Sweden considers ban on begging

Jesus, OP, if you don't this there's a problem with begging in the US, you need to get out more.

I read this as “pegging”

r1 I'm not from the US, but I haven't heard posters complaining about it much (at all?) in all the years I've been here. Just about homelessness and drug use more generally, whereas people in Europe tend to bitch about begging in particular.

Sorry, OP. Here.. at many exit ramps (and other intersections where cars have to stop at lights), people will stand holding signs on which is written something about needing money. They will walk up and down the line of cars, often looking hopefully in your direction.

I always make sure my door is locked.

Here's a good sign -- I've seen this one before.

Beggars have been around for thousands of years.

Maybe if these countries would stop kissing the asses of mega corporations, they could diminish the circumstances that drive people to beg in the first place.

Having said all that....

.....there are also criminals who beg in the streets. A common scam in my area is "raising funds for a funeral" but no such funeral exists. They use the same sign for months and even years.

And I **do** believe a ban on begging in or near a road/highway is acceptable. It's dangerous for the person doing it and for the drivers who are near them.

Does that include GoFundMe begs?

r43 Oh wow, I didn't know that. I mean, I've seen it in TV shows and movies, but didn't realise it was widespread. Begging is a lot more passive here. Nearly every time I go buy a new beauty product to pamper myself at our version of Sephora, there's a homeless person outside at the entrance, kneeling with a bowl and judging me silently. Sometimes he brings a dog as well, to make me feel even more like a turd for buying non-essential items, all the while not giving even a cent to him. But whatever, I'm poor too.

It’s hard for most liberal Americans to understand what the past 30 years of immigration, and specifically Muslim immigration, have has done to the cities of Sweden. A lot has changed over there, and none for the good.

Does this mean they would ban ABBA's "Gimme!, Gimme!, Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"?

I did some small community journalism for a few years about a decade ago.....and part of my beat was covering one of the city council members. A large city, but I won't mention which one.

S/he'd been a social worker and tried to apply that knowledge and approach to homelessness and begging in the community, and was roundly criticized for it. Things like - if the food trucks just deliver food to the spot where they're camping, or laying on the ground, what motivation do they have to get up off the ground or get straightened out? Why are we not doing things or spending money on ideas and processes that have proven to be effective and helpful?

I can see elements of both sides on that debate, but just mentioning it here because you'd be surprised how intense the backlash is if you suggest something that isn't just handing people money or food.

[quote]Politico is right-wing, I know.

Wait - we're all just going to ignore this little gem?

What little gem? It was necessary evil to link to it, to provide some context for the poll. I never link to it otherwise.

[quote]What little gem? It was necessary evil to link to it, to provide some context for the poll. I never link to it otherwise.

OP - you're either playing dumb or are actually dumb.

Politico is not "right wing" - and you know it.

Politico has turned right-wing since getting acquired by Axel Springer in 2021.

Maybe get your facts straight first before you go around accusing people of being dumb. Or don't, I don't really care, you're blocked either way.

[quote]you're blocked either way.

LOL - thus proving my point.

Why not just put a ban on living?

Same thing.

I watched several people from my Uber ride step right over a sleeping homeless man en route to the subway station. I too ignored him.

[quote]I watched several people from my Uber ride step right over a sleeping homeless man en route to the subway station. I too ignored him.

Intentional or not, I found this imagery compelling.

It would have been too much to say "I watched several people from my limo..." This hits just right as a social commentary.

R9, I assume, by your phrasing, that you’re a conservative American and thus understand the plight Sweden finds itself in, particularly as it pertains to Muslim immigrants.

I would, since you brought religion into the discussion, refer to what Christ says about the poor and needy, regardless of religion:

[quote] 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Can I beg for a tax cut?

R5 pic belongs in our “Touched by a Hobo” thread.

Some there may know him?

The police here say it's all fake or substance abusers, I hate they bring the babies and dogs to beg, and we have anti soliciting regulations, yet they still beg at Walmart especially, on both sides of the street.

Sweden is the last country that I thought would have problems with homelessness.

R9, Muslims certainly have their faults, but begging is not one I'd necessarily associate with them.

So has slavery r6. Advanced societies should not have either. For that matter, homelessness should be a crime or restricted to certain “areas” tucked away from polite society.

I live in Chicago, thank goodness the homeless don’t come to my neighborhood. They are very good at sticking to their parts of town to ensure everyone gets to live in piece.

[quote]Sweden is the last country that I thought would have problems with homelessness.

It's also the gun crime capital of Europe.

Beggars in Europe are not Muslims. Beggars and pickpockets are Roma, usually women and children.

So if there's a ban in Sweden, what are the proposed consequences? Lock them up? Deport them? What do they intend to do about it and put their money behind as a solution?

[quote]Beggars in Europe are not Muslims. Beggars and pickpockets are Roma, usually women and children.

And Africans even more so as far as begging goes.

Most of the Romani are EU citizens they cannot be deported.

[quote]So if there's a ban in Sweden, what are the proposed consequences? Lock them up? Deport them? What do they intend to do about it and put their money behind as a solution?

One solution is to deport non-citizens. Only Swedish citizens have an unconditional right to reside in Sweden.

R28, the Romani are most excellent pickpockets! They're pros

R11 I remember reading something similar quite a while ago. A school district was supplying free breakfast to students. The parents wouldn’t get their kids to school a bit early to eat the free food so they were delivering it to the classrooms in the morning or handing it off on the bus.

beggar pimping is one of the most horrific unseen realities in the world

I remotely knew a guy who was a beggar, not well he was a brother of a friend, a local businessman stopped and offered him a job while a news crew was there from a local TV station so the beggar sort of had to accept the job. I think the beggar only showed up for work one day, he said he could make way more money begging for a few hours than working an eight hour day.