So apparently around Los Angeles there’s a supposed begging “cartel”, wherein some of the folks who beg at stoplights and freeway off ramps are actually working for an organized ring. The way it was explained was that this group takes the lionshare of their donations and offer protection, food, and safe sleeping areas. I don’t know how true this is, but I’ve heard it from quite a few unrelated people, one of which being a cop, so either there’s some truth to it or it’s a very elaborate hoax to get people to stop giving beggars money.
That sounds like an urban legend. The Sherlock Holmes story “The Man With the Twisted Lip” includes a wealthy man who had made his money by begging. The “beggar king” trope goes back further than that, and as far as I can tell it’s just a comfortable fiction to excuse society’s failure to care for its most vulnerable members.
Pretty sure that it is one of those things that does happen rarely, but people tend to assume everyone is doing it as an excuse to dismiss the homeless problem.
So apparently around Los Angeles there’s a supposed begging “cartel”, wherein some of the folks who beg at stoplights and freeway off ramps are actually working for an organized ring. The way it was explained was that this group takes the lionshare of their donations and offer protection, food, and safe sleeping areas. I don’t know how true this is, but I’ve heard it from quite a few unrelated people, one of which being a cop, so either there’s some truth to it or it’s a very elaborate hoax to get people to stop giving beggars money.
That sounds like an urban legend. The Sherlock Holmes story “The Man With the Twisted Lip” includes a wealthy man who had made his money by begging. The “beggar king” trope goes back further than that, and as far as I can tell it’s just a comfortable fiction to excuse society’s failure to care for its most vulnerable members.
It does happen in some third world countries. Not sure for LA though.
Not even homeless people can escape landlords
In India, this kind of thing is common, especially when the beggars are children.
One of the story arcs of Slumdog Millionaire.
Pretty sure that it is one of those things that does happen rarely, but people tend to assume everyone is doing it as an excuse to dismiss the homeless problem.
Lion’s hare? That’s weird.
Did you mean “lion’s share”, but couldn’t write?
Eh, call it a boneappletea moment. Lion’s share.