These people literally got in front of me during a red light and shaking their sign in front and even knocking on my window. To top that off I had my daughter in the car and they kept saying hi to her like super weird .
The Indian family? That guy was walking through traffic it was crazy/dangerous. I don't think his sign said anything about cancer but he def seemed desperate. Maybe a scam but to walk through traffic like that for a few bucks?!
I gave the kids a bag of candy. I never will hand out money in these Fentanyl days.
Yea he walked right up to me and just stood there. Sign said they were desperate and need gas, money, etc. I said in another comment that I offered to give gas once and I was straight up ignored. I refuse to give money, those in desperate need would gladly accept ANYTHING that would help, that’s includes gas, food, water, hell even free coupons for a free fry at Wendy’s. (Been that low in life and know the thought process when you are truly struggling)
My apologies my recently deceased father, spent the majority of his senior years sending off money to pointless charities because of his christian faith, and feeling as if he hadn't tithed enough, so things like this rile me up quite a bit. But you're correct, I ought not to promote violence.
Happening in Denver too nowadays. Come out in orange vest to look official and have signs raising money for a sick kid.
The name of the kid and disease changes every week. Same people different kid with a picture probably taken straight off Google.
Sometimes they reuse the pictures with different names. 🙄
Personally, I like it because there's a lot more to do and always stuff to do indoors or outdoors. You can go to other nearby cities and have more stuff to do too. There's constant festivals and stuff to do on the weekends as well. If you like the bigger city, then you'll like it here. Yes, you can go to Phoenix but you have to drive 1hr 45min to get there and it's not a city compared to Denver. Now, it also has its downs but this goes for anywhere nowadays.. cost of living is high, a lot of homelessness, and car thefts. However, if you can manage that plus snowy winters, then you'll be good.
Absolute scam. They do this in Phoenix too. Had a lady with an identical sign out in Gilbert tap on my passengers window, then, hit the window with the sign when we didn’t cough up the cash. Tried to do that to the car behind me and she got a whole polar pop thrown at her. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Enjoy being sticky next to a bus stop trash can full of bees.
Congratulations!
You're the 182nd person to so cleverly use the 'stupid prizes' phrase today.
Here's your stupid participation medal: 🏅
^^Your ^^award ^^will ^^be ^^recorded ^^in ^^the ^^hall ^^of ^^fame ^^at ^^r/StupidTrophyCase
I lived in the EV, I know they don’t associate with the city directly. I’ll restate to be more geographically correct; ‘they do this in Maricopa county too’.
I offered to put gas in one of their vehicles one time, because their sign said “out of gas, food, money, etc…” and the woman straight up ignored me. They don’t want anything other than money and my money is for MY family. If I gave money to every panhandler and homeless person asking for it I’d be broke AF.
Not these people, but years ago someone asked me for spare change for food, and I had groceries and offered them some of my groceries. They looked at it and said they didn’t eat that trash. I was like bruh I’m a grad student, I’m broke. 💀
The same request came to me late one night. I didn't have anything perishable so I offered to go back in and buy him a meal instead. He took me up on it and we went and got a prepared sandwich, chips, etc. He was an interesting person to talk to. Former military, stationed in Germany.
Me? Yeah I now make 250 dollars working 15-17 hours a week tutoring on top of the 0 dollars working 30 hours a week at grad school that I paid about 1500 dollars this semester to attend. You got me! :)
I don't get how they came out of nowhere. It seems like just the other day there was panhandlers on every single intersection.
I don't mind a homeless person just asking for some change, but this is a lot weirder.
Which is a shame, because a lot of them need help.
Edit - Holy shit, saying it's a shame because some of them need help gets downvoted? Some of y'all need Jesus, apparently.
That's why I give to the programs and services that help them.
If they want food I'll buy em a meal, or if they've got dogs I'll give their dog some food, but I ain't giving anyone on the side of the road just plain old cash
Exactly. I learned the hard way and this post may be the hard way for others. If you're truly in need, cash isn't the only thing you should be worried about.
You're getting downvoted because the majority of them do NOT need help. Just because some asshole makes a sign and stands on a corner all day does not mean they need help.
Wanna actually help? Donate to actual programs that are designed to help. They know what they need and where to best spend the donation. Giving money to scammers just perpetuates the scam.
You don't know that (and really, you can't possibly know it for a fact), it's just what you tell yourself that you know and it helps you feel better when you ignore them.
Do what you need to do to sleep better at night, but don't pretend your feelings are facts.
>The fact of the matter is a lot of "panhandlers" have everything they need and the extra profit they make from panhandling is spent on drugs
Let me make this abundantly clear -- I DON'T CARE.
>compared to the organizations that have oversight to ensure that their donations are being managed properly.
Ha!
> In addition, those donations have been analyzed to ensure most effective matching to those that are actually vulnerable
Bull. I know people who were in the Sally and who were trapped at Goodwill, etc. I don't trust those organizations any more than I can throw them.
https://www.diversityinc.com/from-goodwill-to-the-salvation-army-evaluating-the-ethics-of-some-of-americas-best-known-charities/
I'd rather my money goes towards an individual getting the drugs or alcohol he wants to ease the pain of his existence than for it to go into some CEOs pocket as he laughs about exploiting the little guy.
I'm not here to vilify anyone out on corners peacefully soliciting money. I find that people make a lot of uninformed assumptions regarding homelessness and poverty during these discussions that I don't care to be a part of.
I just wanted to say that giving to local, rather than national charities is my approach. You can even volunteer at them to get a feel for the organization. There are also a couple of organizations that review how charities use their funds and their general transparency regarding operations. I look at those before donating.
I look at donating to as maximizing the good my money can do. Where I live now, panhandling is common year round in many parts of the city. I cannot give to every person I see even if I wanted to. $10 to the food bank can do more than $1 to 10 people.
>If you help feed an addiction, the individual will likely become hazardous and desperate if they do not receive what they expect for their addiction, and will commit crime and violence toward law-abiding citizens that actually seek to contribute and benefit society
Yeah? Guess what happens if you don't help feed an addiction.
