Have you ever thought that beggars sometimes “raise their hand” not because of the distress in their lives? There are already many revelations of such “poor people”; for many of them this type of activity is a kind of work with very decent earnings, and some even build entire organizations with their own hierarchy and orders.
Short story
What prompted me to write this article. Recently I took my child to kindergarten; on the way we stopped at a pharmacy because... I had a headache and wanted to take a painkiller as soon as possible. Leaving the pharmacy, we headed down the crowded street in the direction of the garden. And then, having covered a few meters, a woman calls out to me. She walked towards me, passed by and then, as if returning a little, attracted my attention with the question “Girl, can I ask you?” It was bright sunshine and because of the headache I was looking at the floor without raising my head, so the first thing that met my gaze was shoes. Nice leather ankle boots. I raised my head, squinting, and mumbled, “Yes, of course..”.To which the woman responded with the following: “You won’t have 50 rubles, help me...?” She said this absolutely confidently and even a little cynically, looking straight into my eyes.
I just shook my head, grabbed the child by the hand and rushed in my direction. On the way, I took a pill and left the kindergarten to go about my business to the other end of our small town. Having completed them, I went to the ground floor of the shopping center, where there was a large supermarket. Having collected the basket of goods I needed, I went to the checkout. And, laying out the goods on the belt, I saw those same leather ankle boots in front of me. Only this time she was not wearing a raincoat jacket, but a !mink coat! (I, for example, don’t have any fur coat at all). And comparing her clothes and shopping list with mine, I realized that it would be more logical if I asked her for 50 rubles, but not vice versa...
Who are they, beggars dressed better than us?
Today we will not look at those beggars who sit at train stations, in underground passages, at the entrances to shops - they are really poor and suffering. We will talk about people who live well (sometimes better than the average citizen) at the expense of merciful passers-by. How can one outwardly identify a person for whom an outstretched hand is a way not only to earn money, but also to gain some enrichment?
The key difference is the appearance. Usually those who are in poverty look the part - dirty and worn-out clothes, a downcast gaze, often intoxicated or hungover (many people start drinking because of a hard life). Such people almost always remain in the shadows - during the day they barely scrape together enough for lunch and alcohol. Such passivity from others is associated with a repulsive appearance and approach to business - a person often just sits on a cardboard with a glass.Passers-by often show antipathy towards this method of “earning money”, saying that it would be better to go to work and earn money with your own labor.
Professional beggars look well-groomed and create the image of a wealthy person, which in fact he is. Such people usually approach passersby asking for financial assistance under the pretext of force majeure. For example, you forgot money for travel, or you urgently need to deposit money on a phone number, your wallet was stolen, you missed the train, etc. Believe me, people treat such requests with great trust and understanding. Is it necessary to talk about how much you can earn from such a business? Especially when it comes to large cities, where meeting a person a second time is almost impossible.
This method of earning money is not physically difficult; with the proper psychological qualities, it will not be difficult for the psyche, and you can earn up to several thousand in a day. What is certain is that such a beggar will receive more money for an hour of hard work than the average worker in our country. At the same time, without feeling a strong load, it’s not for you to work in a mine or perform heart surgery. In addition, such people are considered unemployed, or they provide themselves with some kind of disability documents, thus receiving additional funds from the state, which become a pleasant bonus to their basic income.
Psychology of begging
However, it is worth giving such beggars their due - they are real professionals in their field, not everyone can take their place, no matter how funny and strange it may sound. Try, at your leisure, to approach a passerby and ask him for some kind of help, especially financial.If in words this seems like a simple task, in reality it will cause you great difficulties; you will have to step over a kind of psychological barrier that will interfere with constructive dialogue. It is unlikely that you will be able to convince a person to give money the first time - for this you need to be not only an experienced beggar, but also a very sensitive psychologist. It sounds funny, but the representatives of beggars, whom we have identified from the rest, can determine a person’s psychotype and mood almost at one glance. Of course, this doesn’t always work out, but in most cases, that’s why they approach the most accessible, soft-hearted “victims” who don’t mind giving change or even a small bill.
I would like to note that the lady from my story absolutely correctly chose me as the server. If it weren’t for the headache, I would probably have given her those 50 rubles. Another interesting thing is that it doesn’t give you a choice of how much to submit. It already sets a minimum “donation” amount. Those. Based on the gradation of banknotes, if you don’t have 50 rubles in your wallet, then you won’t be able to get away with change. And most likely, you will give away a bill of higher denomination than refuse, citing the lack of it.
It is worth discussing the other side of the coin, such people often keep only a small part of the income for themselves, the rest goes to some semblance of management. The chief manages the beggars, assigns them working hours and territory, and in case of problems protects them both from bandits and from the law. This is convenient for the employee himself, but in the end he earns a pittance. Unfortunately, there have also been cases of outright slavery, when a person has to work under pain of physical harm.However, most of these “tramps” are just lazy people who get money for nothing. They live in very comfortable conditions, wear good clothes, eat tasty and expensive food, and often drive their own car.
Of course, this information was not obtained experimentally, but was collected from reliable news sources.
In conclusion, I would like to say that it is hardly possible to find out for sure who is in front of you - a person in real need, in some difficult situation, or earning money in this way. Therefore, the only radical decision that can be made is to apply or not to apply at all.
I think we should treat this information this way. There are domestic cats, and there are street cats. But when you leave food on the street for them, both of them eat. A certain percentage of those who “profited” should not affect the actual assistance provided. And the rest is up to them.
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