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Panhandlers in the skywalks now!  A rant by: 30something Twice this week while walking for coffee at 10:am through the skywalks from Winnipeg Square to Eaton Place (now called city place) I have been harassed for change. Isn't this illegal? It's so embarrassing to live in this city. What do business travellers and tourists think that they can't even walk downtown inside no less without being harassed for change. Let me also add that the first "gentlemen" who asked for change from myself and my two female friends, then made rude sexually oriented comments. On my way back from coffee, I saw this same guy, outside, now, taking a piss against the door of the church across from Eaton Place. I stopped to look at him, because I coudln't believe he was doing that, and then I saw him walk over to the people at the bus shelter and ask THEM for change. Will this never end? I wish the mayor would come down HARD on this. My idea has always been to make it illegal to even give to panhandlers. The only reason they keep asking if undoubtedly because they get money. << Back Add a Comment Comments ( Add a Comment ) Anonymous says: 2006-03-01 17:57:18 Aren't the skywalks private property for the most part? Blame lax security. Anonymous says: 2006-03-01 17:57:20 Aren't the skywalks private property for the most part? Blame lax security. Anonymous says: 2006-03-02 23:45:18 This rant isn't getting too many comments but I have to add this anyways...Today while walking for coffee again at 9:45, me and my 3 friends got asked for change again. This is funny because my husband is a manager at an electronics company and his brother is a manager at a steel company and both of them complain about how there are so many jobs but not enough applicants. there really is NO excuse for panhandling anymore. Another story about the skywalks downtown...one of the friends I went for coffee with today was telling me about how her and her mother went shopping downtown a few weeks ago and were walking through the skywalks and found 6 grungy looking men loitering and smoking in the skywalk between the Millenium Centre and City Place mall. They were too afraid to go by them because they realized there was no one else around. 2 small women against 6 grungy men. Winnipeg downtown sucks! What do tourists think? They don't know any better and they come downtown to hang out or shop? It's sad, very very sad. Anonymous says: 2006-03-25 22:26:58 Some of them have no respect for themselves let alone others. Until our government toughens up on panhandling I see no end to it anytime soon. Anonymous says: 2006-03-26 01:18:41 Winnipeg downtown is a waste. It could be a bustling metropolis, and instead it\'s an unsafe urinal. laundryqueen says: 2007-01-29 01:23:32 That is one way to put it. beej says: 2007-01-31 00:38:50 As a New Yorker, the only way to deal with panhandling, public urination, grafitti, is to treat them as serious crimes that attack the social fabric (though I would hold off on the baseball bats). In New York, if one showed proper ID, they would receive a summons and be on their way. If one did not produce proper ID, It was off to jail for the night, where one one be fingerprinted and have one's record checked for outstanding warrants. Unfortunately, here you have let the inmates run the asylum for too long. If a panhandler made suggestive comments to my wife, that's a different matter. It's personal and I guarantee a trip to emergency before jail. Alpha137 says: 2007-10-22 21:29:53 Carry an exposed Knife on your belt. One bum did all that to me; I grabbed my knife, grabbed him by the shoulder and told him not to talk like that to women, with the knife an inch from his face. Pushing him to the ground he scurried away and I rolled away trembling like a leaf. But he needed to know, not to %*#$ with little women. SOLMoFo says: 2008-03-21 19:31:04 ...and that's why you're writing this from jail, getting bum-raped every night, I assume? Winnipegger says: 2008-03-22 19:08:38 These f*ckers need to be beaten...they are disgusting! We need to load them up and send them to Greenland... myvoice says: 2009-03-16 13:23:40 at least there not as lazy as the money grabbing indians, they want to work, they just know this is a tax free income, and they love to f---- the government over. dj says: 2010-04-17 00:25:07 Small story that sums up panhandling and this dump of a city. I have been approached by pandhandlers numerous times in downtown, in the stores downtown. The coup de gras was when and Aboriginal panhandler approached me for money, where was I ... inside Health Sciences Centre. Not near the entrance but up on the second floor. That could and does only happen in this wasteland. Getmethefuckoutofhere says: 2010-06-30 23:11:10 The best/worst panhandling episode I ever saw was when some asshole had the nerve to hassle a BLIND SENIOR for money. She had the white cane, sunglasses and everything so there was no question that she was blind. I was like, "are you freakin' kidding me?" |
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Unfortunately, panhandling is not illegal. But following a person around or threatening them is. And that church gets pissed on so much that they really should think about installing an electric fence.