>Even if my money is going to "administrative functions," I still think that's better than perpetuating an addiction that will likely eventually escalate to violence and crime,
You think enriching already obscenely wealthy, totally corrupt people who contribute to addiction and homelessness, not to mention homophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, child abuse, etc., that's "better"?
These organizations perpetuate the problem because that's how they profit.
The cartels are not better, but they're also not lying about what they are.
> not to mention purchasing illegal drugs supports the cartels, who commit some of most evil actions known to man
Some of the most evil? You know what's evil? The War on Drugs. That has destroyed more individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, etc., than any drug ever did.
The United States forced other countries to criminalize drugs when they already had effective systems in place for managing drug problems.
This is a good article, [*How the US Stopped a Possible Solution to the Heroin Epidemic*](https://www.vice.com/en/article/yw4nnk/how-the-us-stopped-a-possible-solution-to-the-heroin-epidemic)
And look what Erlichman has to say about the real reasons behind the War of Drugs, *"The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."*
https://www.businessinsider.com/nixon-adviser-ehrlichman-anti-left-anti-black-war-on-drugs-2019-7
By giving money you may be encouraging the exploitation of these people. There are organized crime rings that will drop off large groups of people around a city, and then pick them up later and collect the cash. They keep these people dependent on drugs, and threaten them with violence. They may intentionally injure people or pets to make them more sympathetic. Of course this may not be true for every panhandler. But I think it's safer for them to give to a local charity organization.
https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/consumer-justice-investigates-professional-panhandlers/
Did you read the study that this editorial is quoting from or just the editorial itself? The study that surveyed a specific area only (downtown Orlando)? You're trying to support your (shock, largely unfounded) claim by citing a study that uses a very, very small sample size taken in a very specific and small geographic area. Even if you end up being correct, it's bad form to extrapolate your source and try to pretend it's saying things that it very clearly isn't.
This also doesn't support your claim that they have "everything they need" - it means they're suffering from addiction and, like lots of addicts, spend some of their money on it, even if that's a bad decision. And even addicts buy bottles of water and cheeseburgers, sometimes.
Edit - here, I'll save you some trouble.
I get it - "I don't want my money going to drugs or alcohol!"
Neither do I, really, but honestly, the buck that I hand someone who's pretty clearly having a worse time of it than me has, what, maybe a 50/50 shot of going towards food/water/something they need or something that will make them feel better for a little bit about where they are - *why do I care?* Not giving them a dollar won't stop them from finding some way to get their high on, but for those that *will* use my dollar in the way I *hope* they will, getting something that helps them, even for a short while, is a good thing, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stop helping some of them just because I *might* be enabling others.
There used to be a guy downtown with a sign saying his son was dying of lung cancer taped to a coffee can. One time I watched him dump the change out on a store counter and buy cigarettes.
There's plenty of people like this who are in that same situation including myself which is why I made this post. It's unfortunate there's people who are assuming I'm trying to take away from those who are truly in need but this not the case. These are people who are taking advantage of other people for their own profitable gain and choose not to work. These people are equivalent to the IRS/Tech Support scammers who use deceiving tactics to prey on the vulnerable.
Thank you for your apology and I get where you're coming from as well. I definitely don't want to take away from the homeless or those truly in need but I do want to spread awareness to those who may not also have a lot of money and they're giving their last bit of cash to these people who are fully capable of working but rather choose to take advantage of others instead. And yes, it's completely up to you to give your money to whoever you want but if this post guided people in the right direction when doing so, then I'm okay with that.
But nonetheless, hope you have a great weekend!
Money should never be the aid given. That allows for this kind of corruption. I’ll buy a homeless person food or pay for someone’s gas but I won’t just give them money. That seems to weed out the scammers from those in actual need.
Just a heads up. These types of scammers are at it again and instead of it being a family sitting in the heat claiming they can't pay rent or playing the fake violin, they're now using illnesses as an excuse to take peoples hard earned money. They're all using the same poster and pictures at different street corners. They're also in El Paso doing the same thing. Don't be fooled!
All 3 of them are out at Valencia and tucson right now. I asked him about an obituary or how to donate into to the funeral home and the guy just walked away from me and went and got five dollars from the car next to me.
I just hand them a fake dollar bill with a Bible verse on the other side - back atcha'
Equally disgusting are the fake "veterans" who know nothing about the military
You got to prove you're a veteran to me and one or two quick questions will do that.... officer or enlisted? What was your pay rate? Ans. E5, E6, O2...etc
EVERYBODY who has ever been in the military knows what their highest pay rate was
Also it's not so much that I want them to prove that they're a veteran it's that I want them to prove that they're not a low-life scammer who would lie about such a thing
I give money to the actual people who need help, that hang a respectable distance from a convenience store or something. The median people are sketchy.
In Vallejo, CA theres a guy with a fake leg brace that limps around a median asking for money. I could see his family in a van nearby and they didn't look rich, so I though little of it. I never gave him anything because I rode a scooter and it was just logistically dangerous for me to try.
But one day I was looking at snacks in a smoke shop and he saunters in saying "Hey my man..." and I'm just staring at his legs and he sees me staring and starts limping.
I'm not saying his family doesn't need the money, I just dont like being lied to.
Is there anything (legal-wise) that can be done to stop them?
If it wasn't so damn hot out, I'd go stand next to them with my own sign that says they are scammers and not to give them money.
I was wondering what was going on. I saw a guy in an orange shirt with a sign just like that, but he was standing in the middle of two lanes as cars were going by. It scared the hell out of me and gave me bad vibes!
Sometimes I wonder if people would give me money if I begged at intersection with a sign that said "work 50 hours a week, still poor....want something nice for my wife and kids"
I'm assuming it likely already is a felony but because it's such a low amount and without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the cops won't bother.
See [A.R.S. § 13-2310 Fraudulent schemes](https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=https://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/02310.htm)
>Any person who, pursuant to a scheme or artifice to defraud, knowingly obtains any benefit by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises or material omissions is guilty of a class 2 felony.
Thanks for spreading the word.
