There are many people who ask for money in Crown Heights. Some of them work in stores and give items in exchange for the money they expect you to hand them. Sometimes these items are even worth the price. There are many other people in Crown Heights who ask for money in exchange for the chance to win thousands of dollars. Most of these people run what are known as "Chinese Auctions". Some of them are from Williamsburg. Unlike the store people mentioned above, these inquirers rarely give anything in exchange for your money. Still, there's always the promise of filthy lucre, which is not to be sneered at.
We now come to that most honorable class of money makers, the schnorrer. 770 is filled with these people, and most of them are rather harmless. Sure, they'll give you dirty looks once in a while, but all in all they're happy when you give 'em the odd quarter. It's always embarrassing to be saying Rambam on an iPod Touch and to say you have no money on you, but it's true! If only these people carried credit cards around...
There are two schnorrers in Crown Heights who I do not particularly like. One is the woman who sits next to the dreidel by the Jewish Children's Museum and insults passers-by who fail to make a contribution. Though this makes for great street theater, and is undoubtedly a source of entertainment for the women herself (who wouldn't like coming up with innovative curses with which to shame the masses?), it's also very sad and a bit disturbing.
The other guy I really don't like goes around saying, "Give Tezadaka please" with this curious sing-song that suggests intense boredom and a desire to appear as if the money's not needed by him. About three months ago I heard from someone that he's a really big nebach, as he's a CH druggie, which answered one question of mine (why didn't he just get a job, like the rest of humanity?) and brought up another, (why should I give him a penny?)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Charity saves
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38 comments:
I met that dude as I was coming out to the train. He asked me to contribute towards his raising $2.25 to get him on the train. I slyly offered to swipe him in with my unlimited metrocard. He slyly responded that he needed to take the c train.
regarding the poll, the real question is whether Cyrillic has lower-case. Writers of Cyrillic are not tempted to over capitalize, because they often write in small caps or all caps .
Where the heck was he planning on picking up a C train? Alternatively, why couldn't he transfer from a 3?
(Just wondering what he was thinking you were thinking)
Nu?
It's not too far to the c train. maybe a fifteen minute walk.
and to take the three and then transfer would not be economical, timewise. However, refusing a free metrocard swipe and waiting for someone to give you the $2.25 is also not economical timewise.
Perhaps he has problems with his legs. Perhaps I see him walking all over CH all day.
For some people, money is worth far more than their time.
its more a question of morals. to give or not to give. but no one asks, to judge or not to judge. i say, dont judge. if you dont want to give, thats your problem. but at least dont go making assumptions that this person doesnt actually need. that is not your place.
if ur addicted to crack cocain all of these quistions are not relevant...if u want u dont need to give anyone money, a friend of mine frequently gives these guys food from the store. one time wen i was with him he gave the pirate (spanish guy that swears the whole time) some chocolate, which he aparently likes, and now he always smiles when i say hello, even is hes in the middle of a rampage...
Cyrillic has more upper-case and lower-case letters than English.
No such thing as "over-capitalization". You can't have too much freedom.
I used to hate the schnorrers in 770 a lot. Especially the dude with the big gold chain. But now I've grown a little warmer to them.
CA! I beg to differ. In English, how many of the lower-case letters are merely smaller versions of their upper-case brothers?
w, u, o, s, z, x, c, v.
In Cyrillic nearly all the lower-case letters are smaller versions of the upper-case.
There is this gang of Gypsies collecting in Flatbush. They stake out a block and post three or four people on it. As you walk by, they wear you down and by the last one u just give them a buck.
OK, I'll give you that, but in writing we use script, which has many more small letters differing from the capitals, while Americans mostly use print.
Plus, I was talking from functional point of view, not typographical.
I think both Americans and Russians have love for over-capitalization.
Dowy- re the guy that swears all the time, it could be that he has tourrete syndrome and can't control it. That is the manifestation of his tick.
A lot of these people either have drug addiction problems or mental disorders that make them unable to function normally.
Altie: If someone needs money to buy drugs, then they don't need money.
CA: Weren't you the guy who started this in the first place? What do you mean there's no such thing as over-capitalization?
Jacob: Yeah, I think a lot of the schnorrers in 770 work on the same principle. Hey, it's a business, right?
It was a joke. Of sorts...
