Nothing irks me more than an impolite beggar. Now don't get me wrong, if a homeless person decides to beg me for a little 'small' change I don't expect him/her to get down on their knees and prostrate themselves at my feet. I do however expect them to have the respect that goes with conversing with people who do not have a bond of familiarity with them and I also expect them to ‘beg’ in a less demanding manner without a disposition of entitlement.
For instance there is this particular guy who hangs outside the bank and begs me every single day. This is his approach to begging me on any given day :-
“Short man gimme ah dollar nah!’
“Soldier gimme ah dollar nah!”
“Aye...pappy gimme ah dollar nah!”
“Blackman gimme ah dollar nah!”
Now granted I am only 5 ft 10....who in their right firetrucking mind really believes this ‘Blackman’ will give them a dollar after being called short?! And it is not just what he says it is how he says it....in a very demanding voice that portrays a disposition of entitlement and familiarity as if we are pals.
There are those who do not respect bodily space and the boundaries that accompany such space. I am specifically referring to those that walk straight up into your face as if they are about to kiss you or they come so close to you to whisper in your ear “Boss you could just spare me a minute?” At this point I'm usually pondering whether I will be able to hold my breath long enough to get around them before their usual self produced ‘cologne’ assaults every single nerve cell in my nasal cavity.
My usual response to that kind is “Not today”. I mean, if you are going to beg for money then just get on about it and beg, don’t expect me to stop dead in my tracks empty my head of all thoughts and personal anxieties and ignore all priorities to stand up for 15 minutes to listen to the depressing chronicle of your sad pathetic life that is going to end in a climax of a request for a damn dollar! My 15 minutes is worth more than a firetrucking dollar!
For instance there is this particular guy who hangs outside the bank and begs me every single day. This is his approach to begging me on any given day :-
“Short man gimme ah dollar nah!’
“Soldier gimme ah dollar nah!”
“Aye...pappy gimme ah dollar nah!”
“Blackman gimme ah dollar nah!”
Now granted I am only 5 ft 10....who in their right firetrucking mind really believes this ‘Blackman’ will give them a dollar after being called short?! And it is not just what he says it is how he says it....in a very demanding voice that portrays a disposition of entitlement and familiarity as if we are pals.
There are those who do not respect bodily space and the boundaries that accompany such space. I am specifically referring to those that walk straight up into your face as if they are about to kiss you or they come so close to you to whisper in your ear “Boss you could just spare me a minute?” At this point I'm usually pondering whether I will be able to hold my breath long enough to get around them before their usual self produced ‘cologne’ assaults every single nerve cell in my nasal cavity.
My usual response to that kind is “Not today”. I mean, if you are going to beg for money then just get on about it and beg, don’t expect me to stop dead in my tracks empty my head of all thoughts and personal anxieties and ignore all priorities to stand up for 15 minutes to listen to the depressing chronicle of your sad pathetic life that is going to end in a climax of a request for a damn dollar! My 15 minutes is worth more than a firetrucking dollar!
One time a guy tried that one on me and I was like ‘Not Today’....well boy did I get a cussing of a life time! He was like “Not today? Not to f**king day? I ask you for something? Eh? I ask you for f**king something? You eh even know what the f**k I was going to ask you. Doh worry God will f**king do for you, I hope you does tell God not to day!” Well no need to tell you how unmoved I was and if he was trying to reach that part of my soul...the compartment with the label ‘empathy’ on it....he was clearly not hitting my emotional G-Spot!