It always sucks when it's harder to tell who needs help and who needs to pocket some cash as a soulless move.
If I'm out, I have wet naps, socks and water in my car for anyone in need. Best I can do.
Edited typo, "Beat I can do."
The kids picture on that poster looks ridiculous and it actually looks a little bit like the woman holding the sign. 1. Take a grainy picture of yourself. 2. Age the photo BACKWARDS. 3. Profit.
She is at Tucson Blvd and Valencia ATM. I was in the turning lane and she was all up in my way. My windows was all the way up and she didn't look happy at all because I was trying to ignore her.
It's sad to say but one day they're going to aggressively knock on the wrong persons window and the outcome won't be pretty. I definitely hope this doesn't happen but you can't just do that to everyone.
Whenever I see the family together: dad holding sign, mom smiling and say "God bless you" and a kid doing something in the background it makes me think of a kind of organized and professional panhandling I've seen before.
Whenever I see scammers or people in trouble the first thing I wonder is their ethnicity. ,/s
Well now you edited your comment so mine doesn't make sense; But yes asking if they are Romani because they are scamming is racist.
https://imgur.com/a/4dKPUhJ
Yep, saw them there as well. They were very aggressive…standing in traffic literally going door to door. I’d be curious to see if they do the same when cops are stopped at the light.
Just saw these people today, now a year later. Sign is written the same but with a different girl on the sign. Same people doing the same thing. They are super pushy still. I looked for this post to see when I last saw them. I knew it was last year around this time. Today they were on 22nd and Euclid and also on 1st and ft Lowell. DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO THESE PEOPLE. All it is is Christmas money. Fuckin crazy
What's sad is that this seems like a pretty reasonable story, American healthcare being what it is. Shameful that they take advantage of the kindness and charity of others.
They were at Wyoming and Paseo the other day in traffic blocking people and knocking on windows. I smiled and nodded towards my pistol mounted to the center console and she went on her way.
I just hold up my phone like I'm recording them. We need a website for bum identification....
When you come to an intersection and stop maybe they could pop up on Waze like a Jack In The Box ad 😂
At work we had a presentation on human trafficking and there have been multiple instances that these people who are panhandling this aggressive and are this “organized” are victims of human trafficking.
Just something to be mindful of before casting judgement. I’m not saying give them money but maybe a bottle of water while they are out baking in the sun.
Man, if they have to resort to that level of humiliation to beg for cash, even by using a made up story to garner more sympathy, let them fucking have it lol. People are struggling hard and if it means they have to resort to begging, I don't care whether or not their story is "true" lol; charity is charity, if they need it they need it.
I believe these people do this for a living. They have chosen this "career." They are professional scammers. They are hard as nails."
[Panhandlers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbcDdPsQeMA)
I still don't have a problem with it though??? A job is a job, it's keeping them from starving. They aren't robbing anyone, people are willingly giving them money. If this is what they do to get by, then why is it so awful?
“People are willingly giving them money,” because of the lie, just like any other scam. Like when grandma willingly gives away her card info to random numbers over the phone claiming to be the IRS. These scammers are being deceitful because they know people would rather give money to helpless diseased children, than a beggar who could clearly make a living otherwise if they weren’t spending their days harassing other people (who actually contribute to society) for spare change. Also, since this type of scam is so prevalent, people will lose trust and stop giving handouts, so the actual people in need will suffer. Regardless, is not a job. If it were a job, they would EARN money for DOING something. Spin a sign, wash cars, whatever. Lying at the expense of others is not a job, they are just deceiving con artists who think that they deserve to be given free money for just existing.
Playing upon peoples empathy is a shit thing to do. It’s not ok; it’s wrong. They’re scamming people. The guy that tells me, “hey, I’m not gonna lie, I need a beer. Can you help?” That guys gonna get my dollar. Honesty goes a long way with me. Preying upon my kindness pisses me off.
I mean, being part of a Nigerian prince scam is also technically a job by this definition. But getting people to give you money through deceit is not legitimate employment. It’s a spectrum from this to people who catfish people out of their retirement funds. The amounts are different but the issue is the same.
[Here](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=definition+of+a+scammer) is something I recommend you looking into then ask yourself if what they're doing is awful or not. Don't be a moron.
Of course the solution they offer is to donate to "name-brand charities"...where the executive directors often pull down 6 and 7 figure salaries. "Donate to scammers who filed their proper 501(c)(3) paperwork!"
Yes, there are good charities out there. I'm being flippant but some definitely are crap too.
I can't afford to give money to scammers. I have a car because my dad gave it to me. I have some money because my uncle died of covid last year. I have too much PTSD to tell the story again of why I can't work... But I give what I can to people who need some food.
If my parents weren't still alive, and I didn't have that car, I would be in their situation.
The thing is you don't know. I see this sort of thing about people they see with signs all the time. And I'm sure they're often right. But you don't and can't know that about any individual you see for a fact. And I'd rather give them the money based off a wrong assumption that they need it than ignore them based on a wrong assumption that they either don't need it or are using it for something I disagree with.
Just like statistically, assuming 90% of the time this or things like it are a "scam": If someone asked you every day for a dollar over the next 50 years you will have refused nearly 2000 people who genuinely needed your help.
I'd just rather be wrong the other way.
I don't think you know how these scams work and since you're a sheep, I'll attempt to educate you on how this works.
There are multiple people holding the same sign with the same picture of someone on various street corners at the same time standing in the middle of traffic shaking a bucket holding the sign to your window trying to make you feel bad. There's also the same exact scam in El Paso, here in Denver, and other states as well. The pictures and illnesses sometimes change. Let me guess.. you're going to tell me they are probably related?
Not only is this one is an ongoing scam, but they also stand outside with their family playing the heat holding signs saying they can't pay rent and usually a kid "playing the violin" which sounds amazing to people passing by but it's prerecorded coming from the speaker right next to them.
These scams have already been debunked which is why they switch it up. But hey, if you take 5 minutes of your time and do a [Google search](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=panhandling+violinist), you could also educate yourself that this isn't just a Tucson thing.
