With over an estimated 158,000 homeless people on the streets of New York city alone, homelessness has reached some of its highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s, per Coalition For The Homeless. With such high levels of homeless people, begging is a fairly common occurrence when you’re out and about in The Big Apple. Recently, one New Yorker was approached by a beggar — who is allegedly an ex-convict — and he was desperate for some money. However, the brief interaction almost escalated into an altercation, as the impoverished individual attempted to intimidate the New York resident into giving him some money.
The brief 51-second clip is recorded from the perspective of the New York resident, who is wearing expensive Meta Smart glasses that also feature their own camera. The ex-convict, who is sporting a cap worn backwards and a black sweater, is asking for some money. “I need a couple bucks.” the beggar asks. The New Yorker responds helpfully, “I can’t give you cash, bro, but I’m happy to provide any diapers.” Presumably, the New York man intends to help support the ex-convict with any essentials that he and his family may need.
“I don’t smoke, man. Unfortunately, I just came home from prison. I need a couple bucks so help me out please.” the beggar explains. To this, the New York resident replies, “I’m willing to walk with you and literally get you–” though he’s interrupted mid-sentence. Continuing on, he tries to explain, “I’m willing to go to Target–” but he’s interrupted again by some threatening words, as the beggar becomes increasingly desperate for the money he’s asking for.
“Yo, listen, bro. Don’t piss me off.” expresses the ex-convict, before really becoming quite intimidating. “I will knock you the f*ck out. Give me a couple of dollars.” Shocked by the change in tact, the New Yorker apologies and attempts to walk away, but the beggar follows him.
However, in an amusing twist, the ex-convict notices that the New Yorker is wearing glasses that have an in-built camera, which has captured the entire interaction. Because of this, he suddenly becomes docile and jovial, and they fist bump each other. “Oh, you get them glasses. Oh, those are fire, though. I’ll see you later.” he says laughing happily as the clip comes to a close.
With the clip gaining attention on social media, viewers took to the comments section to share their thoughts and experiences. One Redditor gave a very thoughtful and insightful comment that reflected their experiences with beggars and homeless people, writing:
If you are not a street smart individual, let me hip you to what’s happening here. If someone approaches you and you give them your attention they know that they can enter the sales funnel. And once you’re in that sales funnel, they know that you are somebody who is either interested in parting with some money or at least someone who has a modicum of sympathy. And once you are in that sales funnel on the streets, it’s like a swirling drain that is very hard to escape because they just start pressureing and pressuring and the funnel gets smaller and faster and tighter. And eventually it can turn ugly where if the sob story isn’t working, and they’ve appealed to your sense of empathy, now they try to intimidate. This is 99% of muggings in New York City. Usually doesn’t start off with somebody putting a gun against your temple and saying give me your f*cking wallet. It usually starts with somebody saying hey do you like hip hop? Check out my new CD.
mattastrophe3, Reddit
Elsewhere, other commenters agreed with this statement and chimed in, expressing, “Literally the first interaction I had in Manhattan. Guy starts following me and trying to sell me a blank, unlabeled CD. I said no thanks and kept walking. He gets aggressive says some racist shit. I told him to fuck off. He did.” A third commenter questioned the New Yorker’s street wise attitude, penning, “POV no street smarts“.
Luckily, the New Yorker wasn’t mugged and both parties walked away unscathed. However, it serves as a timely reminder of being careful on the streets of The Big Apple and other large cities, especially when you’re on your own.
