Panhandling Memes: McDonalds' Doorman

Have you noticed these guys opening the doors have on very dirty nasty clothes that don’t stink?

Seems to me there in it for the business aspect.

I eat at the Denny’s near Patsaouras Plaza. There is always someone there doing the door thing. It is an annoying sort of ambition which does nothing for anyone.

I only eat there after midnight, so I am not sure about noon. Mostly police there at my hour, so it seems an even odder place for pan-handling now that you mention it.

Don’t be surprised by how organized these guys are. I recently watched two panhandlers do a “shift change,” complete with an update on the take, at the corner of Los Angeles & Alameda.

Theory - and only a theory.

The McDonalds at the Fine Arts building gets a professional demographic as well as shoppers. That means more loose change opportunity from a trip grabbing a Big Mac after the Coffee Bean. Also, you get more people just off a commute from Metro, Dash or the Red Line station and that means change is possible.

The Denny’s pulls in people from Union Station perhaps? Or that the door holders are just out from jail and it’s an opportunity to get change and not have to wander too far way from Union station. Some may be there trying to get something to get out of town. OR, that that Denny’s may pull in people off the freeway who are passing through LA and not yet weary of door holders.

The prevailing assumption about the ‘homeless’ is they are people who are down on their luck and just need a helping hand to get back on their feet. Further, their situation is just temporary. However, the fact is most of the ‘homeless’ have chosen their circumstances and are quite content with their lawless life.

So many are surprised when the ‘homeless’ exhibit signs which indicate their activities are organized. My wife saw this first-hand a few years ago when she worked at a place where the homeless were very active soliciting cars leaving Staples Center. These guys would rake in a couple hundred dollars for a few hours work. They’d immediately come in and buy up plenty of liquor and food to go. My wife also noted all had cell phones. She was surprised to learn some even had cars. Most chose to sleep wherever they could.

I don’t think there’s some committee coordinating this activity. But, like any business, these local entrepreneurs quickly figure out what solicitations work best in what locations. Sorta reminds me of direct marketing. They are looking for the most efficient return for their efforts.

MTA employees get 10% at the Vignes Denny’s if they show their badge. So it gets its share of office workers and bus operators.

One year right after a guy hit me up for change I saw him hopping into a van this woman was driving. I could almost imagine the dialogue:

Woman: “How was work today?”

Man: “The usual”

Regardless of your ‘informed’ opinions about how most of these ‘pan-handlers’ are content with their lawless lives, please remember that these are human beings who are trying to survive–just like us. By convincing ourselves that they have not only chosen their circumstances, but are content, we begin to separate ourselves from them, and that only serves to make it easier for us to deny them not only a measly fucking dollar, but compassion and empathy as well.

In general, I only give a handout if I am fairly certain the requestor is unable to work and provide for her/himself.

If the person is working-aged, physically-upright and cogent, then that person should do what he/she needs to do to get a job. Or at the very least, get up and walk to the nearest charitable center. There are plenty in the area: I know, since I donate to these regularly.

BTW, the phrase “measly fucking dollar” tells me you have a lack of respect/understanding of the value of money. This could be part of the problem. I know folks making little more than minimum wage, I think they could tell you how much work it takes to make an after-tax buck.

It’s interesting. Some say we’re not supposed to judge the people on the street as to their motives. But those same people have no problem judging the motives of folks who don’t freely hand out dollars to anyone who asks. That seems like a double-standard to me.

Actually, I think the presumption that giving money to panhandlers is the height of compassion and empathy is complete folly. On the contrary, I’ve come to my opinion based upon the evidence I can see with my own eyes. I don’t understand how ‘compassionate and empathetic’ people can walk around Skid Row and convince themselves the situation is defensible as a matter of social policy or morality. I can’t think of a more obvious and complete failure of social policy. Furthermore, I don’t understand how enabling a drug addict or encouraging profoundly anti-social behavior is good for said person or society at large.

Alas, until it can be admitted the present set of policies governing Skid Row is an abject failure, little will change. Unfortunately, the ‘homeless’ will continue to be used, willing or otherwise, as talismens proving one’s ‘compassion and empathy’. Such attitudes are monsterous because they treat the ‘homeless’ not as human beings, but mere objects to be manipulated and rearranged according to ideology. Frankly, I am skeptical of those who proclaim their ‘compassion and empathy’. I wonder why they deny the reality they can see with their own eyes? I wonder why they convince themselves what is evil is good?