how much have YOU given to charity. i send over a shitload to several organizations, every year, year after year.

karma is a bitch, agreed.

No one is questioning how much anyone gives.

I am questioning YOUR ability to judge what life on the street is like unless you have lived there.

I am also pointing out that life tests us on those beliefs we hold so firmly all the time.

I agree with Sly_RJ completely. Even though I envy his low cost living :1orglaugh

The homeless in America choose to be that way. Unless they have a mental condition that prevents them from knowing the difference, in which case the government will supply them with medical care and disability checks. As for the ones with drinking and drug problems, they choose to be that way. Fighting an addiction is NOT easy, but ultimately when it comes to choosing a home or crack, they choose their addiction.

I know people that live under their means and have low cost living expenses like Sly_RJ. It is possible... but too many homeless and poverty level people, do not decipher expenses the way people with common sense do.

Most apartments come with a stove, I've never seen one that doesn't. And if you go to social services, because you can't get in a shelter, they will pay for you to stay in a motel, because housing isn't available for you yet.

It is sheer laziness, because hasn't anyone heard stories of people who have brushed their teeth in the rain, walked 30 miles in the snow and eaten from garbages, to get to work or school and prosper themselves?

BTW Ramen noodles here are usually 10 for $1 and I have eaten them. :1orglaugh

My living expenses are astronomical. My mom lives with me, so for 2 people plus 7 cats.
---------------------------------------------
Rent: $975
Electric: $300-500/month
Phones: $900+/month (13 phone lines, installation fees)
Internet services: $600/month (No broadband in my area)
DirecTV: $100/month
Gas: $150/month
Garbage: $50/month
Car payment: $438/month
Car insurance: $270/month
Health insurance: $410/month
Credit lines: $1200/month (paying off furniture and computers)
Food and other supplies: $200/week (shampoo, cat food etc)
Storage garage: $115/month

Then income tax... :helpme

I'm buying a house next year and cutting out a lot of these expenses!!

then please judge MY ablity to judge what life on the street is like (unless you have lived there). fucking joke.

"No one is questioning how much anyone gives."

that's what i thought.

some people love to yak. some actually do something. lol.

From what I've seen over the years, most homeless people become homeless after a highly traumatic event in their lives that basically messes up their heads to the point where they can no longer function normally and maintain day to day responsibilities.

They then enter the world of the homeless and its pretty much all down hill from there.

There is always a way to work and make enough money to survive.

So either they don't want to pull themselves out. Are so far gone off the deep end they couldn't get a job because of they are infested and stenched out so bad. They like the carefree life where all they have to worry about is getting some food each day.

I usually will give money to homeless people, unless they look healthy and workable, in which case I go 180 and stick in their face with "You need to get off your lazy ass and get a real job and pull yourself out of this rut your in" which usually surprises them quite a bit to hear.

It is pretty amazing that in a country as rich as ours with so many job opportunities and organizations to help that we still have such a problem with homeless people. But like I said, unless they are willing to help themselves at the end of the day there isn't much we can truly do.

You are trying to take this into a bizarre direction that has nothing to do with the point at hand.

I could care less how much you give...or how much you have given.

Sure you have more to give...but once again that is not the issue.

You've made broad general statements on how simple life on the street should be...like hooking up a hot plate to a plug on the outside of a store...LOL

Have you ever lived on the street?

Have you ever lived in a shelter?

Have you ever been homeless?

If so fine, if not then how can you judge what it is like to do so?

(1) have you (lived in a shelter, or been homeless)? i doubt it. so your point is fucking moot.

(2) i've made broad generalizations? i think you're the only one doing that. i stated the obvious. cheap soup, is infact cheap. and it's not that hard to boil water. duuuuh.

good attempt at a cop out though.

hurry up with your reply. i'm drinking and tired...

it should be illegal to be homeless..

Aha....lol

#1 Yes I have. I have lived both in my car and in a shelter.
1 month in my car 2 weeks in a shelter, and 2 weeks in a tent.


#2 Once again since you have not lived on the street you have no clue as to how difficult it can be for some.

It's not like they're welcome everywhere..
Most store owners run them out of their stores because they scare off their customers, or they represent possible theft.


Long story on how it happened, but I've witnessed things during that time that would have kept the strongest of men down.

Like guys beating someone half to death because they thought they narced on them to the shelter people.

I know what it's like to go to sleep having to keep one hand on your shoes so you'll have them in the morning to wear.

I've bathed in public restrooms using nothing but baby wipes.

I survived. But that was out of sheer determination. I can't say that it never affected me...because it has. It's made me one paranoid motherfucker when it comes to housing...LOL.

Also when people get down to that level in life sometimes the worst comes out of them. There's rampant theft, rape, physical abuse, and murder.

There use to be a homeless couple I would help out almost every day in Venice Beach California.
I knew this couple for about a year, I saw them every day when I went to the post office.

