Brother Can You Spare a Dime?
February 24, 2010
“Hey man, can you spare a couple of bucks?”, said a voice from out of nowhere.
Without breaking stride, I continued my walk on the pedestrian bridge toward the MGM Grand, and I quickly became aware that someone was following closely behind me.
“What, you can’t hear me?”, the voice said more loudly.
I looked over my shoulder to see a tall black gentleman with headphones and a box of what appeared to be CD’s trailing about 5 paces behind me. I kept walking.
“I don’t need to ask motherf*cker, if I want your money I’ll just take it!”
Of course, his logic was flawed.
If he could have taken my money, the fact that he didn’t take it was prima-facie evidence that he didn’t truly want my money. One might wonder why he even bothered to ask.
Yes, this thought actually did go through my mind at the time, and while I was tempted to engage him in debate over the matter of his inconsistencies, I resisted. Suffice to say that both myself and my money (what there was of it) made it to the MGM without incident. I found the entire episode more amusing than anything. Had I hailed from a smaller town or a foreign country, however, it’s quite possible that I would have been intimidated. I certainly would have felt unsafe.
If you’ve taken one of the dozen or so pedestrian bridges across Las Vegas Boulevard in the past several months, you’ve no doubt noticed an increase in panhandling activity. Not only have the numbers increased, but so has the aggressiveness of the beggars as more of them compete for fewer tourists’ dollars. What we are experiencing in Las Vegas right now is a supply/demand panhandling imbalance.
In 2005, more people in Las Vegas had jobs, and tourists had more disposable income. This led to a very sustainable begging ecosystem under which few major problems reared their ugly heads.
In 2010, however, things are quite different. Fewer jobs means more panhandlers, and the recession means fewer tourists willing to part with their money.
This has led to increasing conflict. Whether that conflict is bum-on-bum as one panhandler invades another’s turf, or increased aggression against the tourist who mutters “get a job” … things are getting a little nasty. Although it may sound somewhat ridiculous to hear, as with most things, the current situation is being exacerbated by a minority of panhandlers who are giving the majority a bad name.
“Rex, are you saying that most panhandlers are good people?”
On a relative basis, many of them probably are. In most situations, with all else being equal, I would probably trust a panhandler over a doctor, lawyer, politician, or pharmaceutical rep.
I know quite a few homeless people, including a couple who are homeless by choice. As a matter of fact, back when I was a NYC bike messenger, a colleague of mine used to be homeless by design. He used to live in an encampment near the Manhattan Bridge, and I used to visit him from time to time. He had an odd living area which was decked out with posters and arranged not unlike a child’s fort, and he always had enough bags of dope to keep him comfortable. That’s why he rode a bike. To pay for skag. I never saw a problem with it. Shopping and excessive consumerism make some people happy. Big screen TV’s, fancy cars, and large houses make some people happy. Gambling makes some people happy. Religion makes some people happy. Overeating makes yet other people happy.
Frankly, I don’t see anything inherently bad or good about any of the above choices. Except for religion. That’s a harmful psychosis which is responsible for most of the world’s ills.
Anyway, my point is that I do not look down on homeless people for being homeless. At times, I almost envy them. They aren’t bothered by telemarketing calls all day, they aren’t upside down in a home, they don’t pay interest, and they sit on the sidewalk and laugh at supposedly “normal” people who trip over themselves every April 15th to make a full accounting of themselves to the Federal Government. Whatever the homeless earn, they keep, and whatever they find, they own. They aren’t legally forced to give it away to wealthy bankers, and as long as they aren’t too aggressive, they don’t have to answer to anyone. While we pity them for being poor, they pity us for being well-fed slaves.
Of course, it’s not all fun and games. They do have to deal with the whole “not having a home” thing, and many of them are mentally ill. The reality is that it would be a harsh life for sure, one in which I would not want to live, but there is an almost poetic freedom about it that sometimes makes me wish I had the balls to throw away my credit cards, cut up my driver’s license, flip a double-barreled bird to the world, and carve out my own little piece of Americana next to the railroad tracks.
Given my twisted Robin Hood admiration of this segment of the population, it might come as a great surprise that I would support a ban on panhandling on the sidewalks and skywalks lining The Strip (I call the beggars on the pedestrian bridges “sky urchins”).
