How do you all feel about and respond to beggers etc. on the high street?
I'm thinking about the poor sods sleeping in doorways, begging outside shops or at traffic lights.
I constantly disappoint myself with my reactions to them - principally anxiety & often annoyance when they sit blocking a busy thoroughfare. There is some sympathy also, but it's so hard to figure out if they are genuine or not. Even if they are genuine, giving money is often not the best action to take - so I do give to Shelter & Salvation Army (who look after homeless people). I still feel conflicted whenever I come across the homeless though.
There is quite a friendly old guy who sits all day on a broken office chair outside my local supermarket. He chats to everyone going by (with some strong lager in hand) and doesn't ask for money (other than his hat on the ground with a few coins). I have to brace myself to go past him into the supermarket, and occasionally I go to another shop if I'm low on spoons.
The older I get, the more I realise that it could easily be me one day.
