Algo que me estremeció fue diferencia en la generosidad de ambos grupos. Parece que la mayoría de nosotros, estudiantes de Brown, no daríamos caridad tan fácilmente. Tenemos la tendencia de ignorar con mas frecuencia a las personas de las calles. Sin embargo, una gran mayoría de los chicos del Tec expresaron que ellos por los menos se tomarían unos pocos segundos para decidir quien se merece caridad.

Entonces, esto me trae a la pregunta- ¿por que esta diferencia? ¿Hay algo de nuestras respectivas culturas que nos hace ver la situación de distinta manera?

Tambien, es sumamente interesante que algunos de los chicos del Tec dijeron que sin pensarlo, los niños y ancianos deben de recibir caridad. Lo que me impacta es el mencionar de los niños. Esto me hace recapacitar y entender que en varias partes de Mexico existen lugares donde los niños salen a las calles para pedir dinero, ya sea entreteniendo o vendiendo cosas. Por lo menos donde yo vivo nunca me a tocado ver un niño de la calle. Tenia que mencionar esto porque creo que es una situación representativa de las diferencias entre estas dos sociedades. 

I think that the answers are really direct and most of us wouldn't give money so easily. But, I still think that there are many doors closed for a lot of people here in Mexico, so they turn to do this things. Even though they must try to look for a job and not be begging for money and not be sure of the income that they are going to get.

yo creo que no es bueno darle dinero a las personas en la calle ya que muchas veces lo utilizan para comprar drogas, yo preferiria regalarles algo de comer, pero si no hay nada cerca le ayudaria dandole 10 pesos ya que en nuestro pais hay mucha necesidad, y al darle dinero te quedas con la satisfaccion de ayudarle a alguien ya sera decision de esa persona para que lo quiere usar.

Por lo que eh leído de las opiniones son muy contradictorias. Mientras la mayoría de los estudiantes de México dicen que les darían dependiendo de varios factores, los estudiantes de Brown la mayoría si no es que todos no le darían dinero o pondrían excusas para no darles. Me pregunto ¿Por que difieren tanto las opiniones de lado a lado? ¿Sera por los valores imprementados? ¿Algún lado estara mal?

En México yo la verdad no le daría dinero a las personas ni a los niños que me lo piden un día me paso algo que nunca olvidare el niño me pidió dinero que para comer y bueno pues se lo doy y me voy, al regresar por el mismo lugar me encuentro con que el niño uso el dinero para comprar resistol que utilizo para drogarse esa es la razón por la cual mejor yo les doy comida a darles dinero.

I agree with Cindy, because I think there is disparity with regard to the generosity of each group of students. Brown students tend not to be giving while students from Tec are more likely to make a small offering. I also found it interesting that there was almost a hierarchy or decision making process for people that said they would give. The needs of the elders and the young were considered first, because they may be unable to work, which was something that was not apparent to me before this forum.

My question for students from Tec is: are there any other groups of people that may be more likely to get donations from people on the street? For example, what about physically disabled people, who also may be unable to find employment? Another group of people that may go unnoticed is the mentally disabled, because this surely impacts their ability to find work. To what extent do these people receive money, especially with regard to their perceived ability to work? 

Ramiro- 

I have witnessed and my parents have experienced many similar stories. One time a woman in the parking lot of a grocery store gave my dad a long speech about her sick sister and how she needed money to get to the hospital so finally my dad gave it to her. We drove away and 3 minutes later saw her walking into a liquor store. We really felt deceived and angry, and even thought not everyone who asks for money has those intentions, it is hard to know and easier to not give.

I think a sentiment of looking out for your fellow citizen in the responses from Tec versus each for his own in the responses from Brown is clear here.

Do you agree? Do you think that these sentiments have historical, political or cultural roots?

Yo no les doy dinero a las personas que viven en la calle, ¿por qué? porque así estamos solamente fomentando que las personas que viven en estas condiciones pidan más y más dinero en lugar de buscar un trabajo que les ayude a mantenerse como dicen, en muchos casos como dijo mi compañero Ramiro el dinero es mal usado por lo tanto esta es otra razón por la cual regalar dinero es malo, todo lo bueno, en mi opinión se debe de ganar con esfuerzo

Bueno, yo estoy deacuerdo con ustedes, el dar dinero a los pobres es algo malo porque fomentamos su negligencia y de una manera los alentamos y mantenemos, pero si hay que dejar claro que así como hay gente que usa el dinero para drogarse también hay gente que lo ocupa para sus necesidades básicas y tal vez las de su familia.

