UK political correctness gone barmy!!

a reply to: and14263

Fair enough, I understand where you are coming from but what would you do if there was someone on your private property requesting money? I'm just curious.

a reply to: boymonkey74

Hey Monkey up here by Hull we still have a small troupe of very dapper and friendly 'Gentlemen of the road', they migrate from city to town on some of the sketchiest pushbikes I have ever seen, barely able to steer from carrier bags on the bars.

My stepmother was warden for an old peoples facility with a flat on site, where I used to stay when I visited my dad, and in spring one of them used to kip under an arch, he was always up early and used to stand having a natter with the old boys, who sometimes bought him whisky, and my dad used to make me go take him a cuppa in the mornings until I did'nt need telling to.

He knew all the best places to fish in my town, and used to consult his pocketwatch whenever asked if he fancied a brew, what, a gent has to check his schedule!

We ended up giving him a few hi-vis coats for when he and his pals migrated to the next town, on those bloody rickety bikes. Something tells me it's a very English class of homelessness, the underpass gentry.

Oh, and he also taught me how to sharpen a penknife on a tea mug. Genius.

a reply to: Learningman

You talking about Lee?

a reply to: MrCrow

I wouldn't let the relationship come to the point that I had to involve the police. There would be many ways I would try and achieve this.

a reply to: and14263

Christ, havent seen Langers in an age, but no, though he did pop by quite often, he also rode a bike yes?

These gents were a fair bit older than Lee but I always wondered whether they gave him the 'bike with as many carrier bags as possible' idea. Gave him an old interfreight coat too once, and a fiver for glue. I assume for repairs.

a reply to: Learningman

Yeah it's been a while since I saw him too. People I know in Hull used to tell me his family were well off and he just chose that lifestyle - That's probably a common old wives tail related to all homeless people.

Yes, the glue was for repairs obviously.

I'll buy you a beer next time I'm in Hull. I warn you though, I will smell of fish, due to the brilliant fishing on offer over the winter.

EDIT: Forgot to say - yes, he has a bike, handle bars covered in bags full of bags. I often feel sorry for him but when I speak to him he seems happy as Larry.

a reply to: and14263

Lee used to always take the north of the bridge, and occasionally come south of it in the summer round the villages and towns (again, reckon the old boys taught him that)

I also have been told by my mum he had a very successful family and that he just upped and offed one day wanting no part of it. Heard it from so many people it could be true, or people romanticising it.

And sounds good, tight lines! I'm on the hunt for the most prestigious of our predators this winter... the perch :')

originally posted by: lamplighters

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: lamplighters

The truth aye? Hope you got your money back.

Did you manage to kick out that person from your house you hate too?

Sleep well.

To you and the other person who accused me of being heartless
Listen.

If you read what i wrote, i USED to give the guy money and food regularly until i found out he wasnt genuinely homeless.

And i was well within my rights to call the police, the guy was on our path - well at the bottom of our path, our private property making us feel uncomfortable having somebody sitting there throwing up on our path, watching every time we came in and out.

We had every right to call the police.

This wasnt a holier than thou moment, lets see how you feel like when you have a beggar on your private pathway day in day out, who you KNOW isnt a genuine beggar!

So he's not homeless.. He still probably has no job and no food. He could have a plethora of mental and physical health issues preventing him from getting a job. Don't be a dick.

I have seen plenty of people who are very poor and sick with a family owned house. They pan handle as well in order to eat every day.

Well he was begging therefore he is a begger by occupation.

David camron lies therefore he is a politician by occupation.


Now whether it was inhuman to remove him from outside your property and a waste of police time? Well yes.

a reply to: Learningman


Learningman - Check your U2U's.

