This is my second summer working in Washington, DC. I’m currently working in Northwest DC, which is the nicer part of town for those who don’t know. Even so, there are lots of people there who beg for money.

I’m not a huge fan of being asked for money, but I understand that there are people out there who do it. However, when people are very aggressive about it, it is not cool.

Recently I was on the Metro and watched someone hassle and older man for five minutes until he gave him a dollar. The beggar kept saying: “I can’t believe you’re going to let my family starve,” as if it were the older man’s responsibility to feed someone else’s family.

I had someone approach me recently and ask me if I had money to give him. I literally had only a credit card and 35 cents that I was going to use to ride the bus home, so I said: “sorry.” He started screaming at me: “Yeah, you sure are sorry,” as I walked away.

It’s not my or anyone’s responsibility to save someone who is in financial trouble. If one is in need, he or she can ask for money all they’d like, but when they start being aggressive about it and demanding it like it is their right, that is when they cross the line.

So, I ask readers: what should I do when someone aggressively begs for money and insults me when I don’t give it to them? What do you, or would you, do in these situations?

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