An unusual accosting.

An unusual accosting.

(Author's Note: Let me start by saying that I have been panhandled before. My father has given me the curse of skepticism and while I'm nowhere near as bad as he is I tend to disconnect if I have too many red flags come up with someone.)

So after Heritage worship team practice tonight I came over to Hastings to have some coffee and hang out before Chi Alpha worship team practice. I walked in and looked over the magazine rack for anything interesting and as I walked up I caught the eye of this guy in the next rack. Well as I was standing there he comes around to where I am and asks me "How's it goin? You from here?" I tell him where I'm from and he asks me my name, age, and what church I go to, which I tell him but then he asks "Can I ask you something? Will you pray with me?" Which is honestly something I haven't been asked by a random stranger before. I tell him sure so we go around to the back magazine rack and sit down.

He proceeds to re-ask my name and age and if I'll pray with him (red flag) and then tell me his situation. He tells me how he lives across town and works for almost nothing and has to get rides to work and he lives with a roommate that he has to pay $20 a week in rent to but he can't afford it this week (red flag) and how he's gone to Faith Mission and the Salvation Army and hasn't gotten any help. He then asks me if he can use my cell phone, which is fine (especially since I just enabled the Find my iPhone feature on MobileMe and am not too concerned with it getting stolen) and then offers to put his phone number in and if I will help him out and he will repay me and show me where he lives and everything (red flag). I told him that I couldn't do much more than pray for him so he says that's fine and when I start to bow my head he says that he will do it and so he prays for himself along with me. We stand up and then he goes on probably to find someone else to ask assistance from.

I go get some coffee and sit down to drink it when I hear one of the managers come by and tell the baristas to watch out for the guy that keeps coming in and asking for money and keep him from coming in. One of the cafe managers jokes if he should kick him if he sees him and the store manager rebuffs with "If I had a gun I'd shoot him."

Really?

I understand that panhandlers are annoying and make people feel bad about themselves in order to receive aid (whether they actually need it or not is unknown), but is it necessary to wish such violence on them?

I'll admit I contemplated reporting him to an employee but I didn't thinking that someone who seems to have a relationship with Christ like this man might find someone actually willing to lend him a hand. You might think I have a weakness towards someone playing the "helpless christian" card and maybe that's true, but I so rarely have that card played on me I don't really know how to react to it.

I just think that that wasn't a good impression that the store manager portrayed for the patrons listening in on her conversation, which was a fairly loud one.