@Ghost You know, now that you mention it:
WITH apps like Venmo out there... that makes someone with a Square even more suspicious. Like, not even with the difficulties of obtaining a Square.
With Venmo, you are able to go 'Hi, this is more secure, you don't have to worry I'm skimming your card, you can just scan my QR code and decide your amount on YOUR phone without the device being in my hands the whole time...'
I can see why someone shoving a card scanner would, for a few reasons, be really uncomfortable.
If they are good at preying on the guilt-ridden, so be it; maybe they are Catholic.
How dare.
ETA:
I'm willing to concede that Square is a weird thing to ask a stranger to use. I don't think that was the heart of this whole argument though.
--
I make things via patronage.
The Long Dig
@Ganymede I'd also like to vehemently object to the idea that strippers and prostitutes need to "clean themselves up and fly straight." Those you associated might well have done, but let's not tar entire professions with the same brush.
100% agree. Have known plenty of strippers who went that route because they got to choose their own hours and for a lot of people? That's the only fucking way to get through school.
So many jobs out there go 'We don't fucking care what time you have classes.'
But stripping? Pays well and many clubs let you decide what days you work. Most strippers I've known are doing it to get some fucking awesome degrees without student debt.
I'd also like to vehemently object to the idea that strippers and prostitutes need to "clean themselves up and fly straight." Those you associated might well have done, but let's not tar entire professions with the same brush.
That was not my intent, no. They elected to do what was necessary to do what was, in their minds, "cleaning themselves up and flying straight again." I concur with you that there is nothing wrong with being in the adult industry.
I'm willing to concede that Square is a weird thing to ask a stranger to use. I don't think that was the heart of this whole argument though.
For me, it is... but that's specifically because I have been through the wringer of what it takes to get one.
Most folks have no idea how it goes. They're so pervasive these days, it could seem like 'oh, anybody can just get one of those just like getting a paypal account' to somebody who hasn't been through it.
Oh fucking well.
Late to the Square party. Maybe it's because I got mine right when they rolled out, but... $20 to open a basic checking account and I got my small card swiper for free. If they've changed things, cool, but my experience? They really didn't require anything out of reach.
I'm curious, though. Are homeless people not allowed to have a $50 smartphone with a monthly activation card? (aka, cheap ass burner phone). Are they not allowed to have had a bank account they keep a few bucks in to keep it open?
Hell, I kind of applaud their creativity if genuinely in need of help. Most people I know? Don't carry cash. Being able to shift their panhandling to fit with the current trend of not carrying cash just seems adaptive to me, not necessarily exploitative.
@Taika I sooooooo wish that was all we had to do. 
@Taika The specific example given was an iPhone 11. In what world are they fifty dollars?
@surreality Lots of "experts" out there. By this I mean it's pretty common (and dumb) for people to assume all that stuff is simple.
I should also take this moment to say (since this came up in relation to surr) that craft/trade show merchants with Square are relatively safe. They often have cards, email, and want to be tied to the transaction and able to be contacted for follow-up sales. If a craft show-type person got a rep for skimming cards or fraudulent sales, their ability to partake in shows would be in jeopardy.
But also, Square and some other services can take around 2-3% of the transaction so if you have cash it never hurts to ask for their preference (cash doesn't have processing fees, but they have to manually track cash for tax purposes).
For the record, he wouldn't have gotten a cent out of me even if he had not
had a brand new iPhone because I don't tolerate panhandlers.
Every time you give money to a beggar, you make the lives of everyone that
lives, works or otherwise frequents the area, a little bit worse by
validating their behavior.
For the record, he wouldn't have gotten a cent out of me even if he had not
had a brand new iPhone because I don't tolerate panhandlers.
Every time you give money to a beggar, you make the lives of everyone that
lives, works or otherwise frequents the area, a little bit worse by
validating their behavior.
Oh. Right. So you're just a cunt. Okay.
this thread is turning into a nice ol litmus test for the block button over here.
For the record, he wouldn't have gotten a cent out of me even if he had not
had a brand new iPhone because I don't tolerate panhandlers.
Every time you give money to a beggar, you make the lives of everyone that
lives, works or otherwise frequents the area, a little bit worse by
validating their behavior.
For the record, he wouldn't have gotten a cent out of me even if he had not
had a brand new iPhone because I don't tolerate panhandlers.
Every time you give money to a beggar, you make the lives of everyone that
lives, works or otherwise frequents the area, a little bit worse by
validating their behavior.
I wonder what people would say about allowing this forum to persist.
“It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.” -- Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
For the record, he wouldn't have gotten a cent out of me even if he had not
had a brand new iPhone because I don't tolerate panhandlers.
Every time you give money to a beggar, you make the lives of everyone that
lives, works or otherwise frequents the area, a little bit worse by
validating their behavior.I wonder what people would say about allowing this forum to persist.
I'm curious, though. Are homeless people not allowed to have a $50 smartphone with a monthly activation card? (aka, cheap ass burner phone). Are they not allowed to have had a bank account they keep a few bucks in to keep it open?
Homeless people don't spring into existence in a homeless state. They presumably worked at some point and are as entitled as anyone else to have nice things.
Technically, if one were homeless and looking to pull oneself out of poverty, a cell phone might be crucial.
The ability to use the internet to move money around and receive callbacks from job interviews might arguably be more important than a regular roof to sleep under.
@Darren Yeah. Just think, if they'd up and die already, it'd do wonders for your commute.
...to be clear, that was sarcasm, you human excrement; you're the sort of person who makes me wish God was real just so there would be a lake of fire waiting for you.
@insomniac7809 said in RL Anger:
...to be clear, that was sarcasm, you human excrement; you're the sort of person who makes me wish God was real just so there would be a lake of fire waiting for you.
To be fair, I think that if everyone else in the world would just die already I would have a better commute.
For the record, he wouldn't have gotten a cent out of me even if he had not
had a brand new iPhone because I don't tolerate panhandlers.
Every time you give money to a beggar, you make the lives of everyone that
lives, works or otherwise frequents the area, a little bit worse by
validating their behavior.
Oh. Right. So you're just a cunt. Okay.
