The Beggar

The weather was sickening. 
Hong Kong, not known for good weather as much as being the spurring metropolis it is, is not so fun once we're outside the indoors. Hot is an understatement, the air so humid, sweat refuses to evaporate. 

In just such weather, I was lugging myself through the streets, picturing the blissful air-conditioning of the subway station I was heading towards. My aunt led the way. 

The station was in sight. But out of the corner of my eyes, I caught the sight of a man, sitting on the side of the road. It was a common sight in Hong Kong. Just as common as men in fancy (and unnecessary) cars, in ironed suits carrying brand name suitcases. As common as women dressed in tight dresses, shining 4 inch high heels and LV bags. 

The man was like any homeless man. How exactly he looked, escapes my mind, but I remembered pulling out my pockets, clawing through my bag to find a bit of money. Quickening my pace ahead of my aunt, I dropped the coins with the man, who seemed grateful. I then proudly hopped back to my aunt: "look auntie! I did a good deed!" 

My aunt didn't look too impressed though. Gently pulling me in until her mouth was by my ear, said she, "Ah, Silly Girl! Didn't you know? That might have been a main-lander dressed up as a beggar! You probably got your money tricked off of you!" 


I blinked. 


And so I probably did get my money, the measly 1 dollar HKD of it, tricked off of me. But something didn't seem right about not giving the money. Something seemed off about walking past a poor man and not giving anything simply because I speculated he might be cheating it off of me. 


When I told my family this, they half-teased, half-yea-this-is-Vivian-for-you, said, "Oh, so you'd rather get robbed than to not have given?"


THE LOGIC OF THE SITUATION


And yes, that's exactly what I wanted to do. So what if that was a cheater? I figured the logic of the situation (for the sake of being logical) goes as follows:  


If he was a cheating scandal and I gave him a dollar, he probably has a stash of cash somewhere else. So what difference will my dollar make to him?


If that indeed was a man in need, a dollar will bring him that much closer to having food for the night, so that he might have something to eat. So what difference will my dollar make to him?


Me on the other hand, have a dollar to spare. I wasn't betting my fortune on this man's liability. It was a spare change dollar in my pocket. 


So I completely understand that if I give my money to the VERY wrong people, than I could be encouraging something VERY bad. Like...

• Drug Abuse
• Some children on the side of the streets are in fact, kidnapped to beg for money. That's, needless to say, bad and should probably be reported right away.
• They may be able to work, but refuses to

All of these points discourage giving, sometimes, to those who are very much in need. 

A lovely solution (I think anyway), if awkward, is to not give in money, but to give in necessity. 

A loaf of bread will mean little to pretenders, while meaning a lifeline for those truly in need. 


And between an old person who doesn't look as if they could support themselves vs. a young man who still looks fit and strong, an old man may be more in need.  


Win-win situation? 
If I am to support my "rather get robbed than to not have given" ideologies, I figured I might as well try to do it cleverly. That, I still need work on.