83 cents

Today I gave 83 cents to a guy sitting on the sidewalk.
I was walking on busy Mont-Royal street in Montreal last week and, like all major cities in the western world, there was a guy sitting on the street pan-handling for money. I was walking out of a kitchen store, having just bought a hanging fruit basket for my new condo. The guy on street didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for money, he was just sitting there with a dirty hat on the sidewalk full of change. Considering the inanity of my new fruit basket I reached in my pocket and pulled out all of the change I had, 83 cents, and dropped it in the hat. There was not exchange of words, no questions asked, a big city event that happens thousands of times a day.
A few days later I was cycling on the same street and experience some “technical difficulties” with my bike. I stopped on the sidewalk near a grocery store to fix my bike. In front of the exit of the store was another guy, for all I know it was the same guy, sitting with a dirty hat on the sidewalk. However, there was something more noticeable about this scene, there was another guy kneeling beside the guy on the street, chatting. The guy kneeling was clearly not pan handling and was asking the guy with hat question about his life and how life was living on the street, maybe he was a sociology student, who knows. I was happily eavesdropping on the conversation.
Guy kneeling: So long do you usually stay in one place before you move or are forced to move by the store staff?
Guy with hat: That depends. I almost never get kicked off the curb by the stores. I don’t bother people, I’m not one of the crazy people, I just sit on the street with this hat. I almost never even ask for money, I just sit here. If I’m making money I’ll stay all day, just depends how money I’m making really. I usually go home around 9 at night, there are less people after that and the cops get a bit more picky when it gets dark, they don’t want people to be scared.
Guy kneeling: So how much money do you normally make in a day?
Guy with hat: Shit, today like 19 dollars. It’s really slow. I usually have my two big German Sheppards with just sitting on the sidewalk panting like crazy when it is hot. Those are the days I make good money, like 150 bucks or so. I can’t bring the dogs with me as much anymore because I just got a new apartment in Verdun and it’s really far to bring the dogs on the subway and bus and people get pretty mad about that. I need to get one of those seeing eye dog things so I can everywhere.
Guy kneeling: So why did you move out Verdun?
Guy with hat: I used to live here (in the Plateau) but it’s pretty expensive. I was living in this shitty place and didn’t have any TV or anything. My new place I’ve got a computer and internet and I can sit back when I get home and smoke a big blunt and watch movies or just cruise around on the internet. Except that I can’t bring my dogs the place is way better. I used to have a job an everything but hated it and decided to see what would happen if I just put a hat on the street. Seems like a stupid thing but life is not much different now than working that shitty job. I just sit and most of the time I’m bored but working that shitty job was just a boring as this is. At least here I get to check out the people, lots of hot girls on this street man.
Guy kneeling: Your telling me, so many hot girls in the plateau. Alright man, I’ve gotta go. I’ll check you later.
The two guys exchanged a handshake and the guy kneeling walked on. My bike was repaired at this point so I carried on, without giving the guy with the hat any money.
I’ve been thinking about this overheard conversation for a while now. I hear a lot of arguments for and against giving 83 cents to a guy on the street. I’m not going to replay all of the moral, religious and political arguments that can come with giving 83 cents. In general, my own giving is pretty random, sometimes I don’t feel like giving, sometimes I know I have change. What is clear for me is the following. First, I generally don’t have the guts to talk to some guy on the street and for the most part would rather just drop money into the hat with the least amount of social interaction possible. Is this a consequence of modernity, the loss of community, the expansion of the city, the fear of the unknown? Whatever explanation you want to give is fine by me. Second, I should not judge the guy on the street. If he can make enough money to have an apartment, internet, dogs and some pot, that is great. Third, regardless of my political, religious or moral ilk in the end I should not feel good or bad about giving. I’m not sponsoring a child for 83 cents a day, I’m randomly giving money to people who are asking for it. Maybe that’s the appeal, I’m not pretending to change the world, I’m just giving away money. Maybe I should just cut holes in my pockets. Who knows what the effect could be if we all did it?