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I ignore the guys you see day after day at the same intersections. It's like their spot to beg from, a full time job so to speak, working the rush hours. I generally give a buck or two from my pocket (I don't ever pull out the wallet) unless they are clearly crack heads or meth heads. I ignore the young guys in mall clothes.
The only two places I ever felt really threatened was walking to work through a particular railroad underpass on 7th st SW at D st SW in DC (near the Smithsonian), and in downtown Buffalo, NY. The guy in Buffalo was selling a handful of nearly dead flowers for $5. on a Sunday afternoon (downtown deserted) and it was like him against my wife and I. I gave him the $5. to get clear and we ducked into a brewpub.
I don't get panhandled too often in Charlotte. There's plenty of homeless people for sure, but maybe there are laws against it here, plenty of uniforms in the uptown area for sure.
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