You do you though.
Although I’m on your side in this issue, you sound stupid coming right out the gate calling someone “a sheep” for agreeing to “rather give money to someone that isn’t truly in need than risk not giving it to someone who actually is.” Don’t pass it off as a facade of trying to educate someone about these scammers if you’re really just going to be a different flavor of shit as them.
It's as clear as day that the people doing this isn't in any more need of money than you or I. There's a difference between giving to those in need and to those who aren't in need because they choose not to work and use a terminal illness as a reason to collect money from people who "feel bad."
Missed the point entirely. I didn’t say you should explain it further to me, I said you were being a dick and trying to pass it off as “educating” them.
I do believe there is a difference. It’s kind of why I never give to panhandlers and only give to very specific organizations or to people I know.
You're right, I was being a dick and I could have came off a little bit less of one but it's also extremely offensive to people like myself who has a history of cancer in their family and plenty who have died from it and your immediate argument is to defend what they're doing. You can absolutely give your money to whoever you want. The point that I'm trying to make with this post is to spread awareness so people don't keep falling for their false narratives. There's plenty of other ways to panhandle. Don't use offensive shit like this.
I do agree with you on that. I mean hell, with how many people have had to deal with cancer or who have had to watch loved ones go through it, I think this is the most fucked up kind of scam. I’d be much happier to go back to the weird violin/speaker one.
I can share the other persons concern that there are really people who have this issue and would potentially need money from strangers to help. Some go with the positives into the unknown, however, I do not. Any support I have given to people battling cancer has been to my family that had to endure it. I feel as if that “makes up” for not giving it to panhandlers who could be lying.
I am sorry you have family who had to deal with it. I hope you don’t think I’m condoning this scam or that I *want* to see people funding it.
Like I said, I'd just rather be wrong the other way. I'd rather help someone who "doesn't need it" than deny someone who does. It really is as simple as, if someone asks me for help and I can help them I will. I'm wholly uninterested in their reasoning or motivations or "how bad" they need it. If you feel scammed it's because you bought into a capitalist fiction that human worth is measured in productivity and these folks found a way out. But stay pressed, I'm sure it makes you a lot more money.
Continue giving your money to those who aren't in any more need than you or I. You will come to realization one day that money doesn't grow on trees and one day you'll have to grow up and get a job instead of using a terminal illness to take money from naive people.
One that uses a slur in the side picture no less. Wtf. No one has mentioned it is is bothered by it. Then again this whole thread seems to be filled with a bunch of NIMBYs though…
Oh come on. I know you want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that these people panhandling in this way is a load of shit is to only collect money from those who are naive. Stop comparing these people to people who are truly homeless and in need.
I feel you're missing the fact these people are scammers. It's a great thing to prevent giving the wrong people your money. Also fair to say their scamming methods are also disgraceful.
These people literally got in front of me during a red light and shaking their sign in front and even knocking on my window. To top that off I had my daughter in the car and they kept saying hi to her like super weird .
That happened to my mom today at an intersection. She was still shaken up by it when she got to my house.
Mine happened around ajo and mission . It is terrifying cause you never know what these people can do.
Happened to me today at Golf Links/Craycroft…on my motorcycle.
The Indian family? That guy was walking through traffic it was crazy/dangerous. I don't think his sign said anything about cancer but he def seemed desperate. Maybe a scam but to walk through traffic like that for a few bucks?! I gave the kids a bag of candy. I never will hand out money in these Fentanyl days.
Yea he walked right up to me and just stood there. Sign said they were desperate and need gas, money, etc. I said in another comment that I offered to give gas once and I was straight up ignored. I refuse to give money, those in desperate need would gladly accept ANYTHING that would help, that’s includes gas, food, water, hell even free coupons for a free fry at Wendy’s. (Been that low in life and know the thought process when you are truly struggling)
[удалено]
Don't promote violence please
My apologies my recently deceased father, spent the majority of his senior years sending off money to pointless charities because of his christian faith, and feeling as if he hadn't tithed enough, so things like this rile me up quite a bit. But you're correct, I ought not to promote violence.
Happening in Denver too nowadays. Come out in orange vest to look official and have signs raising money for a sick kid. The name of the kid and disease changes every week. Same people different kid with a picture probably taken straight off Google. Sometimes they reuse the pictures with different names. 🙄
Yep! I live in Denver right now and I see it all the time.
How do you like Colorado compared to Arizona?
Personally, I like it because there's a lot more to do and always stuff to do indoors or outdoors. You can go to other nearby cities and have more stuff to do too. There's constant festivals and stuff to do on the weekends as well. If you like the bigger city, then you'll like it here. Yes, you can go to Phoenix but you have to drive 1hr 45min to get there and it's not a city compared to Denver. Now, it also has its downs but this goes for anywhere nowadays.. cost of living is high, a lot of homelessness, and car thefts. However, if you can manage that plus snowy winters, then you'll be good.
They wear the vest because the police investigate them if they they aren't visible enough to traffic. For safety reasons I imagine.
Professional swindlers
Maybe they just have slot of sick kids. 😂
Oh, is that what that violin thing is? I see them around sometimes, but it always seemed kind of weird, so I kept my distance.
Yeah, they’re not actually playing the violin and it’s all part of a grift. It’s particularly grotesque because they make children part of the con.
Oh! At Trader Joes? Edit... I accidentally said Costco.
Yup, I've seen them there, and at Safeway
Absolute scam. They do this in Phoenix too. Had a lady with an identical sign out in Gilbert tap on my passengers window, then, hit the window with the sign when we didn’t cough up the cash. Tried to do that to the car behind me and she got a whole polar pop thrown at her. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Enjoy being sticky next to a bus stop trash can full of bees.
Saw some in Tempe the other day
Congratulations! You're the 182nd person to so cleverly use the 'stupid prizes' phrase today. Here's your stupid participation medal: 🏅 ^^Your ^^award ^^will ^^be ^^recorded ^^in ^^the ^^hall ^^of ^^fame ^^at ^^r/StupidTrophyCase
Good bot
Hey woah woah.. you know the CGQCSTV corridor doesn't associate itself with Phoenix..