De hecho uno como presona ya no sabe qué hacer, si lo donamos a centros para ayudar a los pobres, muchas veces esa ayuda no llega a ellos y no es una fuente de ayuda para los necesitados, si les damos dinero en la calle los mantenemos, y sino puede que les perjudiquemos.

En lo personal, les daría dinero dependiendo de su situación, sería una acto bueno en cierta forma, porque no sabemos si en verdad lo necesita, pero ayudo más a los que trabajan no a los que sólo piden.

Si estan tocando o vendiendo algoy se ve que trabajan y le echan ganas esta bien, pero si no sería como mantenerlos.

I agree to some extent that giving money to the homeless gives off the impression that their current situation is acceptable and something that they could potentially maintain. Like a lot of people have already touched on, giving money isn't always the best idea because it can easily be used for drugs or alcohol.

That being said, a lot of the people who ask for money on the street aren't as deceptive and malicious as we may lead ourselves to believe. A lot of times, they probably just want something to eat, or need bus fare, or something like that. We assume the worst, and allow our negative ideas to prevent us from doing something charitable. Moreover, so what if the homeless person in question will use our money to buy a little alcohol? Is it really that horrible that a person in such a tragic position might want to drink a little bit? I know that sometimes beggars will have signs that say things like "I'm going to be honest: I need some money to buy some booze. Please help", which a lot of people respond well to.

Obviously, I'm being devil's advocate here. But I seriously think that we are so quick to judge people in a negative light that we preclude our natural human instict to help out others in need. What does everyone else think?

I think that Joshua is correct. The actions of some homeless people affect others who might truly need money. Even the students from TEC, who tended to be more generous, had standards of who they would give money to and who they wouldn't. As human beings we make up our minds about someone quickly because of how they look, but how can we truly judge when someone actually needs money and when they would use it for unnecessary things?

If we can never tell who in the street will actually need money for medicine, food, or their family, then should people just stop giving money overall?

I agree that it is hard to know when someone is actually in need. For this reason, I believe that many people think that it is more effective to give money to formal organizations that will make sure that the funds will be allocated properly. More so, although I personally decide if I am going to give money on a situation by situation bases. I tend not to give money because in the United States there are many resources like homeless shelters where people can go to that provide a lot for these people. But do not take full advantage of because they are still addicted to drugs or are not willing to comply with the rules. This idea that they do have choices but may not take advantage of them makes me less sympathetic. 

* I meant to say 

However, the fact that many do not take full advantage of these resources because they are still addicted to drugs or are not willing to comply with the rules makes me less sympathetic.  

I think it is much too easy to dismiss the plight of homeless people by saying that giving money will just discourage them from getting a job or trying to better themselves. There is an extremely high level of unemployment in the country; furthermore, homeless people are often mentally disabled or war veterans who are unable to find work and are on the street through no fault of their own. I agree with Diana's point about how different homeless people can be. 

However, I do agree that it can often feel like a waste to give money if it goes toward drugs or alcohol (Josh, I'm not sure about your point on alcohol.. but I guess if I were homeless I'd probably want to drink a little too.. haha)  

For this reason, I prefer to give money through legitimate means, such as charities and homeless shelters. Every year, my family works at a homeless shelter at my temple, and I meet many people who are very hardworking and have families. This gives me hope about the homeless people in our country, but it also makes me want to continue work with shelters because there are too many variables when you just give money on the street. 

It was very interesting to hear about the fact that there are children on the street in Mexico- that is very uncommon, nearly unheard of in the United States. I would have much more of a moral dilemma if that was the case here! That's very sad ! 

Like Hannah said, I've never seen a child begging on the street, but if that were the case, I'd be far more inclined to give money without a second thought than if a seemingly normal adult were asking for money (so common in Providence).  Although Providence has a history of mentally ill people living on the streets and this should make me more sympathetic, I also know that these people are far more likely to abuse substances.  I don't want my money, regardless of how little or much I give to go toward the purchase of alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs for someone who is already in need of multiple types of help, and will therefore save my monetary resources for donating to programs geared specifically toward the aid of such people but in an organized and supervised manner. 

What I found most interesting about the responses to this topic was the fact that many students from Tec said their actions depended on the "appearance" of those in positions of begging for money.  Regardless of the habits that homeless beggars represent -- drug addictions, or alcohol as Josh mentioned -- how can we judge the situations of homeless people based on their appearance?  Do we expect them to look well-dressed and then offer them money?  Also, how do racial characteristics play into this judgement?  I found this point about appearance a little problematic to be honest..

