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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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

If you're quick enough...ask them for a quarter

TimeForGuinness wrote:If you're quick enough...ask them for a quarter

True story. Happened about five minutes ago.

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.

Is this a little promo for Jim Carey's upcoming movie, I believe called the yes man?

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.

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

It would've been great if you popped open a Mentos package just then.