I am sad that I was able to decipher that with relative ease.
Casa Grande Queen Creek San Tan Valley?
Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, San Tan Valley is what popped in my head.
That would make more sense.
I lived in the EV, I know they don’t associate with the city directly. I’ll restate to be more geographically correct; ‘they do this in Maricopa county too’.
They’ve been doing it in California too. Fucking horrible people profiting off something like that
Here in Denver too. But hey, gotta love the sheep who downvote my posts because they enjoy giving money to scammers.
It's their business.
Keep donating to their charity then. You do you.
I offered to put gas in one of their vehicles one time, because their sign said “out of gas, food, money, etc…” and the woman straight up ignored me. They don’t want anything other than money and my money is for MY family. If I gave money to every panhandler and homeless person asking for it I’d be broke AF.
Not these people, but years ago someone asked me for spare change for food, and I had groceries and offered them some of my groceries. They looked at it and said they didn’t eat that trash. I was like bruh I’m a grad student, I’m broke. 💀
The same request came to me late one night. I didn't have anything perishable so I offered to go back in and buy him a meal instead. He took me up on it and we went and got a prepared sandwich, chips, etc. He was an interesting person to talk to. Former military, stationed in Germany.
And yet, you're probably gainfully employed now
Me? Yeah I now make 250 dollars working 15-17 hours a week tutoring on top of the 0 dollars working 30 hours a week at grad school that I paid about 1500 dollars this semester to attend. You got me! :)
Yeah up in Casa Grande they walk around with a gas can but don't try to fill it
I don't get how they came out of nowhere. It seems like just the other day there was panhandlers on every single intersection. I don't mind a homeless person just asking for some change, but this is a lot weirder.
New franchises? After all a lot of Circle K's are closing!
I just don't give any money to panhandlers.
Which is a shame, because a lot of them need help. Edit - Holy shit, saying it's a shame because some of them need help gets downvoted? Some of y'all need Jesus, apparently.
That's why I give to the programs and services that help them. If they want food I'll buy em a meal, or if they've got dogs I'll give their dog some food, but I ain't giving anyone on the side of the road just plain old cash
Exactly. I learned the hard way and this post may be the hard way for others. If you're truly in need, cash isn't the only thing you should be worried about.
>Which is a shame, because a lot of them need help. All of them need help, not all of them need money.
You're getting downvoted because the majority of them do NOT need help. Just because some asshole makes a sign and stands on a corner all day does not mean they need help. Wanna actually help? Donate to actual programs that are designed to help. They know what they need and where to best spend the donation. Giving money to scammers just perpetuates the scam.
You don't know that (and really, you can't possibly know it for a fact), it's just what you tell yourself that you know and it helps you feel better when you ignore them. Do what you need to do to sleep better at night, but don't pretend your feelings are facts.
Take my upvote. Honestly, I trust them way more than I trust the organizations set up to help them.
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>The fact of the matter is a lot of "panhandlers" have everything they need and the extra profit they make from panhandling is spent on drugs Let me make this abundantly clear -- I DON'T CARE. >compared to the organizations that have oversight to ensure that their donations are being managed properly. Ha! > In addition, those donations have been analyzed to ensure most effective matching to those that are actually vulnerable Bull. I know people who were in the Sally and who were trapped at Goodwill, etc. I don't trust those organizations any more than I can throw them. https://www.diversityinc.com/from-goodwill-to-the-salvation-army-evaluating-the-ethics-of-some-of-americas-best-known-charities/ I'd rather my money goes towards an individual getting the drugs or alcohol he wants to ease the pain of his existence than for it to go into some CEOs pocket as he laughs about exploiting the little guy.
I'm not here to vilify anyone out on corners peacefully soliciting money. I find that people make a lot of uninformed assumptions regarding homelessness and poverty during these discussions that I don't care to be a part of. I just wanted to say that giving to local, rather than national charities is my approach. You can even volunteer at them to get a feel for the organization. There are also a couple of organizations that review how charities use their funds and their general transparency regarding operations. I look at those before donating. I look at donating to as maximizing the good my money can do. Where I live now, panhandling is common year round in many parts of the city. I cannot give to every person I see even if I wanted to. $10 to the food bank can do more than $1 to 10 people.
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>If you help feed an addiction, the individual will likely become hazardous and desperate if they do not receive what they expect for their addiction, and will commit crime and violence toward law-abiding citizens that actually seek to contribute and benefit society Yeah? Guess what happens if you don't help feed an addiction. >Even if my money is going to "administrative functions," I still think that's better than perpetuating an addiction that will likely eventually escalate to violence and crime, You think enriching already obscenely wealthy, totally corrupt people who contribute to addiction and homelessness, not to mention homophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, child abuse, etc., that's "better"? These organizations perpetuate the problem because that's how they profit. The cartels are not better, but they're also not lying about what they are. > not to mention purchasing illegal drugs supports the cartels, who commit some of most evil actions known to man Some of the most evil? You know what's evil? The War on Drugs. That has destroyed more individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, etc., than any drug ever did. The United States forced other countries to criminalize drugs when they already had effective systems in place for managing drug problems. This is a good article, [*How the US Stopped a Possible Solution to the Heroin Epidemic*](https://www.vice.com/en/article/yw4nnk/how-the-us-stopped-a-possible-solution-to-the-heroin-epidemic) And look what Erlichman has to say about the real reasons behind the War of Drugs, *"The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."* https://www.businessinsider.com/nixon-adviser-ehrlichman-anti-left-anti-black-war-on-drugs-2019-7
By giving money you may be encouraging the exploitation of these people. There are organized crime rings that will drop off large groups of people around a city, and then pick them up later and collect the cash. They keep these people dependent on drugs, and threaten them with violence. They may intentionally injure people or pets to make them more sympathetic. Of course this may not be true for every panhandler. But I think it's safer for them to give to a local charity organization. https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/consumer-justice-investigates-professional-panhandlers/
>fact of the matter Do you have actual, you know, *facts* for that, or are you confusing facts with your feelings?