Also -- I think the notion of giving money to charities and organizations to assist those in need is a really popular one here in the United States, as Sofia mentioned.  I think this culture of indirect donation makes it easier to deny money to beggars, who may or may not utilize our funds for habits that we don't endorse.

When I was younger, I always wanted to help out the people on the street. My parents would give me five bucks to buy something at the grocery store, and on my way back I'd try to give a dollar or two of the change to a homeless person. Something interesting that happened multiple times was that I would try to give money to the person, and they would refuse it, saying they didn't take money from children. I'm not sure exactly what this says about them, but I find it interesting that we keep talking about who we choose to give money to, and in this case people were choosing who to take money from. 

Another thing I noticed from the answers was that many Brown students mentioned that they would not give money to the person and would feel guilty about it. I don't think any Tec student mentioned guilt. I think it's actually a pretty common phenomenon among students at places like Brown to feel guilty about a lot of things. I come from a high school filled with privileged students, where this feeling of guilt was also prevalent. This may be a stretch, but I wonder if our guilt's roots lie in our country's dark past. With years of imperialism and slavery under our belts, I personally feel guilty sometimes for being in such a powerful country and having so many luxuries that others don't have, because in a way it feels like I've cheated my way into this position, even though I did not perpetrate the wrongs of the past.

It seems to me that the notion that "homeless people are just going to buy booze and drugs" is really just something we tell ourselves to avoid guilt. Firstly, like some of you have touched on, you can't judge a person by their appearance. The only thing I know of that is indicitive of drug use is needle marks. As far as alcoholism goes, so what if some homeless people like to drink? If a homeless person is really using his food money to buy booze, that is a disease, alcoholism, not just a bad habbit.

I'm guessing the Tec students are already taking their finals, but I'd be interested to know if chartible donations are as common in Mexico as they appear to be here.

Also, there is a big problem here (especially around Boston) of people who are not actually homeless begging for money. I've met people like this, and they usually live about half their lives on the street and the other half couch surfing. And they live this way because they chose to, not because of disease or adversity like real homeless people. My hunch is that this phenomenon is not as common in Mexico, but I don't know. Any thoughts?

Lucas - I agree that there is definitely a hint of escapism when we make assumptions about the lives of others to avoid guilt. And yes, it is true that alcoholism is a disease and doesn't reflect in any way a person's character. 

However, giving that person money to buy alcohol isn't going to help them. The money should instead go to an organization that helps the homeless overcome addiction, find housing, get job training etc. like the Amos House here in Providence. 

I think everyone has made very interesting points. The point Jillian makes about money needing to go the right sources is a good one and I think is a general wall, or block, that people hit when they want to do a good deed and "give." How do we give? and to whom? But more importantly, do we give directly to the person or to an organization, where we can't necessarily see the "result" of our "good deed"? It seems as though self-gratification is one of the hazards of giving. In other words, we often get caught up in needing to see a direct result of our deed, so that we, ourselves, can feel good. Giving of most any kind is a good thing, in my opinion, because it provides for someone in need; however, I believe we should question more carefully our motivations for giving. 

I agree with Jillian one hundred percent. Although I can have compassion for people on the street who ask for money, it is a fact that many would use the money to buy alcohol or drugs and in that situation it would be more effective to donate to an organization that helps prevent that. Another alternative, which I know a lot of people do, is to take a few minutes to buy the person a meal instead of just giving them money. However as this takes time and effort, many people (I include myself in this) are not willing to go that far to help a person.

It is very interesting to see that some of us share that confusion of not knowing how to properly address the issue of poverty. Even though tomorrow I will be at a local soup kitchen, I know that if someone asks me for money and I happen to have some spare change I will give knowing that perhaps my money will be misused.

However, after reading through some of the comments I agree there is an undeniable tendency of the poor to misuse the money. Therefore it is a safe bet to say that those people in the soup kitchen are more likely to be on the road to recovery or at least use the money in better ways than drugs, alcohol, etc. 

Yet, poverty is such a huge and complex issue that a single soup kitchen cannot assess the problem. People will continue to ask for money as long as there are people giving. The problem is that simply giving money does not teach anything about overcoming poverty, except to ask for more money. 

