I didn’t used to give money to people who asked for it on the street, but a commenter on a blog post I wrote for The New York Times’ website caused me to reconsider. “I really don’t care what they spend it on, and I don’t care if they’re conning me or whatever,” the commenter said. “I really do care about teaching my son compassion and empathy for others. That’s worth the spare change.” Now, if I’m with my daughter and someone asks us for help, I look the person in the eye, say “good luck,” and hand over a bit of money. “To ignore the homeless guy is to teach [kids] to ignore other people who
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