At Montgomery Station today, another of the extreme end of the story came out. A man, whose name got lost in the jumble, came up and began to ask for change. What started normal escalated to him asking me for "anything", including the sunglasses off my face.
Sweaty and drooling, this man was the face of rock bottom. I did what I could-what I had to do-I told a riveting series of bald faced lies to get him away from me. If you are seen as vulnerable, someone will very well make you vulnerable.
I honestly felt for the guy. I didn't at all feel threatened, either. In fact, I think his friend a little further over put him up to it. This friend of his was able to reign the guy right in no problem when I walked too far away. I was perhaps a little more resourceful than they'd assumed.
I've met a lot of interesting people in the homeless community, and most of them have been really wonderful people. However, there are vultures.
One thing that I'm going to do in the future is not bring a big bag that says "Canon" on it. Somehow, I feel that carrying my camera in a less conspicuous bag could only help.
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