_{This is Day 28 of the 30-day Traffic Koans contest. Details on how to enter can be found here: https://steemit.com/traffic-koans/@jedau/traffic-koans-halfway-update-1505319420-6600256}

An armed robber rushed towards a woman and brandished his firearm.

"Hand over your jewelry!," the robber demanded, aiming the gun at the woman.

Terrified for her life, the woman complied, then raised her arms to signal her surrender.

The robber examined the jewelry while still pointing the gun at his victim.

"Is this," he stuttered, biting down on the ring. "Is this silver?"

"Uh... yes?"

"Don't you have any platinum with you?"

"Uh, no."

"Not even white gold?"

"Sorry?"

"Ugh, fine," the robber said, returning the jewelry. "Here, I think you need this more than I do."

The other day, I wrote about picky taxis who don't always stop for potential passengers. This time around, I wanted to touch upon one of the silliest things plaguing the streets. I'm talking about picky beggars.

Hive account@therealpaul discussed this phenomenon in a post not too long ago, and I've commented there about how syndicates employ disabled people and street urchins as beggars. Some go as far as kidnap kids and use them as beggars. You could easily tell by how aggressive they are in asking for alms.

It's a common advice to give food instead, but many try to negotiate with you to instead give money. Food won't feed the syndicates running the operation after all. There have been reported cases that when given coins, they throw it back and demand paper bills. Pretty soon they would be demanding cryptocurrency, I'm sure. I have seen these beggars firsthand, refusing the food and asking demanding, quite violently, that they'd be given money instead. It's like robbery by using sympathy.

Some beggars who aren't part of these kinds of operations feel entitled to alms as well. They look like able-bodied individuals who could easily work legitimate jobs, they're just too lazy or feel like they're owed their due.

Oh! Just the other day I saw a news report about a new scam that involves people faking that they were run over and ask for recompense. They're taking begging to a whole new level it seems. Really though, job creation and proper welfare should be the solution, but it seems like it isn't enough. Re-education about how to properly go about things is key. The government is sometimes almost as bad as the syndicates that run these kinds of operations.

Have any stories about panhandlers to share? I'm begging to hear all of them. I tell you what, I'll give the chance to win SBD as alms :D