Are there more beggars on the streets now?

donfers

Why are you all counting beggars? Surely there are more productive hobbies to iimmerse yourself in

ben.schlomo

donfers wrote: »

Why are you all counting beggars? Surely there are more productive hobbies to iimmerse yourself in

You may want to read from page 1 and see if you can figure it out, immerse yourself in the thread.

Bobeagleburger

There's an increase in junkies on the street so I'd expect to see begging increase in line with that

Bobeagleburger

gilberto_eire wrote: »

This country is an embarrassment.

If I came to Ireland as a tourist I wouldn't come back.

Spent a week in Berlin last summer and the only people who approached were Romas running a "sponsor charity" scam.
In Edinburgh last week and the bums sat on corners with cups, again nobody approaching directly.

Dublin then must be one of the worst places in the world for scumbags knocking around and while per person Galway isn't as bad, it's a disgrace that a City of 70k has a more intimidating element than two European capitals.

I guess this all reverts back to prison spaces, you can bet these types have double digit convictions.
Until the government gets serious about law and order then we'll continue to see these types ruin Irish towns as we give them concurrent sentences, probation to repeat offenders and temporary release to free up space to keep the cattle rolling through.

Just pick up the local paper next week and you'll see some low life racking up free convictions while on bail and then receiving a partially suspended sentence for offences that deserve 5 years plus of actual jail time(half every actual sentence for good behaviour).

Lovely country,with a ridicules attitude to making it a safe and enjoyable place to live, work, visit.

There is serious hyperbole in this.

Talk about exaggerating

JONJO THE MISER

Some people living here must be very sheltered, god help them if they ever went to any small city like Galway in the States or Canada, then they would know all about beggars homeless and meth heads.

Straight Talker

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Some people living here must be very sheltered, god help them if they ever went to any small city like Galway in the States or Canada, then they would know all about beggars homeless and meth heads.

And how does that alleviate the situation here.Galway like a lot of places in Ireland has gotten a lot rougher over the last few years.People are not living sheltered lives at all.It's just that you want to dismiss them with a throw away insult because their opinions don't fit in with whatever agenda is in you're head.Come back to us whenever you are attacked or have you're house robbed by these people.The heroin has taken off big time in Galway.The west side and castle park areas are riddled with discarded needles.

Long Gone

rarnes1 wrote: »

There is serious hyperbole in this.

Talk about exaggerating

No - I'm extremely widely travelled and his comment is right on the money actually. Dublin City centre is the scumbag capital of Europe and must be well up there in the world rankings as well.

Long Gone

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Some people living here must be very sheltered, god help them if they ever went to any small city like Galway in the States or Canada, then they would know all about beggars homeless and meth heads.

How many small cities have you been to in The States or Canada ? - I don't recognise that description of the many that I've been to....

inisboffin

Long Gone wrote: »

No - I'm extremely widely travelled and his comment is right on the money actually. Dublin City centre is the scumbag capital of Europe and must be well up there in the world rankings as well.

I'd disagree with this. I do think the geography of Dublin has an effect on how we see it. As cities go, it is relatively small and the central/tourist areas are the same, but also have a large concentration of the total beggars/junkies due to a lot of different factors. Many many tourists remark how safe Dublin feels.

I'd also say that 'scumbag' is rather subjective. Is it people that hassle you personally, people that 'look scummy' or certain individuals in expensive suits robbing the country's money

ScumLord

All tourist cities attract beggars, druggies and prostitutes. You can't walk down La Ramblas in Barcelona without being accosted by prostitutes. Eastern Europe has the most aggressive beggars I've come across anywhere. Most people don't pay too much attention to these things because they're more worried about serious things like being attacked, raped or mugged (sometimes by the local police). Which isn't nearly as likely to happen in Galway as it is in bigger cities in bigger countries.

Many tourists that come to Galway are well used to this kind of thing, they live in cities and have had to put up with it for a lot longer than we have. They'd see our beggars as quaint.

WallyGUFC

Who said there's anything wrong with prostitutes??!

jazzdude18

Well, from what I learned from some people is that, if there's people who need money for food/water, and you can give them some money to them for food/water then it would be very helpful to give it to them. Weather they are beggars or not.


if you think about it, we're all one. in fact dare I even say the person asking for money is you. maybe. but you know.

jazzdude18

watch this video:
youtube.com/watch?v=UhsGSYAdUs4

at the beginning of the video, it felt like what could I do for him as he was begging, but near the end of the video I felt like I was down on my knees to that homeless man praying to him .


man, just help out people if you can.

renegademaster

Straight Talker wrote: »

And how does that alleviate the situation here.Galway like a lot of places in Ireland has gotten a lot rougher over the last few years.People are not living sheltered lives at all.It's just that you want to dismiss them with a throw away insult because their opinions don't fit in with whatever agenda is in you're head.Come back to us whenever you are attacked or have you're house robbed by these people.The heroin has taken off big time in Galway.The west side and castle park areas are riddled with discarded needles.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/31/blackwater-gets-rich-afghanistan-drug-production

The Strawman Argument

Paddyfield wrote: »

I half disagree. Berlin is awash with people begging. In recent times, I've been to London, Paris and San Fran where there are homeless people begging everywhere. It seems to me that beggars make a life choice to go to popular tourist places. You wouldn't see a lot of them in say Tullamore, Carlisle or and non-descript French or American city.

