Poverty is surely a problem, and as someone who lives pretty comfortably I feel like I should make an effort and help folks out when I can. Passing people on the street who ask for spare change always makes me uncomfortable because if I give them a few cents I feel like a cheapskate, and if I give more I feel like a sucker. In the end I don't give anything and feel bad about it.My solution to this has been to start carrying a couple cans of soup (the kind with pull-tab lids - no special tools required) so when people ask for money I can offer them food instead. I like this for a number of reasons:
- Cold soup out of a can tastes fucking GREAT when you're as hungry as these guys look. I know it and so do the students in my lab who watch me scarf one down in section every day. Can a guy get a lunch break? Jeez.
- You can't buy drugs with soup.
- I frequently get turned down. I mean, if you're holding a sign that says "Hungry, anything helps" then take the soup! Money has no nutritional value. Trust me, I ate a nickel when I was a kid and it passed right through me (true story). But seriously, holding out for cold hard cash makes your sign seem kinda dishonest, and if you're going to be like that then I don't feel bad keeping my money.
Anyway, the guy in the picture didn't want my soup either. His reason? Raw food diet. Only in California...
