A Smoking Begger ?
While on my usual walk back from the office to 33rd Street Path station, I saw another interesting New York beggar. Sitting on a wheel chair, a plastic mug in one of his hand, the other hand steadily helping him to puff on a cigarette while continuously calling out for loose change for his meal !
I have been encountering many such 'beggars' (dont think they wud ike to call themselves that, hence the quotes) lately ... around the corners, smelling of alcohol & smugly asking to provide for their next meal, Or pretending to have lost their wallet , they just approach you & ask you if you have some change, they are equals, not like the really poor beggars in india (i think the begging industry shown in traffic signal is far removed from reality) who try extra hard for your attention & show pity on themselves.
And this a complete contrast from Singapore, where i didn't see One person begging. Although i did see a man wearing plastic bags for socks, he was not begging. Maybe they put a fine on begging as well !
But really my question is this, would you consider giving any thought to a beggar who is smoking ?? In my world smoking is banned, even for the disabled, especially for the beggars.
I have been encountering many such 'beggars' (dont think they wud ike to call themselves that, hence the quotes) lately ... around the corners, smelling of alcohol & smugly asking to provide for their next meal, Or pretending to have lost their wallet , they just approach you & ask you if you have some change, they are equals, not like the really poor beggars in india (i think the begging industry shown in traffic signal is far removed from reality) who try extra hard for your attention & show pity on themselves.
And this a complete contrast from Singapore, where i didn't see One person begging. Although i did see a man wearing plastic bags for socks, he was not begging. Maybe they put a fine on begging as well !
But really my question is this, would you consider giving any thought to a beggar who is smoking ?? In my world smoking is banned, even for the disabled, especially for the beggars.
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