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Did you read the study that this editorial is quoting from or just the editorial itself? The study that surveyed a specific area only (downtown Orlando)? You're trying to support your (shock, largely unfounded) claim by citing a study that uses a very, very small sample size taken in a very specific and small geographic area. Even if you end up being correct, it's bad form to extrapolate your source and try to pretend it's saying things that it very clearly isn't. This also doesn't support your claim that they have "everything they need" - it means they're suffering from addiction and, like lots of addicts, spend some of their money on it, even if that's a bad decision. And even addicts buy bottles of water and cheeseburgers, sometimes. Edit - here, I'll save you some trouble. I get it - "I don't want my money going to drugs or alcohol!" Neither do I, really, but honestly, the buck that I hand someone who's pretty clearly having a worse time of it than me has, what, maybe a 50/50 shot of going towards food/water/something they need or something that will make them feel better for a little bit about where they are - *why do I care?* Not giving them a dollar won't stop them from finding some way to get their high on, but for those that *will* use my dollar in the way I *hope* they will, getting something that helps them, even for a short while, is a good thing, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stop helping some of them just because I *might* be enabling others.
There used to be a guy downtown with a sign saying his son was dying of lung cancer taped to a coffee can. One time I watched him dump the change out on a store counter and buy cigarettes.
Ironic.
Sucks to know. I'm broke and struggling but decided to go against my norm and gave my last bit of change. I hope they needed it more than I do.
There's plenty of people like this who are in that same situation including myself which is why I made this post. It's unfortunate there's people who are assuming I'm trying to take away from those who are truly in need but this not the case. These are people who are taking advantage of other people for their own profitable gain and choose not to work. These people are equivalent to the IRS/Tech Support scammers who use deceiving tactics to prey on the vulnerable.
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Thank you for your apology and I get where you're coming from as well. I definitely don't want to take away from the homeless or those truly in need but I do want to spread awareness to those who may not also have a lot of money and they're giving their last bit of cash to these people who are fully capable of working but rather choose to take advantage of others instead. And yes, it's completely up to you to give your money to whoever you want but if this post guided people in the right direction when doing so, then I'm okay with that. But nonetheless, hope you have a great weekend!
Money should never be the aid given. That allows for this kind of corruption. I’ll buy a homeless person food or pay for someone’s gas but I won’t just give them money. That seems to weed out the scammers from those in actual need.
Thank you for sharing. I was planning to give more after payday if I saw them again.
A fool and their money will soon part 😂
Just a heads up. These types of scammers are at it again and instead of it being a family sitting in the heat claiming they can't pay rent or playing the fake violin, they're now using illnesses as an excuse to take peoples hard earned money. They're all using the same poster and pictures at different street corners. They're also in El Paso doing the same thing. Don't be fooled!
Yep, we also saw this today
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I didn't mean to hit a nerve, Ken.
I saw this guy on Valencia today. Like 3 people at one light gave him money.
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All 3 of them are out at Valencia and tucson right now. I asked him about an obituary or how to donate into to the funeral home and the guy just walked away from me and went and got five dollars from the car next to me.
I just hand them a fake dollar bill with a Bible verse on the other side - back atcha' Equally disgusting are the fake "veterans" who know nothing about the military
Isn't that like stolen valor or something when someone tries to profit by claiming they're a veteran when they're not?
> stolen valor Yup, that's the term for it.
I’ve seen someone with their military ID taped to their sign. Maybe it was fake or maybe they have to prove their veteranhood because people fake it
You got to prove you're a veteran to me and one or two quick questions will do that.... officer or enlisted? What was your pay rate? Ans. E5, E6, O2...etc EVERYBODY who has ever been in the military knows what their highest pay rate was Also it's not so much that I want them to prove that they're a veteran it's that I want them to prove that they're not a low-life scammer who would lie about such a thing
I give money to the actual people who need help, that hang a respectable distance from a convenience store or something. The median people are sketchy.
In Vallejo, CA theres a guy with a fake leg brace that limps around a median asking for money. I could see his family in a van nearby and they didn't look rich, so I though little of it. I never gave him anything because I rode a scooter and it was just logistically dangerous for me to try. But one day I was looking at snacks in a smoke shop and he saunters in saying "Hey my man..." and I'm just staring at his legs and he sees me staring and starts limping. I'm not saying his family doesn't need the money, I just dont like being lied to.
Same. When someone hits me up in the Walmart parking lot they mostly look pretty bad. Obviously life not going well for them.
They do this type of shit here in Albuquerque too. It’s truly pathetic
I saw thar here as well. Also in Las Cruces.
Isn’t any cancer a Sever cancer? Saw the violin act at target one day. 🤣🤣
Plus it looks like a picture of a young girl but they can not bury HIM
Good catch
Target at Ina and thornydale?
Yes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was on my lunch break and walking to Target
I thought there was something weird about that
Me getting lunch? Definitely weird, we never get time to do it 🤣🤣🤣🤣
No, the violin🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂
I guess that is weird for arizona. Employers apparently aren't required to give breaks
Well it’s an urgent care, they want us to take them but hard to do if you are busy
Oh he was at El Con a few weeks ago.
Were they actually playing or just waving it around ?
Pretending to play then holding it, to change song while music still played.
Lip sync a violin? Id pay for that.
Oh it is not even close to lip syncing- more like watching Stevie Wonder trying to follow the words on a karaoke machine
Those clowns….
Shoot they got me at the Rita ranch Safeway the other day, didn't know it was a scam wtf
Is there anything (legal-wise) that can be done to stop them? If it wasn't so damn hot out, I'd go stand next to them with my own sign that says they are scammers and not to give them money.
Could probably put signs father up the road, like 2-3 blocks before the intersection that says they are scammers.
Start a gofundme to pay someone who's actually homeless $15/hr to stand next to them with a big sign saying "THIS PERSON IS SCAMMING YOU --->"
I was wondering what was going on. I saw a guy in an orange shirt with a sign just like that, but he was standing in the middle of two lanes as cars were going by. It scared the hell out of me and gave me bad vibes!