While I support people’s rights to pursue lifestyles of their own choosing, I don’t necessarily support their right to do so wherever they wish. I don’t think smokers should have a right to smoke in public places anymore than I should have a right to spray Mace in public, and I don’t support the right of people to aggressively harass passersby on the sidewalk.
I’m against unwarranted and capricious intrusions into people’s lives. This includes intrusions by other civilians. In most cases, if people are minding their own business, I think they have a common-law right to be left alone. I think all telemarketers should have their tongues cut out, and all spammers should have their heads cut off. It is in this vein that I do not feel that sky urchinism is a First Amendment issue. It’s a “leave people alone” issue.
While most of our sky urchins are still resorting to novelty signs such as “Why lie, I need beer”, “Need money for pot”, and “I’m an Ebay addict”, these people are slowly being displaced by a far more insidious type of panhandler. Angry men who may or may not resort to bodily harm.
Frankly, I am becoming concerned about the increasing boldness of the skywalk urchins in particular. Pedestrian bridges are semi-enclosed spaces, and confrontations on these structures can lead to a reasonable person feeling “cornered”. As such, begging on these structures can feel more imposing and menacing to the passerby.
Las Vegas Strip - Panhandling on Pedestrian Bridge
Las Vegas Strip - Panhandling on Pedestrian Bridge
Las Vegas Strip - Panhandling on Pedestrian Bridge
Las Vegas Strip - Panhandling on Pedestrian Bridge
Today was not the first time I have been threatened, and I can’t help but feel that it is a matter of time before one of these threats is acted upon. If they haven’t already been. Las Vegas is notorious for not reporting crimes which occur on or near The Strip. Nobody ever dies in a casino — they always die in the ambulance on their way to the hospital. At least officially. Few people are ever mugged on The Strip. They lose their money while returning Mike Tyson’s tiger while high on Roofilyn in a good-natured re-enactment of The Hangover. What happens here stays here.
As a nihilanarchoquasilibertarian, I generally do not support the notion of “laws” as they pertain to an individual engaging in conduct that does not directly harm another human being. And by direct, I mean direct. None of that extrapolated six-degrees-of-separation “buying cocaine enables Nicaraguan guierllas to buy arms” nonsense.
Threatening people on bridges, however, does qualify as behavior that even I would support abolishing. Along with aggressive porn-slapping, it creates a hostile street atmosphere, restricts freedom of movement in public areas, and is just a general nuisance in every sense of the word. It’s also a safety issue.
The day tourists begin perceiving Las Vegas as being unsafe is the day it ceases becoming a viable tourist destination.
Hopefully, the city as a whole will act some reasonable regulations with regards to aggressive street solicitors and panhandlers before The Strip makes its full transition into Tijuana North.
Sorry ACLU, I just don’t agree with you on this one.
Written by Brad on February 24, 2010 at 4:39 am
It always amuses me to see the cliche “Why Lie, I Need a Beer” signs that the rube midwestern tourists (such as podcasters from, oh, let’s say Minnesota) think is just so clever the first time they see it.
Written by Rex on February 24, 2010 at 6:09 am
I wish they would come up with new panhandling signs.
A little creativity wouldn’t kill them.
I remember seeing “I need beer” and “I need pot” in places such as Georgetown back in the 1980’s.
The “cutesy” signs are trotted out most prominently where panhandlers think suburban tourists will be most prevalent (Beale Street and the tourist friendly parts of cities), and this makes Las Vegas a breeding ground for the novelty signs.
The problem is, they don’t seem to have come up with anything new in the past 20 years.
The corny “I need beer” stuff is tired, cliche’d, and overplayed.
It must work, though, because they stick with it.
I’m thinking of writing “Steve Wynn used me as a cumdumpster” on piece of cardboard and hanging out on the Palazzo skywalk just to see how much money it will bring in.
Written by wrxrob on February 24, 2010 at 8:56 am
I once saw a panhandler in Fells Point (Baltimore) jump in a Lexus GS400 at 3am, and drive off. There’s definitely serious money in panhandling. Furthermore, I believe I have seen the same panhandler that appears in the bottom picture on this page.
Written by Jiomc on February 24, 2010 at 3:31 pm
The guy in the bottom picture has been around a long time. The proof is, he is using a large coin cup from pre TITO days. I wonder if he has a collection of them, do these guys trade them like baseball cards back in the day, just wondering.