I have a theory that it's an imperial syndrome, since you have over-capitalization in the US and the former Soviet Union. Now, I wonder if they had that in the British Empire.
Roman Empire — for sure.
TRS- and how exactly do you know they need money for drugs?
I need money to buy boots, you wanna sponser?
Some people always need money for books. Others always need money for boots. Just an observation...
or an itouch. I was taught dont be picky. boots are cheaper.
I have one pair of rain boots and they are excellent for a New York winter, waterproof and with good tread. I recommend them.
As for the woman who swears...she makes me a bit high-strung but I have an ipod.
whered u buy these boots? ive looked, the stores are sold out.
Were those the boots you wore to the slam which made your feet wet?
CA: Ahh yes, blame it on the imperialists again. Please excuse us from our efforts to civilize the savages.
Altie: How do I know? Because someone who I trust told me that a specific guy in CH asks for money so that he can buy drugs.
There's a difference between drugs and boots. Drugs are more useful.
Sara: Well, that solves that then.
Altie: Why don't you try Century 21? My wife got a nice pair there a couple months ago, and the place was packed with more boots then I ever want to see again.
ya but boots last longer. believe me, i stupidly gave someone 20$ to buy drugs, i never got the money back, and do you know what i could have used it for? see im an ignoramus when it comes to that whole world, id like to keep it that way.
thanks for the shopping tip, or rather, thank your wife for me. perhaps i'll check it out. and on behalf of all females, im sorry you had to go through that harrowing ordeal.
Lasting Longer: Lav Davka.
Ignoramus: What was stupid, wanting to buy drugs or losing twenty bucks?
Shopping tip: You're welcome.
Apology: When women stop dragging their husbands around half of Manhattan to buy clothes I'll accept it :)
I heard some guy describe his shopping habits. He said when he goes shopping for himself, he leaves the car's engine running. When he goes with his wife, he packs a lunch.
lol CA i love that! its perfect.
trs, it was stupid that i lost 20$, even though i shall bug said guy until i get it back. but it wsa also stupid that i agreed to lend him 20$ wen he told me he needs it for 'weed'. i dont like the fact that i sponsored drugs for someone, it seems dirty on my part.
Had it been two-three packs of cigarettes, a bottle of mashkeh or ten cups of coffee, would you feel better?
yes. i dont mind buying someone a latte, and if they said they'll pay me back and then they never do, i'd forget abt it. but its different ifthey used my money to buy something that i would never buy, and then never payed me back. same way if you used my shoe to kick someone. its like im having a part in it, and i dont want to.
But why do you prefer one kind of drug to another? Granted, coffee is not dangerous (in most cases; you should've seen my Columbian friend Martin when he had to stay up for 20 hours coming back from Florida to New Orleans), but alcohol addiction is more dangerous than weed... umm... use (from what I heard marijuana is not even addictive), and even a single cigarette is more harmful that a single joint.
(Not that I am advocating smoking anything. Your brain is full of cannabinoid receptors, so smoking weed can't be too good for you.)
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_marijuana_addictive
Well, there is physiological and psychological addiction (the difference between which is more philosophical). Internet can be addictive too.
you're telling me.
lets say like this: people tend to pick one over the other if one is the 'lesser of 2 evils'. lets take a good christian who supports the arabs. ask him to donate money to an arab organization, suuuure. why not? (he doesnt think about the fact that that money is being used to kill innocent jews.) now, give that same christian a gun and tell him to shoot a jew. most noramal civil people will be appalled at the suggestion. see what i mean?
although coffee may very well be a drug, and as you say, marjuana may be better than niccotine, in my mind weed is a drug way more than coffee is. and according to some ppl, sugar is a drug too, so giving kids candy should be considered evil.
it is more a question of perception, and how your mind views things.
Sugar is not a drug, even though it can affect your mood and concentration. Nicotine is much worse than cannabis. Not to mention all the other nasty stuff you get from cigarettes. Caffeine, as I said, is mostly harmless.
What about aspartame? or MSG?
I would tell you what in my opinion is the worst drug of all, but some might think I am a hopeless romantic (or cynic).
man, i was gonna guess chocolate. i guess you'd have to have it to know it. and trs, i admit, ive never experienced it before.
Stuffed bell peppers.
lol you horrible man.
'tis diet coke.
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