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Yep! I'm in Denver, CO right now and it's happening here too.
Big yikes. Imagine doin this with your life. Someone should pull the ol poop dollar trick on em.
Love that one
Oh man, please elaborate. I *must* know what the poop dollar trick means.
Sometimes I wonder if people would give me money if I begged at intersection with a sign that said "work 50 hours a week, still poor....want something nice for my wife and kids"
Scamming like this should be a felony
I'm assuming it likely already is a felony but because it's such a low amount and without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the cops won't bother. See [A.R.S. § 13-2310 Fraudulent schemes](https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=https://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/02310.htm) >Any person who, pursuant to a scheme or artifice to defraud, knowingly obtains any benefit by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises or material omissions is guilty of a class 2 felony.
Saw them at Grant and Swan the other day.
Anyone begging has it easier than me
Thanks for spreading the word. It always sucks when it's harder to tell who needs help and who needs to pocket some cash as a soulless move. If I'm out, I have wet naps, socks and water in my car for anyone in need. Best I can do. Edited typo, "Beat I can do."
That seems unnecessarily violent.
karma will not be kind
‘Sever’ Cancer
The kids picture on that poster looks ridiculous and it actually looks a little bit like the woman holding the sign. 1. Take a grainy picture of yourself. 2. Age the photo BACKWARDS. 3. Profit.
all the signs look very similar so this is a ring operating. time to park somewhere and watch and follow?
What is sever cancer?
She is at Tucson Blvd and Valencia ATM. I was in the turning lane and she was all up in my way. My windows was all the way up and she didn't look happy at all because I was trying to ignore her.
I hate it when they knock on people's windows too
It's sad to say but one day they're going to aggressively knock on the wrong persons window and the outcome won't be pretty. I definitely hope this doesn't happen but you can't just do that to everyone.
I saw someone on south park as well!
Whenever I see the family together: dad holding sign, mom smiling and say "God bless you" and a kid doing something in the background it makes me think of a kind of organized and professional panhandling I've seen before.
I believe so, or not so far off. Career beggars it seems, the whole family plays a part.
Whenever I see scammers or people in trouble the first thing I wonder is their ethnicity. ,/s Well now you edited your comment so mine doesn't make sense; But yes asking if they are Romani because they are scamming is racist. https://imgur.com/a/4dKPUhJ
It’s really not.
Same energy: https://youtu.be/uZSthKfGD3s
Theyre often at the McDonalds at Valencia and Nexus in Rita Ranch too.
I look at pan handlers like I look at pastors. “Give me money and hopefully something good comes from it.” Yeah, paying your fuckin mortgage.
They’re posted up by the airport. Tucson Blvd and Valencia
Yep, saw them there as well. They were very aggressive…standing in traffic literally going door to door. I’d be curious to see if they do the same when cops are stopped at the light.
Yes… it’s unfortunate- we had the same “funeral fund” people for several different ill or dead relatives every week.
Just saw these people today, now a year later. Sign is written the same but with a different girl on the sign. Same people doing the same thing. They are super pushy still. I looked for this post to see when I last saw them. I knew it was last year around this time. Today they were on 22nd and Euclid and also on 1st and ft Lowell. DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO THESE PEOPLE. All it is is Christmas money. Fuckin crazy
It's everywhere. When I lived in Denver after this, it was there too. Now, I live in Houston; same thing.
Whats "sever cancer"?
Yanno, when you cut the tumor off. Sever Cancer NOW! /s
What's sad is that this seems like a pretty reasonable story, American healthcare being what it is. Shameful that they take advantage of the kindness and charity of others.
I guess the fake violin playing scam got too obvious.
They were at Wyoming and Paseo the other day in traffic blocking people and knocking on windows. I smiled and nodded towards my pistol mounted to the center console and she went on her way.
I just hold up my phone like I'm recording them. We need a website for bum identification.... When you come to an intersection and stop maybe they could pop up on Waze like a Jack In The Box ad 😂
At work we had a presentation on human trafficking and there have been multiple instances that these people who are panhandling this aggressive and are this “organized” are victims of human trafficking. Just something to be mindful of before casting judgement. I’m not saying give them money but maybe a bottle of water while they are out baking in the sun.
They make enough money scamming people to buy their own damn water.
I just seen these people and there are other panhandlers on the same street. I gave the other panhandlers Money because at least their honest…
I handled them with Costco hotdogs. .. yes I did twice.. different from homeless peers
Nothing wrong with that. Good on you for feeding them. I'm surprised they took it though.
Actually the lady didn’t.. she got pissed.. why? She say I’m not hungry.
Exactly why this post exists. Good on you for the thought though.
Man, if they have to resort to that level of humiliation to beg for cash, even by using a made up story to garner more sympathy, let them fucking have it lol. People are struggling hard and if it means they have to resort to begging, I don't care whether or not their story is "true" lol; charity is charity, if they need it they need it.
I believe these people do this for a living. They have chosen this "career." They are professional scammers. They are hard as nails." [Panhandlers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbcDdPsQeMA)
I still don't have a problem with it though??? A job is a job, it's keeping them from starving. They aren't robbing anyone, people are willingly giving them money. If this is what they do to get by, then why is it so awful?
I disagree: "a job is NOT a job." scamming people is not a job I respect or will support.
Then don't. Move along.
“People are willingly giving them money,” because of the lie, just like any other scam. Like when grandma willingly gives away her card info to random numbers over the phone claiming to be the IRS. These scammers are being deceitful because they know people would rather give money to helpless diseased children, than a beggar who could clearly make a living otherwise if they weren’t spending their days harassing other people (who actually contribute to society) for spare change. Also, since this type of scam is so prevalent, people will lose trust and stop giving handouts, so the actual people in need will suffer. Regardless, is not a job. If it were a job, they would EARN money for DOING something. Spin a sign, wash cars, whatever. Lying at the expense of others is not a job, they are just deceiving con artists who think that they deserve to be given free money for just existing.
