• activ8r@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    What do you mean by this? Every interaction I’ve had with the homeless has been, at worst, slightly awkward. I have been lucky to not encounter any homeless people with severe mental instability, but they are pretty rare.

    Sounds like you are emphasising the possible bad outcomes and making it seem like it’s the norm.

    Obviously it’s not the norm, even if there are certainly some people out there that can react badly.
    I can understand your pessimism, and I’m certain you were not intentionally trying to be negative or make the homeless seem somehow less able to be reasonable, but your comment did give that impression.

    If you are struggling to see the good I saw this video recently in defense of optimism that actually gave me a bit of a pick me up. I’d recommend if you have the time.

    • yeather@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      He is thinking of panhandlers, they sit on the side of the road with signs and often get aggressive with people. Same scam as the people with the squeegee bottle and the towel for your windshield. These people uaually aren’t homeless and are just scamming.

      • activ8r@sh.itjust.works
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        11 hours ago

        Ah, in that case this may be a difference between the UK and the US. We get pan handlers and windscreen cleaners here too. And yeah, some are probably a scam, but most windscreen cleaners I’ve seen at traffic lights will just smile and move on if you just shake your head or hold up a hand and smile. Pan handlers are generally the same here. Not a lot of aggression, but I’m certain there are a few exceptions to that around.

        Thanks for the answer btw, I know you aren’t the person I originally responded too, but I was genuinely curious to know what they were thinking about 😄

      • Snowclone@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Yeah. That’s my experience, not everyone begging is homeless, and not all homeless beg. Some 30% of homeless people have jobs.