I dunno, I'd say it's more the fact that those are tourist areas is what makes a sizeable contingent of the very poor be able to resort to begging.
Once you're in that situation, you're gonna hang around the more populated places to beg purely cos your odds are so much higher than they'd be in a Tullamore, then the fact so many beggars have zoned in on such places also greatly reduces the odds of one being reported or whatever too.
You'd also have a higher number due to things like the constant influx of people coming into those cities are pushing people on the fringes into new lows, you'd also have a batch of people who go for broke making a move to a big city and be left screwed when it falls through.
San Francisco is also, in comparison to other US cities, very friendly to the homeless, I believe.

There's absolutely tons of nondescript dives in the US with homeless and crackhead types. They generally won't be there panhandling or anything like that, but that's cos they're either in some slum where no one has anything or the police'll be ready to batter the ****e out of them and take them to aforementioned slum. They'll ask just about anyone who looks like the might have spare change for some.


...I had a point in there somewhere but I forget what it was
Anyways, Galway's grand, I've never felt remotely threatened on the streets here. Just about everywhere else I've been has had someone or another zone in on me.

thesandeman

The Strawman Argument wrote: »

...I had a point in there somewhere but I forget what it was

I'm glad you said that. I'd read the previous paragraphs three times before I kept scrolling.

Personally, the 'hostel people' have given up on me. The aggressive girl just says "oh" when she finds herself heading for me. The forgetful one does a U-Turn. The English lad and the newish polite English girl (I really don't know why she feels she needs to be on the streets. She has a personality that a lot of businesses in the hospitality/retail industries in Galway could do with) give me a wave or have a chat without any expectations. Neither of those are on heroin.
The 'bus woman' usually says "I've asked you before haven't I".

From another thread: 'bird ladies' think I'm strange.

ben.schlomo

thesandeman wrote: »

I'm glad you said that. I'd read the previous paragraphs three times before I kept scrolling.

Personally, the 'hostel people' have given up on me. The aggressive girl just says "oh" when she finds herself heading for me. The forgetful one does a U-Turn. The English lad and the newish polite English girl (I really don't know why she feels she needs to be on the streets. She has a personality that a lot of businesses in the hospitality/retail industries in Galway could do with) give me a wave or have a chat without any expectations. Neither of those are on heroin.
The 'bus woman' usually says "I've asked you before haven't I".

From another thread: 'bird ladies' think I'm strange.

In fairness theyre batsh1t crazy so you must be doing something worse

snubbleste

'Journalists' read boards..
http://connachttribune.ie/organised-begging-raises-ire-in-city-501/

Scores of reports on social media complain about several groups of beggars working in shifts demanding money to pay for a hostel bed. At least one of the women often unleashes a tirade of abuse if not given money.
There is also a group who harass tourists as they head into the Galway Cathedral.
This new wave of begging is thought to be rooted in drug addiction.

Bobeagleburger

snubbleste wrote: »

'Journalists' read boards..
http://connachttribune.ie/organised-begging-raises-ire-in-city-501/

Using social media as a source is not what I'd call journalism tbh.

Strange

snubbleste

You ought to pass on your comments to those 'journalists' then

ScumLord

rarnes1 wrote: »

Using social media as a source is not what I'd call journalism tbh.

Strange

You can't really expect a journalist to travel all the way to down the road, and spend what could be hours, doing their job. She's on facebook anyway, so she might as well get her information from those reasonable people.

Mrs OBumble

rarnes1 wrote: »

Using social media as a source is not what I'd call journalism tbh.

Strange

You do realise that most of what appears in our local newspapers comes word-for-word from press-releases.

Bobeagleburger

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You do realise that most of what appears in our local newspapers comes word-for-word from press-releases.

So, what's your point? That's not even the argument.

The journo could have just walked around the corner and checked the situation out rather than relying on 2nd hand information out. Tribune office is a 1 min walk from shop street.

Is Galway getting bad? That's a shame. Never give money to anyone claiming to need it for a hostel. It's not true and I don't know how many times that has been tried on me in Dublin. Also never give money to Roma gypsies. Sadly they're usually part of a gang. I remember when they used to go door-to-door in Galway.. they tried doing it to me and I told them to f-ck right off. They don't deserve politeness.