I agree with you REX, other peoples rights end when they begin to infringe on my rights. Smokers, panhandlers, pornslappers etc.
I love your web site and your daily observations of life in general and specifically in Vegas.
Thanks,
Jim
Written by philipj on February 24, 2010 at 3:33 pm
A friend is always first to talk to a panhandler with a “You get a cigarette?” He usually gets a “No” and the panhandler veers away.
Written by keith on February 24, 2010 at 3:36 pm
how about “Tiger fucked me but didn’t pay me enough” as a sign
Written by Pipeguy on February 24, 2010 at 4:10 pm
i just want to say that i liked that sweet ass on the girl with the brown shorts… i love me some nice sweet ass…
Written by BeeeJay on February 24, 2010 at 4:49 pm
This reminds me of the night Aria opened, as I took the bridge back to P. Ho after being “denied” my room reservation at Aria, I saw what looked like a pool of blood. As I got closer I noticed a big plastic “Eiffel Tower” and deduced by the thin nature of the substance that it was likely Strawberry Daquiri. I resisted my urge to confirm it wasn’t possibly a Stawberry Margarita.
The next evening as I walked back over that same bridge, I spied a similar, yet thicker red substance. It was blood. I can only imagine the droplets followed by a larger pool may have been left like breadcrumbs like one of the so-called “sky urchins”, or worse yet, some rube like me who took a beating from one.
Written by George on February 24, 2010 at 7:58 pm
If they ever make a homeless hall of fame, the first inductee has got to be the guy who came up with the “Will work for food” sign. He must have made a killing when he first trotted it out. (note to liberals: any homeless person carrying this sign when pressed will not actually be willing to work for food or even for cash).
My general feeling is that if I am gonna give my money away I would much rather give it to a minimum wage worker as a tip. It is a shame that most of these homeless can make much better than minimum wage by panhandling.
And lastly, ever notice you never see Mexican homeless panhandlers? Perhaps they have too much pride to not earn their own money?
Written by Jordan from HighOnPoker.com on February 24, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Rex:
The reality is that 99.9% of homeless people are either addicts, convicts, or crazy. In the 80s and 90s, homeless shelters around the country used media outlets like the local news to present stories of everyday people who had fallen on hard times, usually resulting in their entire beautiful Aryan family out on the streets. That is definitely the vast minority, but it worked well on local news, so a movement was born. People began to think of homelessness as a problem that could befall anyone, but in reality it rarely affects anyone who isn’t already crazy, addicted or a convict. For this reason, I have little sympathy for the homeless, and I hope it was only tongue-in-cheek when you said you’d trust a homeless person over a doctor, lawyer, politician, or pharmaceutical rep. I’ll give you a pass on the politician comment though. Those guys usually devolve into power hungry liars once they take office. It’s the old food phenomenon. They may all go into the profession with different beliefs, but like a variety of food, after the system digests them, they all just turn into the same stinky shit.
On a related note, I was riding a train in NYC when I overheard a conversation from some construction guys. One of them explained that at their last job, they left one day and saw one of his fellow workers panhandling a block away. The coworker would panhandle every day after his construction gig and take home between 20 and 50$ a day for an additional extra hour of work. Then he’d head home for the night. Ridiculous!
I must also admit, though, that I thought it’d be fun to act like a panhandler for a day, just to see how much they can actually make.
I think I’ve rambled enough now. Last thought, you have some great content, Rex. I only found this site a month ago, but it’s definitely one of my favorites already.
Written by Steve on February 24, 2010 at 11:44 pm
“The day tourists begin perceiving Las Vegas as being unsafe is the day it ceases becoming a viable tourist destination”
I know a few people who already think that day is close. They don’t want to run the gauntlet of porn slappers. They don’t always feel particularly safe crossing the overhead walkways especially at night. The casinos need to take responsibility to make sure their guests feel safe. Get a high vis security guard outside the casino doors on the overheads. They may not have any jurisdiction up there, but their presence could be enough to ward off threatening behaviour.
Written by Rex on February 24, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Thank you.
I guess the only thing I would disagree about is the notion that most homeless people are “crazy” or “addicted” without using a reasonably tight definition of those terms.
