Pan-Handling: Me on My Soapbox

Madison, Wisconsin is known as a liberal place.  A college town.  Forward thinking.  Progressive.  Mostly democratic.  Maybe even, as I wrote in a previous post, populated with a lot of people who are tree-hugging, patchouli-wearing, granola-eating.  These are the kind of people who should comprise a peace-loving kind of town, right?   

I guess that doesn't necessarily always apply though, as disappointing as it may be.  I heard something on the local news tonight that was totally out of character with my perception of this city.  The story on the news had to do with pan-handling.  I didn't catch all of the report, but what I did catch is that the Madison police will fine people who give money to pan-handlers.  Fine them to the tune of $177.00.

Really?  A $177.00 fine to people who give money to pan-handlers??

That's super f*cked up.

Some thoughts on pan-handling:

• Do I like it when people are pan-handling?  No; not really. It's not really something that you "like".  Sometimes it's downright uncomfortable when you stop at a traffic light and someone is standing there with a sign hoping to get some $$. 
• Is it my place to judge pan-handlers though?  Of course not. It's not my place to judge whether or not their claim about being a homeless veteran or needing to feed their family is true.
• A friend of mine knows a comedian who actually does a joke about this.  It goes something like this:  I told my family I gave money to a pan-handler and they said, "Don't you know they are just going to use the money for beer and cigarettes?"  To which she replies, "Like I wasn't??"

My view of pan-handling has been largely shaped through Buddhism.  As many of you know, I consider myself a Buddhist.  A Christian Buddhist.  The very worst Christian Buddhist in the entire world.

While Zen Buddhism isn't what I study the most, I will comment on lessons in Zen Buddhism here.  Zen Buddhism teaches of the Three Pure Precepts:  1)  Not doing evil.  2)  Doing good.  3)  Doing good for others.

The third precept (doing good for others) is a more active form of the second (doing good).  Doing good for others is "wiping the wounds of the person who is suffering" (from The Beginner's Guide to Zen Buddhism, by Jean Smith).  Doing good for others includes all social actions, those that are a single act and those that involve long-term commitment.

It is possible to experience all three pure precepts almost simultaneously.  This is how it works in Zen Buddhism when it comes to encountering a pan-handler.

• See the pan-handler and make no judgments about their situation or claims or whether they want the money for drugs/alcohol.  (Not doing evil)
• Don't make the pan-handler invisible by looking away.  Make eye contact and see that person, not as separate, but as an extension of yourself.  We are all interconnected after all.  In traditional Buddhism it is taught that, at some point, every person on the planet was your mother.  Now that's a whole new way of looking at a pan-handler, isn't it?  (Doing good)
• Finally, say a few kind words and toss a couple coins in the cup or give the pan-handler a buck or two.  (Doing good for others)

I suppose after reading that, it's no surprise I give money to pan-handlers.  I have also been known to give money to random people who have approached me.  I remember a particular incident in the parking lot at Carfagna's off of 161 in Columbus.  Scott and I were loading up the car with our purchases and this woman came up to me, seemingly out of no where, with a story about how her husband was killed a couple weeks earlier and she needed money to pay for the hotel room she was staying in or she was going to get kicked out and have no where to go.  I gave her a couple bucks. Scott was furious with me.  At first.  As we were driving home, we talked about my philosophy on giving money to pan-handlers.  That day, I converted Scott-- changed his way of thinking.  (Maybe he will even post a comment about this??)  In addition to ascribing to the Buddhist teachings described above, I add in a few elements of my own philosophy:

• I have been extraordinarily blessed in my life.  I have always had everything I needed and most of what I wanted.  I have plenty.  I can share.  It says in the Bible that to those who much is given, so shall much be required.  I consider living by that tenet a duty.  It's one that I take on willingly and reverently.
• I think to myself, what if it was me?  Or someone I care about?  What if I or a friend or loved one was so downtrodden that I/we had to turn to pan-handling?   Wouldn't I hope that someone cared enough and extended him-/herself enough to offer a little help?  Of course I would.  That, then, makes it my responsibility to be that person to someone else in need.
• I also wonder about the magnitude of being the person that really makes a difference in someone else's life.  For example, let's say a pan-handler for months has been collecting money and using it for beer and cigarettes.  But, what if one day that pan-handler decides to go for treatment?  What if he/she needs money for bus fare to get to a treatment center?  And what if he/she then completes treatment and goes on to become a treatment counselor who helps others overcome addiction?  It's possible that anytime any of us are approached by a pan-handler, we could be the one who gives the dollar that is used for the bus fare to go to the treatment center to get the help that leads to the helping others.  Isn't that powerful to think about?  Of course, when we give money to a pan-handler, we never know how the money is used.  But, we don't need to know, do we?  To me, if I gave $1000.00 to pan-handlers who used that total amount of money on drugs/alcohol and then the next dollar I gave, taking the total to $1001.00, was the dollar that really helped someone get back on their feet, I would consider every dollar given worth it.  All $1001.00 of them.  And I don't feel the need to know one way or another where the money I give goes.  I put it out there and then let the universe take over.  
• Even if the buck or two I give might not lead someone to treatment or some other life-altering experience, I still feel strongly willing to give.  If in the moment I give a buck or two to a pan-handler and make that person, even for a split second, feel seen and validated as a human being then I feel I have done something good with the day.

We never know when the actions we take might be the catalyst that helps change someone else's life.  For me personally?  I put judgment aside and play the odds every chance I get. 

Of course, the stakes are higher in Madison given that the police will issue a $177.00 fine for those of us acting from a place of humanity.

Did I already mention I think that's super f*cked up?