This might seem really strange for a conservative like me to be posting a blog with this title. However, I am writing this because it was an insight I had today. Let me explain:
I have a friend who is an ex-panhandler. In fact, he’s my roommate. One of the things you learn when you have someone who was in taht situation is that panhandling is really a business of sorts, and one that should be respected to a minor degree.
As a conservative who believes in free enterprise and likewise hates those who are lifelong government moochers, I realized that most of those panhandlers are choosing to not be living on the taxpayer tab. That’s something most of us aren’t thinking about when we are dismissing that person who is out there holding a sign or (as is the case in Houston where I live) cleaining your windshield for free. We don’t realize that they are, even in a less than reputable way, participating in the free enterprise system and not merely mooching off of it via the government.
One of the insights I got from my friend was that for many of these folks, they are out there doing what they’re doing because they believe that, at least in some sense, they’re earning every dollar they are spending; they’re paying their own way. In fact, many of them will say that it is below their dignity to take the handouts from the government, because they didn’t do anything to get that money in their pocket.
Think about it: most of those panhandlers probably could get housing assistance and every other kind of welfare, but they choose not to take it. Why? Because they want to have some sense of dignity in how they obtain their money. In fact, many of them will approach you on the street trying to sell you a cheap watch or trinket. Why? Because they are trying to earn the money they receive, no matter what.
In that light, when I compare the panhandlers with the welfare moochers, I have to admit that the panhandlers really do deserve some respect. So the next time you see a guy holding a sign or trying to sell you something just to get by, just think about the fact that he likely chose to not be a government mooch.
And at least give the person some respect.
Drew's Thoughts 