No. I don't have $2 to buy a CTA ticket because your car ran out of gas.
No. I don't have a minute to save Illinois children from mercury emissions.
No. I don't want to buy another Streetwise this week.
No. I don't have a minute to talk about a special offer from ATT for its valued customers
No. I don't have a cigarette.
No. I don't have a light.
No. I don't want to sign a petition to stop a new grocery store from opening on Diversey.
No. I don't have a few minutes for your survey on Chicago radio stations.
Leave me alone. I have [expletive] to do.
NO
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UK
- Perennial All-Star
- Posts: 4263
- Joined: December 10 06, 6:41 pm
- Location: Baseball Purgatory.
Re: NO
Despite me leaving "Nuts on Clark" at Union Station with a bag of popcorn and pop, I do not have any money to help get you home.
It's a rough walk from LaSalle/Madison to Union despite the proximity.
It's a rough walk from LaSalle/Madison to Union despite the proximity.
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ThatGuy
- Perennial All-Star
- Posts: 5114
- Joined: October 15 06, 4:40 pm
- Location: Knoxville, TN
Re: NO
I usually agree with this rant, but the other day I had a slight change of heart. A man approached me (in a nonaggressive way) when I was walking to my car after class, and he explained that he needed $16.50 to wash his clothes and get cleaned up - what that entailed, I didn't know for sure. He said he was hoping for a blessing, and I thought to myself, "What the heck?" I pulled out my wallet and gave him $10, because I figured he needed it a lot more than I did.
I don't know if he really used it for getting cleaned up - he seemed genuine and looked like he could use a break, so I can only hope for the best. I've never made a habit of giving money to random people on the street, but this seemed like the right thing to do.
I don't know if he really used it for getting cleaned up - he seemed genuine and looked like he could use a break, so I can only hope for the best. I've never made a habit of giving money to random people on the street, but this seemed like the right thing to do.
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Hungary Jack
- Mother Earth
- Posts: 19536
- Joined: July 24 06, 6:03 am
- Location: In Cognito
Re: NO
I have a simple rule of thumb about people who ask for help: If I have the time/money to help, I will give it with no questions or judgments. If I don't, I look him/her straight in the eye and say "sorry, not today." (there are some obvious exceptions to this, such as people who are obviously drunk/high/lying). It's a heuristic that works great for me. It eliminates judgment and prejudice from the equation. And it's the truth.ThatGuy wrote:I usually agree with this rant, but the other day I had a slight change of heart. A man approached me (in a nonaggressive way) when I was walking to my car after class, and he explained that he needed $16.50 to wash his clothes and get cleaned up - what that entailed, I didn't know for sure. He said he was hoping for a blessing, and I thought to myself, "What the heck?" I pulled out my wallet and gave him $10, because I figured he needed it a lot more than I did.
I don't know if he really used it for getting cleaned up - he seemed genuine and looked like he could use a break, so I can only hope for the best. I've never made a habit of giving money to random people on the street, but this seemed like the right thing to do.
I have always believed that the only difference between a bum lying on the street and the guy/girl who struts past him/her in a designer suit is a simple twist of fate. Oversimplifying? Absolutely. But it's as close to the truth as anything I have found.
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Cronos
- In perpetuum
- Posts: 34778
- Joined: June 30 06, 7:49 am
- Location: St. Louis
Re: NO
A lot of times if I just see them heading up to me like that I just turn and look the other way. I feel bad about it, but I know for a fact that I've been scammed that way before, so I don't know what to do about it sometimes.
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TimeForGuinness
- Hall Of Famer
- Posts: 20007
- Joined: April 18 06, 7:38 pm
Re: NO
If you're quick enough...ask them for a quarter
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Cronos
- In perpetuum
- Posts: 34778
- Joined: June 30 06, 7:49 am
- Location: St. Louis
Re: NO
True story. Happened about five minutes ago.TimeForGuinness wrote:If you're quick enough...ask them for a quarter
Going out to try and get some fast food(on foot), and then on my way back I had my headphones on and was walking toward a stop when I heard somebody asking me for something and approaching me. I turned to him and remembered and asked him for a quarter. He literally handed me a quarter and I took it, and said thanks, and then he laughed at me and started yelling at me and my "sarcastic" blah blah blah and I laughed and gave it back to him as the crosswalk signal changed.
He was so stunned by it at first that he had no clue what to do. You're a genius, sir. I'm going to do that again. Except next time I'm totally walking away with the quarter.
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MrCrowesGarden
- 'Burb Boy
- Posts: 24841
- Joined: July 9 06, 11:33 am
- Location: Out of the Loop
Re: NO
Most of the time I'm accosted, they usually ask for five dollars so they can go eat.
Since there's a McDonald's right by where I'm usually approached, I offer to go in there with them and buy them a lunch. More often than not, they turn me down.
It's a good filter.
Since there's a McDonald's right by where I'm usually approached, I offer to go in there with them and buy them a lunch. More often than not, they turn me down.
It's a good filter.
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ghostrunner
- GOAT
- Posts: 30870
- Joined: April 18 06, 9:40 pm
Re: NO
It would've been great if you popped open a Mentos package just then.Cronos69 wrote: Going out to try and get some fast food(on foot), and then on my way back I had my headphones on and was walking toward a stop when I heard somebody asking me for something and approaching me. I turned to him and remembered and asked him for a quarter. He literally handed me a quarter and I took it, and said thanks, and then he laughed at me and started yelling at me and my "sarcastic" blah blah blah and I laughed and gave