Sorry OP for taking your subject off topic - I understand your actions, we're all different.

originally posted by: lamplighters

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: lamplighters

Not all beggars are human. Possibly most of the top notch beggars in the UK are dogs. My friend was begging when I first met him. He showed me his bags. One for him and one for the dog food he was given. He was embarrassed that he had to frequently dump the excess dog food. As I was talking to him an elderly lady smiled at him, gave him five pounds and said, "This is for the dog". They'll get dogs just to boost takings and share dogs. Not to say some beggars love and need their dogs for company, warmth and warning of danger while sleeping rough.

Hey the reason why i report this beggar is because we were told by other community support officers in the past that this particular beggar isnt homeless and has a house in town!!

When i first moved into this area, i always gave him food, and a bit of change when i could - i felt sorry for him, till i found out the truth

Then i asked for my money back!!

Well in that case he his neither a beggar nor financially challenged. He is in fact a con man. Why didn't you state this to the police? Surely if you had reported that he was a con man pretending to be "finacially challenged" the police would have done something about.

I'm beginning to detect a slight wiff of BS and/or selective story telling.......

a reply to: yorkshirelad

Looking back through her threads I think we should go a bit easy on her. She's intimidated by the bloke. She's been bashed on the back of the head in the past and it bothers her. It's easy to understand her views.

The copper must have been having a joke. Truebrit has nailed it. Financially challenged has nothing to do with being a beggar. The grant junkies in the research world are beggars putting on a show. Begging occurs at all levels. I've begged food. I only asked for money from street artists, they love giving money away, try it next time you see one. Beggar means one who begs.

Repeat this for all men on the thread. She's been bashed before, don't belittle her fears.

a reply to: lamplighters

I find it almost comical that so many people are damning you for calling the authorities. So easy it is to say that you are mean, when they don't personally have to deal with it. "Not in my back yard," as the saying goes.

Then enter the people with the, "I met a homeless guy once and we hung out" stories to try to frame you as a cold, heartless person.

At the end of the day, if someone is hanging around outside my home for an extended period and appears to have "issues," I'm not going to assume they are a kindly old soul that is down on his luck. My primary responsibility is the safety of myself, my wife and my child.

You did the right thing as far as I'm concerned.

EDIT to add: If someone is truly down on their luck and having a tough time, there are mechanisms in place to help. Shelters, social workers, mental health facilities, etc. Not the walkway to the OP's residence.

originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: lamplighters

I find it almost comical that so many people are damning you for calling the authorities. So easy it is to say that you are mean, when they don't personally have to deal with it. "Not in my back yard," as the saying goes.

Then enter the people with the, "I met a homeless guy once and we hung out" stories to try to frame you as a cold, heartless person.

At the end of the day, if someone is hanging around outside my home for an extended period and appears to have "issues," I'm not going to assume they are a kindly old soul that is down on his luck. My primary responsibility is the safety of myself, my wife and my child.

You did the right thing as far as I'm concerned.

EDIT to add: If someone is truly down on their luck and having a tough time, there are mechanisms in place to help. Shelters, social workers, mental health facilities, etc. Not the walkway to the OP's residence.

Thank you! thank you for that, best reply ive read
Have a good day sir

a reply to: lamplighters

Let me see if I've got this.

You call the police to complain about someone hanging about outside your house, they respond by sending an officer to investigate, but he goes away without doing anything because he's offended by your incorrect use of a word?

Kaaaaaaaaay.

a reply to: lamplighters

Sad to say, but the truth is, neither you nor I make the rules. Its only for us to follow the rules or suffer the consequences. If you don't want to fade the consequences, you'd best keep your mouth shut and follow along in silence. The problem for you now is that you've complained, so now they know who you are, where you live and that you're a non-conformist. Best to keep your head down for a bit because its quite certain you're being watched now. And the worst thing is that if you persist, they'll rat you out to your employer who will then have the excuse necessary to fire you for anti-social attitude and replace you with some one else at a lower wage.

a reply to: Kester

I agree, reading the thread I do have sympathy for the OP as I personally have had a big problem with a homeless, alcoholic who would sleep in our close, urinate all over the stairs, be abusive, beg for cigs and booze etc and initially I tried to help. Found out her life story, she has had several council properties and private rents, but always got evicted because of her chaotic lifestyle, spending her housing benefit on drink/drugs, she claimed she really wanted to change. So I spoke to the landlord of the ground floor flat that was empty and she got the flat..

