Cincinnati was in the top 3

[Dulcinea]

You know those lists of cities that get published, i.e. the fattest, the friendliest, etc?

Cincinnati is the third meanest city.

They based this on how cities treat homeless people, but I think it could also apply on how they treat some other marginalized people.

[Sluggo]

Doesn't surprise me!! [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/grrr.gif[/img]

[Euclid]

Wow, we are fat and mean! I bet it is the fat people who are mean. We should import more skinny people, that might help us become a nicer city. Aren't homeless people skinny??? We need more of them! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Lew]

I don't think it's fair to classify an entire city as mean. I do think it's fair to classify Cincinnati as confused, which we have been for 200 years. As for the mean part, I guess I'll never be objective when it comes to panhandlers. I have had too many negative run-ins with them over the years (I worked in downtown for 13 years)and I think it's disgraceful some of the things that are said by them (and I'll grant you probably at them as well).

Now as for the fat part......let's take a look at our favorite local nourishment....chilli.... Graeter's Ice Cream....Busken......Montgomery Inn .......Greg's favorite, the Precinct....I mean, like, get serious....

[reason]

I'll admit it - I'm mean.

I worked downtown and in Clifton, and I've got enough panhandler stories to fill a book.

The last straw was when I was withdrawing money from an ATM on 7th Street only to turn around and see a well dressed black man (his color is relevant) down on one knee, hands folded in the begging position, exclaiming, "I ain't no nigga, I ain't no nigga!"

My mouth dropped.

I looked down at this man, stunned at what I was seeing. My standard response for begging was "I have no money."

BUT...just as I was saying, "I have no..." I hear "Ffft, Fffft, Fffft, Ffft" - the sound of the ATM dispensing money to me.

Befuddled and removed from my comfort zone, I gave in and handed the guy $1. He walked away dejected. I walked away disturbed by what had happened.

It gets better.

I get in my car and drive to Oxford, Ohio, to spend an evening with friends. While in Oxford, I run out of money. So I go to the ATM in front of Ozzie's, only to realize I DON'T HAVE MY ATM CARD.

I was so distracted by the beggar that I left my card in the machine, leaving my account open for others to withdraw money.

Fortunately, the machine ate my card without incident. But that situation changed me. I don't give beggars a chance. Period.

I don't let them approach me, I don't let them talk to me.

Yeah, I must be mean. But I don't care.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ October 19, 2005 03:08 PM: Message edited by: Live From Florida ]</font>

[gae]

I think it could also apply on how they treat some other marginalized people.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Poverty begets poverty. Thanks to social programs, one can be poor, get housing and food stamps or one can work and get nothing. There is no in between.

I don't give them a chance. Period.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks for stepping up to be the bigot of the month, reason. :0 (Saves me the trouble) And sing it!! Trav and I have quit going downtown and even stay away from Ludlow Avenue b/c of such people. If 40 hundred million gazillion tax dollars weren't going to help the (ahem) homeless, we'd give to a church.

[Lew]

Well, somewhat on a tangent but still in theme w/Gae's posting....and I wish Pina would still check in because I always welcomed to chance to discuss this with him....

Needless to say, I have represented a great number of poor persons. And contrary to the standard conservative line of thinking, I have represented people who were willing and able to work, but really and truly could not get on anywhere. Now, that's more the exception than the rule, but it does occur and I take issue anytime I hear someone make a blanket statement that all poor people are that way strictly out of choice.

That said...

I have also represented persons who had no qualms collecting welfare or SS checks, and who had no money to hire a lawyer or pay their court costs or pay restitution, but always seemed to have enough money to buy drugs and alcohol (it's also extremely frustrating to have a client look the judge in the eye and tell him they're too indigent to afford a lawyer, but later that day they have raised $5K to post bond, but that's another topic for another day).

Pina and I were arguing one time over whether welfare recipients should be drug-tested. He basically took the position that this was an example of the war against the poor. And I conceded that he was correct to the extent that society seems only interested in punishing poor drug users, not the wealthy cokeheads like Lindner's son (is it Craig I'm thinking of?). But on the other hand, it's hard to argue why taxpayer dollars should support someone's drug habit, as opposed to Lindner who can afford it with his own cash.

[reason]

While the stereotype of poor people living off the fat of the government makes for good airplay, the reality is that the number of people who work full time yet still live in poverty has been rising since the 1970's. Keep in mind that I get most of my information from that bastion of liberalism, the Wall Street Journal.

I wish I saved the article, because then I could cite specific numbers.

With that said, those working full time jobs probably aren't the ones hitting you up for cash.

I don't think the proper response is to stop going to Ludlow or Downtown. For pete's sake, don't penalize the businesses - you're only exacerbating the problem! If anything, I think the situation is a lot better than it was 5 or 10 years ago. Plus a quick, "NO!" or "I have no money" before they ever get a word in edgewise seems to do the trick.

Or if you really want to have a lot of fun, you can do what me and a friend of mine do when we're together and get hit up for cash. Take their hardluck story (ie, I want to take a bus to Memphis, but I don't have any money) and turn it into a discussion with your friend about the destination (or whatever - ie. "Oh I LOVE Memphis, they have a great music scene...did you know Elvis lived there? I really want to see Graceland. But I heard the weather is really hot and they've got a crime problem...), excluding from the discussion the person requesting the money. And at the end of the long discussion about Memphis - or whatever - say, I'm sorry, Memphis is lovely, but we don't have any cash...enjoy your trip!

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ October 19, 2005 10:48 AM: Message edited by: Live From Florida ]</font>

[reason]

If you've ever been approached while in your car at 2:30 in the morning, at the red light at the corner of Vine and William Howard Taft, others might feel the way I do.

[reason]

Here's another one of my favorites:

It a happened in my side yard...in my own driveway!

It was a chilly afternoon, maybe in the upper 30's and I'm taking out the garbage. I didn't bother to put on shoes or socks because all I need to do is throw the bag in the can - what, 30 seconds?

But a man approaches holding an armload of papers, flashes an official looking badge and asks for a $1 donation. My feet are getting kind of cold, and I'm thinking more about getting inside than whether this guy is a fraud, so I run in and get the $1.

I give the guy $1 and he's ready to book. I ask if him if he's going to give me any of his literature, and he reluctantly did. It was a freebie publication, "Artspike" stolen from those boxes you see on streetcorners.

I'd been had. In my own side yard.

About a year later, I saw the same guy on Main Street - carrying around a stack of "Artpike" in his arm.