STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

laken1 · Hermes

RE: an odd etiquette question - begging at my car

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

this isn't really my fight either, but i agree that we need to be careful about stepping outside of our comfort zones. there are violent people in this world, homeless and not homeless, and we shouldn't feel obligated to roll down the windows of our cars or come into close contact with someone we don't know just so we can be "nice" and give them a dollar, or help them find their dog, or let them help us carry our groceries (just some examples of ploys predators use). you never know what a stranger will do to you, regardless of if he's in a nice suit or wearing a garbage bag. if someone wants to help the homeless, there are many organizations to donate to. personally, i give food to someone on the street instead of money.

jen · Kate Spade

Notice in my 1st post I stated that I'm NOT saying anyone should give them money. I just don't agree with sterotyping them as violent/scub bags/lazy/useless etc. Not saying anyone here did that, but that is the general feeling I get from society. The only difference from me to them is some money....We're all human beings.

Maddie · Coach

I completely agree with what jen said. In fact, I'm personally not really a fan of handing out money on the street because I don't think it's the best way to help people. If tara doesn't want to give money to people knocking on her car window, that completely makes sense to me and I said so in my first post.

But I felt like there was kind of tone as if these people are sub-human or something. I just personally don't really find it necessary to judge someone who is living my worst nightmare. I don't think people sleep in cardboard boxes under bridges because they're lazy.