I was cured after I naively gave money to a street beggar, and was pursued for more money, to the point that I felt threatened.
My usual procedure in the US is to actively pretend that beggars, and those who look like them, don't exist. Phil Collins wouldn't like it, but after that occasion and one or two like it, I feel scared. I truly admire a certain friend who can chit-chat on a friendly basis with a street person.
As I got older and more confident, I developed other practices:
In short, I became a little obnoxious. The fact that I regularly give a good amount to charity is probably what gave me the psychological leeway to do this.
(And I wouldn't do any of that to a more-or-less worthy charity, or if a friend asked.)
I truly admire a certain friend who can chit-chat on a friendly basis with a street person.
A few months ago I was with a co-worker in the centre of a foreign capital, waiting for some other people, and some guy approached us offering to sell us some marijuana. I told him “I quitted smoking five years ago” and we kept talking about that for about half a minute before he left.
My co-worker was very annoyed that I didn't just ignore the guy.
...When a collector for some ineffective charity comes up to me, I solicit him, in a friendly way, to give money to my
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.