This thread will cause some emotional responses, because of the wording of the title. I would not like to see a thread titled why do Canadians find it so easy to beg?, anymore than a Jamaican would like to see the title of this thread. In fact I would resent it. We have people begging in Canada, I have seen people begging in America, Mexico and Cuba... It is easy to tire of some healthy person on the beach begging you for a Red Stripe, or asking for $JA, but to make the jump to asking why do Jamaicans find it so easy to beg is just wrong. Others will take the opportunity to say what they think of Jamaicans, their work ethic, or their willingness to accept "Free Money". These are wrong, unfair generalizations. Many hard working Jamaicans around the world send remittances to family on the island, and are probably happy to be helping family at home. Maybe the family helped them get to another country, or they send money out of love for them. I doubt many, (maybe some). look at is as free money, since it must be understood that someone has worked hard to earn that money, and then sacrificed to send it home to Jamaica.
One memory I have of Jamaica, is seeing a very elderly lady collecting bottles on a beach in Portland. She was doing what she could to get some money. She walked by me, not asking for anything, and I could not have been thinking at the time, because of all the money I have given away in Jamaica, surely I should have put some dollars in her hand. Maybe I was just so used to being asked. To this day, I regret not giving her some money.
Not all Jamaicans find it so easy to beg.