tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452047824012171318.post2392211002141288384..comments2009-11-06T11:51:45.313-08:00Comments on Beggar Nation: Your perspective on donatingBNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02800472768414273976noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452047824012171318.post-45061299117759240142009-11-06T11:51:45.313-08:002009-11-06T11:51:45.313-08:00Most of those jars put forth a pretty compelling c...Most of those jars put forth a pretty compelling case for their need to beg for money. The first one I saw was for a child with leukemia, and I thought to myself, "Oh, that poor kid! I can spare a quarter or two. I hope he'll be all right."<br /><br />But then, I was in my mid-twenties before "don't give money to the homeless because they'll only spend it on drugs and booze" fazed me at all. I gave to the homeless all the time. I bought pencils from deaf people in subway cars. I gave change to subway musicians. I pledged small amounts to walkathon participants. All this in spite of my inability to stay gainfully employed... or maybe because of it.<br /><br />Maybe I could see myself out on the street as a youngster, because high school was so hard for me that I figured I'd have trouble supporting myself. Maybe I saw myself in the face of every unfortunate I met, or in the general idea of people who couldn't afford food, housing, and/or medical treatment.<br /><br />The jars, specifically, used to be much less common a decade or two ago than they are now. Or maybe not. Now that I'm actively searching for them, I can't seem to find any. I swear they're more common in the summer.AwesomeCloud and familyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10627262861489434592noreply@blogger.com