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Street Canvassers

While I don't like chuggers I find people who canvass on TTC trains, either panhandling or giving out tracts (usually religious) really offensive. The subway is an enclosed area with little personal space - not the time to bug people.

There's one particular individual who panhandles on subway cars every three days - I know this because every time she appears, she tells everyone in a loud voice that it has been three days since she's eaten. Being a panhandler in Canada I know she would never lie to me, but in my home country people are shameless liars (warning - link may trip work rude word filters)
 
dowlingm said:
There's one particular individual who panhandles on subway cars every three days - I know this because every time she appears, she tells everyone in a loud voice that it has been three days since she's eaten.
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Oh yeah, I ran into her again today, twice...
 
PukeGreen said:
I dislike their various manipulative tactics, such as claiming both sides of the same road at once so you can't get around them, or sending the girls to approach the guys and vice-versa.
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Oh yes, it's never just the one canvasser. It's many. They almost always operate in groups. Very organized groups.

When I see organizations like Greenpeace canvassing I wonder wonder how much money really gets to their office. And how much gets past it. I don't exactly get excited when I see NGOs flexing their beaurocratic muscles.
 
afran and mark dowling,

Yeah, I know her well. She seems to travel in a closed loop between Sherbourne and Broadview. One time, at the height of rush hour, she invaded our car and kept on yelling "I'm very hungry" at the top of her lungs. A guy opened up his wallet to search for a coin and, in an equally loud voice, I barked "put your wallet down, she does this every day!" He sheepishly returned his wallet to the back pocket of his trousers. I've also seen her carted away by TTC special constables. When I see her, for a split second my political allegiances start drifting precariously to the right and I am reminded of that infamous political attack ad from the sixties that gave us the proverbial "revolving door" prison system.

---

I wish I knew more about political philosophy. Is there a word out there that perfectly captures something like chuggers or telemarketers: an annoyance that only survives because a very small proportion of people take the bait, but to the detriment of the vast majority of the general populace? Sort of the polar opposite of utilitarianism, I guess.
 
I've been approached by that woman several times on the streetcar and once on the subway. I have a policy of neither asking for nor handing out money to strangers on the street or on public transit, so I smile and say "sorry" - a nice smile and a steady gaze is a gift in itself though it unfortunately seems to unnerve some of them.
 
CDL.TO said:
Good post, duckman.



Sixties? That was 1988! Bush-Dukakis. Here it is.

Looking through the American political ads on YouTube... shocking! Some are really bad and offensive!
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Sorry, I was thinking of the "Daisy" ad that LBJ used to attack Barry Goldwater.

You're right. They're ridiculous and demagogic. Luckily, whenever Canadian politicians stooped to the lowest common denominator with attack ads, it usually came around to bite them in the ass (eg: the Conservative ads that ridiculed Chretien's mouth deformity).
 
Hospital For Sick Kids Fundraising

I am becoming annoyed with these constant sidewalk charity solicitations for Sick Kids Hospital on University. The requests come from people who appear to be med students. If the monies raised is for new "facilities and research", doesn't that really translate into "offices and salaries" for these same med students? If so, isn't this just panhandling under a more noble guise?
 
I don't know how they work things, but I also find it incredibly annoying. For me, it pollutes public space with what is essentially a form of advertising (albeit for a good cause).

They also try to trap you in conversation by asking things like "have you ever heard of sick kids?". Well, of course most people have. My approach is to just smile and say "have a great day" whatever their line is. The actual people on the street are not the main ones responsible for the phenomenon, so no point it taking it all out on them personally.
 
Yeah, I was wondering about that, too. Someday, someone has to write a love song about a Sick Kids canvasser
 
Then there's that guy always in front of that shoe store on Yonge Street (Del Grande) trying to hand you a photocopy of his "deals", and further up the street, the omnipresent Black History folks, trying to sell photocopies of stuff you can easily get on Wikipedia. A naive fellow in the office once actually though those copies were free handouts, and was then rudely notified that was not the case and asked to pay up.
 
How abou the "Jesus" guy at the northwest corner of Yonge/Dundas.
 
All this begging would disappear in a fortnight if Torontonians would once and for all collectively refuse to give any money to them. Like bears in the campground, or seagulls at the picnic table, if you encourage them, they'll continue their behaviour. Human behaviour operates under the exact same system of behaviour + reward = repeat behaviour. Change this no reward, and the entire begging industry collapses almost immediately.
 
i'd like to see "we'll show you our tits or asses if you make a donation" campaigns. why doesn't anybody do that?
 
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