I can honestly say that I don’t personally know a single person who isn’t addicted to something. I suppose we can debate whether the addiction is “legal”, but even here, I’ve seen such things as alcohol, obesity, and religious addiction ruin lives.
As such, I believe the addiction rate among both the homed and the homeless to be roughly equal.
With regards to crazy, here again, it can be a tough nut to crack.
Are we talking “thinking you’re Napoleon” crazy, or “an invisible man in the sky watches me take a shit” crazy?
The first one is treated, whereas the second one is encouraged.
How about “I vote for X political party because I think they have my interests in mind” crazy?
Here again, in my opinion, insanity and delusion has a low rate of variability among the homed and the homeless.
As long as you are batshit nuts in the way that the government and society approve, you generally are a more comfortable whackjob, while those who deviate from the cult risk poverty. Im the end, I suppose that is the explanation. I’m not convinced that one is morally better than the other, however.
I’ve always thought about panhandling as a sociological experiment, but i’ve just never had the stones to do it.
It’s not that I would be embarrassed necessarily, but I would feel bad taking people’s money who meant well.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on February 25, 2010 at 12:51 am
I guess there’s a fine line between sanity and craziness.
Good thing I have my tin foil beanie cap to fall back on. Then…I’M GOOD TO GO!
Written by james on February 25, 2010 at 3:59 am
ive always been surprised the police allow the panhandlers up there…all they would have to do is arrest a few and that would take care of the problem…and i have to say i equally surprised someone hasnt beat the hell out of a panhandler or two and tossed them off the bridge…me and my friends must look mean because none of the panhandlers have ever bothered us…you should have turned around and and told that begger to f off or you would shove those cds up his ass…we cant let these people take over…las vegas needs to put an end to this once and for all…
new orleans has a policy of arresting any one caught begging in the french quarter…las vegas needs to crack down on this problem asap…..
Written by Ron from MI on February 25, 2010 at 5:35 am
I think Las Vegas is facing a problem that it can’t solve on it’s own: dealing with its homeless and coming up with a viable solution to make the Strip (and Downtown) safe for it’s visitors. Although the problem is nothing new (I’ve been accosted by “homeless” a number of time while in Vegas in 2005 and 2006,) the sinking of the economy only fanned the flames. Combine that with a mindset among locals, both in government and it’s citizens, in which the homeless are treated like trash or criminals, you have a huge mess on your hands.
While I personally have nothing against the homeless, I think in a place like Vegas where the town needs tourism to get its economic cog wheels going, the impression having homeless people on the bridges without any attention to the problem will develop into a much bigger problem, including a public incident that may spire out of control. The locals, longtime or recent, who often say “I never go to the Strip,” I have a kind, simple and truthful suggestion: maybe you should. Your town needs to fix its problems without excuses.
“The day tourists begin perceiving Las Vegas as being unsafe is the day it ceases becoming a viable tourist destination”
I think it’s just begun; the only thing is that will it wake up and smell the coffee or completely destroy itself?
I hate to see a popular destination commit suicide because of issues it could have easily solved but didn’t.
Written by wrxrob on February 25, 2010 at 5:47 am
the panhandlers, and the casinos turning a blind eye to it, are a HUGE reason that I haven’t frequented the strip in recent years. Fremont seems to have this a little more under control (except after 2am) with a lot more security on foot and bicycle. Still, I’m taking a break from Vegas this year, and there are many more reasons than the panhandling. But they all seem to revolve around how the casinos treat their tourists, and how much they seem to care about the town itself, which is seemingly less and less every year.
Written by Ted Newkirk on February 25, 2010 at 8:57 am
Little bit of hypocrisy:
“I’m against unwarranted and capricious intrusions into people’s lives…”
But… you want to tell a business owner whether he can or can’t allow smoking. On his personal property. Property people enter with free will.
So… you really mean that you don’t want intrusions into Rex’s life and Rex’s affairs or business dealings. But… you are all for intrusions into others that fit your preferences.
BTW… if smoking is banned in public places… exactly how would one legalize pot and set up pot-friendly places to smoke? If you should be able to walk through a casino puffing a nice, big joint just as you are allowed to walk through with a beer, how does that fit in with your views that smoking should not be allowed in public?
Food for thought from someone who has been known to enjoy a premium cigar in a casino, but has no interest in blunts.