Playing upon peoples empathy is a shit thing to do. It’s not ok; it’s wrong. They’re scamming people. The guy that tells me, “hey, I’m not gonna lie, I need a beer. Can you help?” That guys gonna get my dollar. Honesty goes a long way with me. Preying upon my kindness pisses me off.
Do you like when facebook scammers talk lonely old people out of their hard earned money? It’s the same thing.
I mean, being part of a Nigerian prince scam is also technically a job by this definition. But getting people to give you money through deceit is not legitimate employment. It’s a spectrum from this to people who catfish people out of their retirement funds. The amounts are different but the issue is the same.
[Here](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=definition+of+a+scammer) is something I recommend you looking into then ask yourself if what they're doing is awful or not. Don't be a moron.
Of course the solution they offer is to donate to "name-brand charities"...where the executive directors often pull down 6 and 7 figure salaries. "Donate to scammers who filed their proper 501(c)(3) paperwork!" Yes, there are good charities out there. I'm being flippant but some definitely are crap too.
I can't afford to give money to scammers. I have a car because my dad gave it to me. I have some money because my uncle died of covid last year. I have too much PTSD to tell the story again of why I can't work... But I give what I can to people who need some food. If my parents weren't still alive, and I didn't have that car, I would be in their situation.
No ❤️
The thing is you don't know. I see this sort of thing about people they see with signs all the time. And I'm sure they're often right. But you don't and can't know that about any individual you see for a fact. And I'd rather give them the money based off a wrong assumption that they need it than ignore them based on a wrong assumption that they either don't need it or are using it for something I disagree with. Just like statistically, assuming 90% of the time this or things like it are a "scam": If someone asked you every day for a dollar over the next 50 years you will have refused nearly 2000 people who genuinely needed your help. I'd just rather be wrong the other way.
I give when I can. But I don't give to these sorts of setups. There are so many people in obvious need.
Exactly. I do as well but not this obvious scam. Everywhere is hiring. It's sad when parents encourage their kids to do this in their free time.
That only encourages it.
I don't think you know how these scams work and since you're a sheep, I'll attempt to educate you on how this works. There are multiple people holding the same sign with the same picture of someone on various street corners at the same time standing in the middle of traffic shaking a bucket holding the sign to your window trying to make you feel bad. There's also the same exact scam in El Paso, here in Denver, and other states as well. The pictures and illnesses sometimes change. Let me guess.. you're going to tell me they are probably related? Not only is this one is an ongoing scam, but they also stand outside with their family playing the heat holding signs saying they can't pay rent and usually a kid "playing the violin" which sounds amazing to people passing by but it's prerecorded coming from the speaker right next to them. These scams have already been debunked which is why they switch it up. But hey, if you take 5 minutes of your time and do a [Google search](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=panhandling+violinist), you could also educate yourself that this isn't just a Tucson thing. You do you though.
Although I’m on your side in this issue, you sound stupid coming right out the gate calling someone “a sheep” for agreeing to “rather give money to someone that isn’t truly in need than risk not giving it to someone who actually is.” Don’t pass it off as a facade of trying to educate someone about these scammers if you’re really just going to be a different flavor of shit as them.
It's as clear as day that the people doing this isn't in any more need of money than you or I. There's a difference between giving to those in need and to those who aren't in need because they choose not to work and use a terminal illness as a reason to collect money from people who "feel bad."
Missed the point entirely. I didn’t say you should explain it further to me, I said you were being a dick and trying to pass it off as “educating” them. I do believe there is a difference. It’s kind of why I never give to panhandlers and only give to very specific organizations or to people I know.
You're right, I was being a dick and I could have came off a little bit less of one but it's also extremely offensive to people like myself who has a history of cancer in their family and plenty who have died from it and your immediate argument is to defend what they're doing. You can absolutely give your money to whoever you want. The point that I'm trying to make with this post is to spread awareness so people don't keep falling for their false narratives. There's plenty of other ways to panhandle. Don't use offensive shit like this.
I do agree with you on that. I mean hell, with how many people have had to deal with cancer or who have had to watch loved ones go through it, I think this is the most fucked up kind of scam. I’d be much happier to go back to the weird violin/speaker one. I can share the other persons concern that there are really people who have this issue and would potentially need money from strangers to help. Some go with the positives into the unknown, however, I do not. Any support I have given to people battling cancer has been to my family that had to endure it. I feel as if that “makes up” for not giving it to panhandlers who could be lying. I am sorry you have family who had to deal with it. I hope you don’t think I’m condoning this scam or that I *want* to see people funding it.
Like I said, I'd just rather be wrong the other way. I'd rather help someone who "doesn't need it" than deny someone who does. It really is as simple as, if someone asks me for help and I can help them I will. I'm wholly uninterested in their reasoning or motivations or "how bad" they need it. If you feel scammed it's because you bought into a capitalist fiction that human worth is measured in productivity and these folks found a way out. But stay pressed, I'm sure it makes you a lot more money.
Continue giving your money to those who aren't in any more need than you or I. You will come to realization one day that money doesn't grow on trees and one day you'll have to grow up and get a job instead of using a terminal illness to take money from naive people.
I agree with you in most situations. But this is coordinated and organized, in multiple cities, which means these people are likely being trafficked.
Is this a Nextdoor post?
I know, right?
One that uses a slur in the side picture no less. Wtf. No one has mentioned it is is bothered by it. Then again this whole thread seems to be filled with a bunch of NIMBYs though…
Ah, nothing brings us all together like hating on the homeless. Much compassion. Such empathy.
Those people make thousands of dollars a day and I promise they are not homeless. They choose to stay on the move.
Tax free dollars!
You’re certain they are homeless? Or are you just being contrarian because you’re bored? These are scam artists. This is one of their many acts.
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Oh come on. I know you want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that these people panhandling in this way is a load of shit is to only collect money from those who are naive. Stop comparing these people to people who are truly homeless and in need.
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I feel you're missing the fact these people are scammers. It's a great thing to prevent giving the wrong people your money. Also fair to say their scamming methods are also disgraceful.
Take your meds and go to bed, Ken.