There is something really wrong with the way we live in the modern world, especially in Europe and America. We treat the poor like criminals, make begging and buskering illegal, in the name of seeking to prevent or stop and punish people for loitering.
Obviously loitering can be a danger to public safety, as when a group of young people hang out in front of a specific store, bank, school or pub and act in a way that is intimidating and/or threatening to other people.
But there is something very, very wrong about laws that prohibit begging and buskering, because the very Judeo-Christian principles and tenets upon which most of our Common Law and modern laws are based come from people and societies that actually allowed begging (and, obviously, by implication, buskering too) and encouraged people to give to the needy, especially to those so needy that the only way they can survive, at the time, is to beg! After all, begging is not stealing, unless, of course, the person doing the begging is using the money gifted to them as a means to endanger themselves and others, especially by abusing charity in purchasing harmful addictive substances. Substances which are often used by violent, murdering criminals and extremists to buy the means to murder people and intimidate any who would try to stop them! Of course, one cannot afford to truly determine whether or not someone who is begging in public is legitimate and using the funds provided to pay their rent, basic food costs, transportation costs, hygene costs and clothing, or abusing what should otherwise be restored as a basic human right!
If I see someone with a sign or asking for charity in a polite and non-threatening manner, and if they briefly explain to me what it is for, and if they say it is for basic survival, and if they appear sober and self-caring, then, if I can afford it, I feel obliged and blessed to give what I can truly afford. But to think that most cities in Europe and America have passed laws outlawing begging (and buskering) really angers me and proves to me that society in general, and judges, lawyers, lawmakers, politicians and law enforcers in specific, are actually in violation of the most important laws of all! Namely the laws implied in The Ten Commandments (TORAH). If it were up to me what laws to impose I'd only make it illegal to beg threateningly or on the basis of outright, intentional lies. But I would not allow any law that would prohibit anyone from asking for help, by begging or buskering, just for doing so! After all, the only people who benefit from laws outlawing begging and buskering are criminals! Yes, you read correctly; CRIMINALS! Why? Because they need to be able to recruit new people to commit crimes for their gangs and illegal activities, and because people who are legally allowed to beg will never prefer to steal things, damage property, threaten, rob and murder people!
But what about the rights of people who have to work hard for a living? Do they not have a right to walk the sidewalks and enter the shops without being bothered by other people? Is it fair to allow people to 'take it easy' begging and/or buskering while others must risk their health and lives working in unhealthy and dangerous jobs??
I do not see why there cannot be a reasonable, sensible and actually mutually beneficial set of laws governing who, how, where and why can beg and/or busker.
Obviously someone who is healthy enough and fortunate enough to have a relatively harmless, relatively healthy, relatively fulfilling and fair-waged job, should not also spend time (and thereby diminish the ability of others who truly need to) begging. Nor should someone beg who is independently wealthy. But anyone who, by their own judgment, thinks that they are unable to survive without begging, especially those whose circumstances are very complicated and who have experienced severe injustice(s), should have all the right in the world to beg and/or busker in an effort to gain charitable contributions from others. But there is begging decently and indecent begging, and the difference really does matter. By 'begging decently' I mean begging in a way that; a. does not involve verbally or physically threatening the safety of anyone, even those who refuse to give charity, even if they could otherwise afford it! (it is also physically threatening if someone aggressively begs and prevents people from exercising their pedestrian or vehicular right of way!), b. does not even unintentionally obstruct people from entering and exiting places, be those places shops or offices or whatever; c. does not discourage people from using any public or private facilities; d. does not involve dishonest statements and devices that might seriously harm one’s state of mind and ability to reason. Begging should not be allowed in front of one’s private residence, and only inside if the resident has placed a marker, religious or otherwise, that denotes the fact that he or she welcomes strangers in need to ring their doorbell or knock and ask for charity. Obviously no one should have to put up with a person begging right in front of the entrance of their building of residence or anywhere in front of their private house, nor should begging be conducted so loud that it disturbs the tenants of a residential building. Preferably begging should be permitted in front of food stores, cultural and religious establishments and inside special ‘begging zones’ within malls, but not permitted in front of luxury boutiques, banks or non-religious restaurants for very obvious reasons. And, furthermore, the number of persons who can beg in front of the same location should be limited to one at a time, based on who arrives first, with exception to when the government declares that the economy is in a full recession or even a mini-depression; in which case there should be no limit on how many persons can beg anywhere! And to avoid likely conflict between those begging, villages, towns and cities should have special begging zones, comprised of an entire street’s length or block’s worth of sidewalk for every 10 persons begging, where the local government sets up an office that can also work towards helping those who are still begging find the right kind of government programs and non-governmental programs that might get that person into a situation where they really no longer feel the need to beg! And there should be a law that severely punishes anyone begging from using the money they get from begging to purchase illegal substances, to become dangerously intoxicated (includes excessive drinking), to pay for criminal activities (such as non-sanctioned forms of prostitution), to buy illegal weapons, to send funds to violent criminal or extremist groups, or to gamble at slot machines or in casinos (this would not include national lottery tickets, etc.).
Unfortunately, while most citizens in most countries in Europe can truly get significant government assistance (welfare state benefits), there are some who fall in-between the gaps and cracks, because their particular case is so different and complicated, such as that of Central European Jews and Roma (Gypsies) whose lives have been threatened in their native EU country and who are not officially eligible (yet!) to get the kind of government assistance in another EU country that they should! No one in the EU should be forced to live in abject poverty and significant danger simply because they do not qualify for public assistance in another EU country, where they are otherwise less likely to be threatened and harmed by racist thugs. In fact the EU would be wise to set up special offices to provide exclusive services and benefits for Roma, Jews, GLBT persons, and other small minority groups who may still be suffering severe setbacks or disenfranchisement because of the Grand Theft & Mass Murder of World War Two!
Begging is not fun, even if were not forbidden by secular law, and ultimately it is not good that anyone should ever have to beg, but as long as governments fail to provide proper, adequate and timely help to all persons, tailored specifically to their actual needs and personality, then we should end all laws that have forced so many would-be beggars into criminal conduct.
As for those who dare give a bad reputation to decent beggars by begging indecently, dishonestly and illegally; their punishment should first be in the form of a stern warning, then in the form of a small fine, and only thereafter should an indecent beggar be forced to attend a government job centre or face confinement in a humane place that is not a prison for hardcore, violent criminals (unless of course the indecent beggar also did something violent).
When begging is allowed within reasonable limits and conditions we all win!
But by denying people their basic human right to beg for survival we create a society so inhumane and unjust, that is it not worth defending!
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