Around 10 a.m. today, I walked past the bus stop on Pico and Robertson Blvds (south-east corner) and watched this hulking black guy loom over a scared little old Oriental lady and ask her for his bus fare. “I hate to ask,” he says, “but I really need help. For the love of Jesus, please.” She sorts through her coins to apparently give him the fare and probably counts herself lucky to have avoided physical harm.
I never see Latinos or Asians asking for money on the street, only whites and blacks.
When I moved to LA in 1994, I gave a black stranger who asked $5 so he could get home. I also gave him my mailing address at his request and he promised to pay me back. He didn’t. I think that was the last time I gave any homeless person money.
