I just posted on mugging, so I figure what the hell? Why not ad pick pocketing advice to the mix? Living in Rome, I see Gypsies ALL the time, as in everyday. I get asked for spare change on almost a daily basis, but have yet to give anything out yet. I think about them a lot, but have to be careful how I handle beggars.
I realized just how horrible begging was when I visited Prague. I had seen a lot of poverty in Peru, Thailand and Poland, but it was more of an accepted living condition than a state of poverty or homelessness. People in Peru were poor, yes, but they were happy and content. They didn't spend a lot of time on the streets begging for loose change. They worked the fields.
Not to say there's not extreme poverty there, there most definitely was, but in a different way. In Prague, I remember walking off one of the main stretches in the city and onto a shopping avenue. I almost stepped on this guy on the ground. He was kneeling, body prostrate and limp in front of him, his face planted in the pavement. He had stretched out his spindly arms, a dark brown from soot, towards the passing crowd and held his hat in his hands for loose change.
I gave that guy change. I realized that even if he was a scam, even if he got up and got into a car at the end of the day (there's a lot of that out there, more than we realize) and had a place to stay for the night, or if he was a drunk, it didn't matter. The sheer fact that this man was willing to place himself in front of all these people, in this filth, with his face in the pavement that thousands of people walk on daily, made it worth whatever change I had in my pocket. I remember feeling the same way about a man in London who had on a coat in the subway, but nothing else. He was barefoot a week after Christmas in a stairwell in the subway, without any pants on. That is poverty.
I have always been rather cautious of beggars, I think, because I'm sensitive to being taken advantage of by others. Something in my mental makeup has made me severely cautious to people manipulating me, and it's the reason why I'm so cautious with friendships and relationships. I can be really scared sometimes.
But over the summer, a friend of mine showed me how to give with a pure heart. We were downtown in Rockford over the summer just walking around when a guy stopped us on the street and tried to sell us some drugs or something. Tim asked him if he wanted money, and the guy said yes. So Tim walked into one of the nicest restaurants in Rockford with this bum and bought him dinner. I've never been so humbled. That's humility and selflessness in action.
Since then, I've approached beggars with a different attitude: I can't enable them, but I can provide for them.
When I moved to Milwaukee, I found it interesting how beggars would target me instead of my roommate. I may just look like a sucker, but I figure there had to be something that set us apart. We're almost the same height and build, so it had to be presentation.
I began to change the way I looked, how I walked, and how I acted on the street. I know it sounds silly, but something as simple as looking like you know where you're going, not making eye contact, and walking briskly does wonders for avoiding bad situations. Most of all, just looked ticked, like you're irritated at everything you see. The downside is that no one is going to ask you for directions, but then again, you want people to leave you alone.
The only time I've been stopped by a gypsy was the 2nd day I was here when I let my guard down. Your face says everything. People on the street make a living off of begging, so they get really good at figuring out where the money is and who's giving it up. You don't have to be rich to be a target, you just have to be easy to read and look approachable.
It may sound ruthless to avoid beggars, but there's a flipside: no pickpockets. Generally, the casual pick pocket is going to avoid anybody that might be wise and is aware of their surroundings. Stick your hands in your pockets where you can feel your wallet (of course, all the really valuable stuff, like your passport, credit card, etc will be in your money pouch, tucked away safely inside your pants) and make yourself into a bad ass. People will leave you alone.
One more thing on pickpocketing if you're traveling in Europe: read Rick Steves. He has a lot of info on how to avoid bad situations. Gypsies will grab you by the arm to get your attention and bully you into buying something, people will guilt trip you, create distractions, women throw babies into your arms while they rifle your pockets. Italian children are infamous for mobbing tourists with little cardboard signs with things written on them, pushing them in your face and cleaning out your pockets while you read. Gypsies are smart.
In France, as you approach the Arc de Triomphe in the underground tunnel, watch out for the woman and her rasta friends that speak perfect English. She's very convincing and sounds like she's got something important to say, but she's really just selling a bracelet made from string. Another tactic is to run up to you, tie a bracelet to your wrist and then insist on you paying for it. I prefer to walk off and say "merci!" with a big smile.
Pickpockets also orchestrate attacks. Beware of bottlenecks and tight areas where lots of people congregate close together. Someone in the front of the line may "get into a fight" or "drop something", stopping the queue. Suddenly the person behind you "bumps into you" and your wallet is gone. The bus is also a great place to get robbed. Always wear your backpack in front of you on the bus, it's easy to slip a knife into your backpack and empty it out when it's behind you. Be extra careful at main bus/train stations, they're a great place for crime and not always well patrolled by police.
Places to be extra careful in Europe: Warsaw and its train station, Istanbul, Prague late at night(LOTS of drugs being sold, can get dangerous).
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