EVERY INTERSECTION ON N TRYON SREET — A panhandler on N Tryon Street today confirmed that he knew that you saw him standing there, despite your pathetic attempts at looking busy while stopped at a red light.
“It was the classic, ‘I see you but I’m ignoring you’ stare,” serial panhandler Rich Braddix told The Charlotten. “You know the one. Where they’re looking forward but you can tell they are looking out of the periphery of their eyes still. Like, how obviously unobvious can you be?”
You, who were on your way to pay $20 for a shot in South End, justified your blatant disregard of the panhandler with several excuses. They’re probably some druggie, you said to yourself while fake-scrolling on your phone. But if they’re not, at least someone else will probably donate, you imagined. I bet he doesn’t even take Venmo, you finally thought before driving off.
But Braddix wasn’t falling for your unconvincing performance.
“He was apparently busy with something on his phone, but when I looked, he was just randomly typing in numbers on the calculator app,” said Braddix. “Honestly, the increasing number of uncharitable commuters at intersections is becoming a blight on the city. I bet they’re all working together in some sort of anti-donation ring.”
I gave $5 some dude on South Blvd seven years ago, you thought to yourself at one point. I’m still a good person for at least another 2 years.
Braddix was not the first panhandler you’ve pretended to ignore in Charlotte, and he won’t be the last. As Charlotte’s panhandling industry booms, there has never been a better time for drivers to test out their poker face at literally every other red light.
