). The section was very useful and I encourage somebody to revive it (or at least consult it). Typical of this encyclopedia, this is one step forward, two steps back (and so on, ad infinitum).206.75.198.6 (talk) 15:15, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

No begging in Cuba?

I have received multiple reports of begging in Cuba. Can someone back the statements about begging being low in Cuba?. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.16.66.35 (talk) 16:01, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Major Bias Problems

Hey, I put in the bias tag. I am an activist who focuses on homeless issues, and much of this article--aggressive panhandling, use of money, etc.--is from the viewpoint of the government, often trying to gentrify their cities. There are no definite statistics and a large amount of sources about governments passing laws against begging. I realize my perspective is also biased, this article should not simply be a mouthpiece for people who are bothered by or want to illegalize begging. It must be a balnaced article that includes the perspective of the beggars. There are a lot of changes and additions to be made to this article, and I will start editing it tommorrow in as neutral a way as I can.

• It is not clear what more we require to present the "perspective of the beggars". The anonymous editor above did not seem to follow-up and so I am removing this tag. Colonel Warden (talk) 13:14, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

The article starts with "agressive panhandling", going on to "restriction of beggars". It's obvious this article is biased, as it tries to deal with begging as a solely criminal problem, while it is, firstly, a socioeconomical issue. As for the matters of "perspective of the beggars". For starters, why are there beggars? To the ones that beg because they lack in finances, why don't they have money? How many beggars chose to be beggars? Is there any kind of statistics? Depoiments from the panhandlers, from the governments and such. In my opinion, only after seeking it's root - why the begging exists - is that this article should handle agressive panhandling. I'm not defendind panhandling in any way - I've been robbed twice by beggars, by the way. I just want to know why it happens. Added POV tag LuizMarcco (talk) 01:17, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Panhandling -- not homeless

http://blogs.discovery.com/sleuth_truth/2008/07/to-be-or-not-to.html JToddMatthews (talk) 01:36, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Atlanta, GA ban

The article mentions a ban that was approved in 2005 with the mayor expecting to turn it into law. Is there an update? 68.19.237.79 (talk) 04:22, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

Child Beggers

"Child beggars are heavily common in the inner city areas of Toronto and Vancouver" I have lived in inner-city Vancouver now for 4 months and have never seen a child begging - not even once. (I cannot view the given reference either to confirm this). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.6.209.196 (talk) 21:24, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

I was arrested for panhandling.

I was arrested for soliciting for business or ride?, No one bothered to be literate enough to read the statute aloud to me, nor has anyone allowed me access to read Nashville, TN statutes. I had read this article and determined that sitting on the guard rail at Church st. and George L. Davis Boulevard here in Nashville, TN would be a purchasing power acquiring venture. I was flashed with the spotlight, something I didn't notice until a recent retrospect of seeing and hearing people mention such occuring before being arrested for nothing. Hours later three cars and an unmarked car came up on me, I was still sitting, and arrested me. Nashville, TN makes zero effort towards providing sleep accommodations for people. They literally expect everyone to sit in plastic chairs for days awaiting the court process. I received nothing of written form to keep for myself saying anything of my being in anyway involved with Nashville's court process. I don't even know the name of the arresting officer, the name of the public defendent, the name of booking personnel, the name of the employees whom would not allow anyone to lie down in any fashion to sleep for the 30 hour to 5 day (120 hour) to longer process they refer to as "booking". Introductory Psychology teaches that people sleep an arithmetic mean of 8 hours every night, that your body will force you to sleep, and these people don't allow for it? I know not what I was arrested for, I am assuming new things everyday, and I have no access to the statutes police department employees use to determine their dos and don'ts. The police officer lied to me several times as to where I could find the statutes.