Truth In Advertising?

A few days ago, I lucked out and scored tix to see Bruce Springsteen in concert. I love The Boss like nothing else, so we were there early to soak up the flava of the crowd well before the show began.

Standing outside the Amway Arena, we saw something kinda odd and disturbing. Florida seems to be one of the prime locations for folks who are homeless-let's face it, if you have no home, you probably want to live somewhere it's difficult to freeze to death. One such person was standing outside the arena, sign in hand, container for money, begging.

Did his sign say, "Will work for food"? Or, "Hungry...Please Help"? Nope. Sign said:

"Why lie? I need a drink."

Ya know, callousness is there for a purpose. Many people who are homeless DO have problems with substance abuse. I'd gladly help-but I refuse to enable anyone's addiction. In general, I don't give money to people who are homeless because, unless it can be proven my meager "donation" is being used positively, I'm not just going to throw money away.

With this guy? It's just sad. It's well known how many people who are homeless also have developmental disabilities and/or mental illness. Does this guy? Seems he can, at least, realize the "truth in advertising" message.

The whole thing is just sad. Substance abuse could be a contributing factor to why the guy is on the street in the first place. If all the money he begged off Bruce fans could be pooled together, it may take a significant chunk out of his cost of alcohol rehab. And if that addiction is gone, there's a much better chance he could become a productive member of society.

But with his "need" for a drink, money into his can could just as easily be thrown down the Porta-Potty he was standing next to.