Not to doubt this man, specifically, but as begging gets more competitive, we'll see more claims of cancer, diabetes and pregnancy, etc., with a small child, perhaps, your own, borrowed or rented, used as a prop to elicit sympathy.
The use of children for begging is not new. 20 years ago I saw a man in Walnut Creek with a small boy seated on the sidewalk eating a bowl of Cheerios without milk. He was holding up a sign asking for money. I told him to apply for food stamps, but if he didn't get that child up from the sidewalk, I was going to call CPS. In downtown Oakland an elderly woman with a baby in a stroller asked for $5 to get the baby something to eat. I gave her the $5 just in case she was for real, but it was likely a scam.
However, the way the economy is going I am surprised that I don't see more of this type of thing: families begging in the street because they have no where else to go.
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The use of children for begging is not new. 20 years ago I saw a man in Walnut Creek with a small boy seated on the sidewalk eating a bowl of Cheerios without milk. He was holding up a sign asking for money. I told him to apply for food stamps, but if he didn't get that child up from the sidewalk, I was going to call CPS. In downtown Oakland an elderly woman with a baby in a stroller asked for $5 to get the baby something to eat. I gave her the $5 just in case she was for real, but it was likely a scam.
However, the way the economy is going I am surprised that I don't see more of this type of thing: families begging in the street because they have no where else to go.
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