Panhandlers, Get a Fucking Job (Especially You Younger Ones)!

Panhandling. What's up with that?

Every fucking time I turn around, I see panhandlers. On the city center streets of Portland, Oregon (where I live). On the freeway ramps. If I didn;t know better, I'd say that you'd find them on the steps of the State Capitol in Salem (in fact, I wouldn't at all be surprised if this was true).

You want to know the fucked up thing about this? A lot of these panhandlers- or flaggers, if they're doing their begging on freeway ramps or on the freeway itself- are young kids. Fresh faced. Gorgeous. Bright and intelligent. I wouldn't doubt if some are college graduates, with degrees, summa cum laude...the best that money can buy. They could work for corporations, even run the companies themselves, if they like. Be President, or governor and change the world, make adifference in this country.

So, why, pray tell, are they- particularly the young kids- doing the pity party thing? Why, when I turn around do I see young people, some with dogs and other pets, with signs that read "Need change for food, or "Stranded in Portland"? Or some pregnant looking girl of, say, 18, with a sign that read 'ten months pregnant' (yes, I actually saw this! This girl was pregnant alright- with padding! Verrry interesting...). The really good ones are people holding signs in the middle of the I-84 freeway, in the middle of morning/afternoon rush hour, stating that they need money for that Greyhound or Amtrak ticket to get back home, only to find out that they're here weeks later doing the same damn thing. Likely spent that transportation money on weed, heroin, or meth, if you ask me.

A couple months ago, the alternative weekly, Willamette Week, did an expose on these scam artists. The article referred them as "Million Dollar Beggars". What these jackals do is prey on the sympathetic eyes and ears of Portland, which is known to be one of the most generous cities for the homeless in this country. After all, you get fed several times a day- 7 days a week. People who are well off will, for the most part, make sure you're well taken care of. With generosity like this, why work, even as Oregon's economuy is on the upswing?

But panhandling? It's not an old man's job anymore, is it? Admittedly, some- if not a good number- of these panhandlers and flaggers are dependent on drugs (meth and heroin being the most abused here in Portland) and/or alcohol. But if you think that all of these young kids who do this are dirt poor, think again. Some live in the West Hills and the suburb of Lake Oswego- two very upscale communities. In other words, they beg and flag, then by the end of the day ('shift', etc), they get into that Porsche or BMW, and go home to mommy and daddy. And still, they play 'poor little match kid'. What's wrong with this picture?

The way I see this, if these young flaggers and beggars can make cardboard signs and scam the rest of the city out of their hard earned money, they're able to go out, find work- even if it's day labor- and make something of their lives. There's no reason why these young, intelligent people should be begging or flagging.

To see the article from Portland's Willamette Week, click on the title

Copyright 2005, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.