Ben's point about appearance being misleading/problematic was really interesting. I agree with you, but at the same time, you could judge a person's setting and appearance in certain cases to be able to somewhat predict where your money will go. First of all, in cases where people actually have the signs that say "Money for booze", etc., you can judge them. Furthermore, I think there is a difference between a homeless person who is perhaps doing some sort of task for money and/or keeping a somewhat (keeping in mind the difficulties of living on the street) tidy appearance, and a person who doesn't seem to want to better his/her situation and may in fact appear to be abusing substances. It's so hard to tell though!!!! That's another reason why I prefer to give through legitimate means (charity). 

I don't agree with Lucas that the only thing indicative of drug use is needle tracks- a lot of people smoke or snort (more smoke, I would think) drugs and you can still tell by their appearance sometimes. 

I found it a little rankling that Benja implied that giving to a legitimate charity is just a way to avoid giving money to beggars. I think it is a conscious choice to support those who use those services and not take the risk of having money used for actions that will not truly help the recipient. (aka I totally agree with Cindy on that)

Ben's point strikes me as being very true. Many of us wrote that whether or not we would give money depends on how the person looked, so are we expecting our homeless people to look a certain way? If they're dressed well, won't we judge that they're probably lying and aren't actually homeless? And if they're dressed too poorly, would it disgust us and would be be less inclined to give money? I don't think there is a way for people who ask for money on the street to win here. No matter how they look, we draw conclusions that prevent us from acting charitably.

Also, I totally agree with Cindy that giving money doesn't do anything for poverty except continue its vicious cycle. People are much better off trying to find work than begging on the street. However, I think it's important to realize that a lot of these people have looked for work and have been rejected everywhere, or they have an illness that prevents them from getting work, or they've been released from prison and no one will hire them. Again, how could we know the true situation of someone we see on the street?

I agree with all of this, and the difference between the responses is very interesting. Those in Mexico would consider the person's age, while we would just say no. But maybe this is because there actually is a difference in the homeless population. I think that it would be very rare to see a homeless child here, where as it seems that in Mexico it is relatively common. This difference might be what is shaping our attitudes.

Also, I think it's interesting that many of the american students said things like "I would look away." It's almost as if we don't want to see this problem, and turn a blind eye and run away instead of trying to help.

Josh, you made a great point about the appearance issue. I totally did not think about the opposite side of the judgment: that is, that people will see homeless people who are dressed nicely as undeserving of charity! Very interesting. 

Creo al igual que todos la gran mayoría de los que han comentado en este foro que se nota algo de diferencia ya que casi todos los del lado de Brown respondieron que no darían nada, mientras que del lado del Tec casi todos analizarían primero las condiciones de la persona, no estoy muy seguro del porque de esta diferencia, pero igual pienso que en ambos lados estamos consientes de que no todas las personas que piden dinero en la calle lo necesitan en realidad.

Este foro es muy interesante, ya que la mayoría de los estudiantes de Brown contestaron que no le darían dinero a alguien que lo este pidiendo en la calle, sin embargo creo que muchos de nosotros los mexicanos les daríamos dinero si tienen alguna discapacidad, pero si pueden conseguir dinero trabajando no se lo darían. En lo personal eso es lo que mis padres me han dicho.

Después de haber leído todas las aportaciones, llegue a la conclusión que algunos de los alumnos de Brown se niegan a dar dinero a los necesitados o a la mejor realmente les preocupa que no utilicen ese dinero para hacerse un bien, si no para drogas u otra cosa. Nosotros vemos que tan necesitado este la persona, y la ayudamos ya sea con dinero o con comida para que así no gaste el dinero en cosas malas, somos un poco más solidarios creo.

Bueno, muchas veces juzgamos a las personas muy fácilmente y rápidamente, lo cual es lamentable, porque no sabemos realmente que es lo que hay detrás de cada persona, creo que nosotros del TEC les dariamos dinero dependiendo el contexto, no tanto la apariencia externa, en lo personal evaluaría el contexto y la situación en la que se me pide el dinero, pero no me fijaría tanto en el aspecto exterior ya que obviamente alguien que pide dinero es porque lo necesita.

A mi no me gusta darles dinero a las personas de la calle, aun siendo ninnos o mayores de edad porque muchas veces aunque le des el dinero a los ninnos sus propios padres se los piden para asi ellos se puedan comprar droga o cosas solamente para ellos y no cuidan de sus hijos, es por eso mejor llevarlos a un centro donde los atiendan o darles comida.