Sue’s Views: Traffic light shenanigans
There the blighters are, loitering at the traffic lights ready to spring into their ‘Walking Dead’ number as soon as the lights turn red.
Why oh why is it that traffic lights on the South Coast conspire against me? There I am trapped at the mercy of the red light and like wraiths of the road they appear – sometimes with a limp and woebegone expression and other times with appendage contortions that would put Houdini to shame. I am of course referring to the beggars that seem to have multiplied in substantial numbers recently on the South Coast.
White, black and all colours in-between looking for money to cross their palm. Don’t get me wrong – I feel for the street children but having spent time in the welfare sector I know that there are establishments on the South Coast that take them in. The problem being they are not forced to stay and can leave whenever they want, so it’s back to the life they know – begging at the traffic intersections.
ALSO READ: Instead of giving to beggars, please consider supporting these organisations
As for the adults, to be quite frank I have little time for them, as day after day it’s the same story of woe is me. A couple of years back I organised a maintenance job for one, not hard labour by any stretch of the imagination. Three days later I got a call from the employer to say the chap hadn’t bothered to pitch but had managed to find his way back to the intersection to beg. When I confronted him he told me the salary did not meet his expectations and hit me up for money.
I have heard stories of food bought for them and tossed straight into the bin, aggressiveness, being sworn at and even threats of damaging your car. So no, I am not favourably disposed to our traffic light loiterers and those who beg for money.
By giving them money we are continuing to feed their habit of begging and encouraging them to stay on the streets and beg as an easy way out. They will never become productive members of society and self-sufficient.
It’s retrospect it’s an insult to our small time vendors and workers who toil hard to make ends meet and do so without begging. I believe giving your hard earned money as a donation to a charity rather than an individual will help more than one person in the long run.
Now I’ve just to perfect the art of saying no and not feel guilty about it.
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