Nothing but trouble, hassle, drunken abuse from her and all of her drug and alcohol abusing friends..total nightmare, then she set her flat on fire one night, drunk out of her face, and nearly killed all of us in the block due to the massive amount of smoke..it took the fire brigade over 4 hours to put the blaze out and make the building safe, meanwhile my daughter and I and all of the other residents had to stand outside in the rain in our pyjamas at 2am...I personally have a long term health condition and am currently not able to work and I was unwell due to smoke inhalation for weeks after. Also my daughter now lives in fear of fire and if she hears any beeping, gets immediately anxious..

The woman survived the fire, even though she was carried out and because she had injuries, the council re-housed her again, a couple of firemen came round to check up on us and told us that the council had installed sprinklers in her new flat as it turned out that was not the first time she had set fire to her home. the last I saw of her was a couple of months ago in the high street, begging with a "homeless..please help" sign...err yeah, sorry but no sympathy for her now.

I also think it's very easy to judge others on their attitude to their lives being blighted by addicts etc on their own doorsteps, because until you have had it on your own doorstep and experienced the problems first hand, you are in no position to judge. Fine, you give as much as you want to homeless people in the street, get yourself a self-righteous feeling that you are superior to the person who complained, but when your family are at risk from someone who doesn't care about themselves, let alone any one else, it is a different story, believe me...

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: Elliot

In fact anyone playing a bit of music gets a quid from me.

Small world......my step-daughter busks in York, Leeds too but seems to do better in York......who knows, you may have even chucked something in her guitar case. This is her if you ever see her....and good on your for what you do, i'm the same, always try and stick something in thier case.



Back on topic.....it is such a hard one knowing who is genuine and who is not. I like to think i'm a good judge of character but i' sure i've been stung a few times

Some people forget (and i'm not talking about the OP here), that any one of us could find ourselves homeless in the blink of an eye. One incident, one accident, one arguement with our partner, just one little thing going wrong at work.....can result in someone being on the street.

As they say, never look down on someone unless you are giving them a hand up.

CX.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: lamplighters

Not all beggars are human. Possibly most of the top notch beggars in the UK are dogs. My friend was begging when I first met him. He showed me his bags. One for him and one for the dog food he was given. He was embarrassed that he had to frequently dump the excess dog food. As I was talking to him an elderly lady smiled at him, gave him five pounds and said, "This is for the dog". They'll get dogs just to boost takings, and share dogs. Not to say some beggars love and need their dogs for company, warmth and warning of danger while sleeping rough.

That's what they would do in Edinburgh. You'd see beggars sitting against a wall on the high street with the bucket for the coins. Alongside him is a rather large and a bit tubby Alsatian. Then once the shoppers had gone, they'd pack up and go back to their van.

Genuine homeless would accept offers to be taken for a meal. Fakers would absolutely refuse to leave their pitch for fear someone else would take it.

a reply to: Elliot

I caught one of our legalised, rag selling, claiming to be homeless beggars deep in conspiratorial looking conversation with a local tradesman. Both the tradesman and the rag seller know from previous encounters I'm not fooled by their carefully practised acts. They both looked guilty as hell when they saw I'd caught them at that moment. I can only wonder what they were plotting. The generosity and caring shown by many people here is greatly abused.

If anyone on this thread really wants to help beggars/homeless, look for the one you find most revolting. Chances are they find it a little more difficult to get help. Give to them. They may snatch it from you and walk rapidly away. They may spit and curse. Don't expect it to be a fluffy, satisfying experience for you. Don't expect eye contact. Don't expect thanks. But you did what's right.