Well, begging gets a lot more annoying than music, especially if they come up to your face, or start telling you to give them more. (I was usually able to shake those ones off very quickly by explaining that I wasn't exactly well off, but sheesh.)

I've never had a problem when giving food to a beggar though. But some people have told me that they've had to be careful when accepting food because sometimes there were nasty things in the food. I guess I look trustworthy or something.

I guess giving to beggars can be considered a service to the soul and they provide the opportunity for that as their part of the deal.

But at the same time musicians are doing something valuable and trying to earn a living, beggars are mostly just sitting there and trying to make people feel guilt or pity enough to give, unless the beggars are trying to entertain as well. An important difference.

I know someone who had this beggar near where he worked demand that he give the beggar his $10 lunch money instead of just the dollar he gave... the beggar in question claimed that his car had broken down in front of the government building and he was trying to make enough money to go to another city. Guess what... that was last year and now this year the same guy's car has inexplicably "broken down" in front of the very same building.

If the begging is for a specific reason rather than pure greed on the part of the beggar, then fine. Some people really are in need. But the beggar needs to be honest about it, and not pushy or mean. And it's still different from entertaining people with a skill like music or dance or fire-breathing.

I dislike giving money to people who aren't trying at all to improve their lives, who are JUST trying to exist on the generousity and guilt of others and who do not give anything back. Maybe I'm ungenerous that way - maybe that's because I've always tried to give something back, which immediately makes it not begging.

Some beggars I knew in Toronto would be quite entertaining. Some would be pushy or mean... I gave a woman a dollar once and then didn't have any money the next week I was there, she was very pushy, following me for half a block. I also began to suspect she was using the money for drugs.

Anyway, there really is a difference between entertaining and begging, enough so that you can tell which one it is.