When I first met them the guy who called himself pilgrim was fairly healthy and had just ended up on the street.

He soon developed a drinking problem and his girlfriend started to sleep around.

He went to bed one night and she had a couple of guys beat him so badly word on the street was he was dead.

But he showed back up a couple of months later. He now had a limp and a crooked eye.

From then on everytime I saw this guy it only got worse. In the end he probably died before reaching 30.

So man I have lived it. and as I said I survived it.

But damn man, it' s something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies because I would not want that shit to come back on me.

and why are you taking this so personally?

I thought we was cool...LOL

your grand total would cover my car payment, and that's it.
My electric is more than your entire food bill. What the fuck do you eat... bird seed?

after reading number 2, i stopped reading.

i was homeless at the age of 15. stayed that way for over a year.

and i've mentioned it before on this board.

soup is cheap. plugins are everywhere.

lol.

um, your the one crying about the homeless. i simply give.

Did you live on the street? shelter? hang out at friend's apartments?

what?

dude show me where I'm crying...and show me where my original post was pointed at anyone in particular.

All I was stating was to be careful on having such firm beliefs on how things should be...because life tests you on that.

Which is true.

i lived in a tent for almost a year (which i had stolen from Canadian Tire).

It took me a good 15 seconds to realize you didn't mean plugin content :1orglaugh And even if it was plugin content it made sense to me.

Haha. No, I do split some of my bills.

For food, I eat a lot of sirloin hamburgers, steak, chicken, pork chops, sausages, spaghetti, various other pastas. I eat well. When I first moved out I ate like crap because I couldn't afford anything but tuna and bulk burritos. I'm also a sucker for sales, though I don't use coupons. The most I eat out is pizza or Denny's $4 breakfast.

You really don't need to spend much to eat well. Never had much money growing up, but we always had plenty of GOOD food to munch on. It just takes a little work.

I think with such a small food bill, Sly's not sharing how much he spends in crank every week. ;)

Centuries ago, a man who didn't want to work and be a pawn in society could take a rifle and go live in the woods. Nowadays, it's kind of hard to do that. Such free spirits end up on the streets in today's world.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by eroswebmaster
thanks confucious.

i put my money where my fucking mouth is. for those who don't, it's very understandable to flap your mouth and do fuck all.

cheers, and please educate us...

lol

Homeless people usually have storage bills too (To protect their stuff when they get picked up and put in the tank).

Anyway, a friend of mine was homeless for a couple years. His sister is married to a big NFL star & she was always begging him to let her give him some money & get him off the street, but he wasn't having it.

In my opinion he was homeless because he chose to drop a couple hundred hits of acid during the two year period before that. His new found paranoid schizophrenia coupled with his stubborness & laziness were what kept him homeless.

But like he sais.. he was never really homeless. Even homeless people have some place they call home.

I think he also partly enjoyed the adventure of it and the drama he was causing with his family by being out there.

you probably thought i was kidding. i was not. fuck off and die.

Tent from a tire?

fuck off.

quiet, what is Canadian Tire?

:1orglaugh Classic :glugglug

Uh...

I didn't know wtf you were trying to say it was a inquiry, not critisizim. If you want to throw stuff like that out there don't be such a bitch about it when someone asks how you get a tent from a tire.

it's like a mini walmart i guess. do you have big home hardware stores? it's like that...

uh, fuck off. sensitive bitch.

Sure, I'm sure Home Depot, Lowe's, or Menards would be about the same thing. Any Canadians familiar with these?

Takes one to know one :glugglug

Yup we have Home Depot,walmart and pretty much everything you guys have.

You keep questioning what I do for others.

I have been doing nothing but helping others for as long as I can remember.

While you give a portion of your income to charities...and a portion of a sizeable income....99.9% of my incomewhich is just a fraction of yours goes to raising 2 children that are not even my own something I have done for almost 10 years now.

I've been pretty much poor, most of my life..since my parents divorced back in 1976.

But yet, my family gave TIME which you can't put a price tag on in giving to others.

When my family was on foodstamps we were buying Thanksgiving dinners for poorer families in our town.

I could care less how much you give, seriously. It's nice that you can give, but it does not make your point at all.

You seem to want to make this personal, why? I don't know...but I'd rather not. I have enough regrets.

fire is pretty useful when it comes to cooking...

I eat very cheaply and I don't need to cook food very often (pasta is the only thing I really cook). I'd be very surprised if I wasn't healthier than 99% of the visitors to this board.

My weekly shopping bill is pretty close to $25

my rent is what kills me :(

A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.

~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

http://writeaprisoner.com/prison-quotes.htm

blah, blah blah. in other words, i do fuck all, feel sorry for me.

we can continue this as long as you like, but i can't imagine feeling sorry for you. why should i?

care less, how much i give. shut the fuck up already.

want to get back on topic? I doubt it, but if you do, make an intelligent post.