PANHANDLING

Say NO To Panhandling

“Panhandling is a challenging issue faced by cities of all sizes, and one that affects Memphis as well. The experience of numerous professionals and service agencies find that money given to panhandlers often only enables self-destructive behaviors like alcoholism and drug addiction. One former panhandler and addict has even stated, ‘Giving money to a panhandler is like giving a gun to someone who is suicidal.’”

“Say NO to panhandling. Say yes to charities that help the homeless and needy.” My artifact immediately sends out a message asserting that donating to charities is a better option than giving money to panhandlers. At the very top of the article there is a huge picture of an outstretched hand with change in the palm that is crossed out. Then there is a bubble that says “handouts do not help the needy.” Not only does the picture grab your eye’s attention because of the mere size, but certainly because of the bright colors of purple and yellow. Once you look at the picture, you will realize that the word “NO” is very bold, and a separate color from the other words in the statement. They do this so that you connect the words “no” and “panhandling”. Immediately, without reading the article, you realize that the author is against it. That device is intended to persuade the reader that panhandling is wrong from the beginning, so that as the reader reads throughout the article, he or she will have a standpoint from the start. The picture itself claims that giving money to panhandlers is a problem, and that giving money to charities is the answer.
Before you take a side, you have to ask yourself, “What is the motive behind this?” When you begin to examine the possible benefits that a charity would get, rather than a panhandler you will see where the propaganda comes into play. If you donate to a charity, you are helping them promote their name and company. Not all charities are non-profit organizations. Someone, somewhere is getting paid. This ad is put on by Definitely Downtown, and I believe they want people to stop giving to panhandlers in downtown Memphis so that the local panhandlers will stop corrupting business and driving away potential customers.
This article wants you to think that it is simply promoting charities, when in all reality it is doing so much more. The article is trying to clean up panhandling downtown, from a business standpoint. One way you know that this article is about a business issue and not about promoting charities is that there are no specific charities that the article encourages. If the article was really saying, “Hey donate to legitimate charities” then there would have been several options of charities that need donations that supported this ad. It is in our American culture to mislead people in order to get ahead. This article says a lot about how things are handled in Memphis. The article outlines the main questions one would want to know and gives no intricate detail. It explains what panhandling is, why to say no, what you should do if you are approached for money, how it is legal and illegal, and what you can do to help those truly in need. Nowhere in those