A video released on YouTube has lead to calls for an investigation in elder abuse after a man was confronted at 2am in the morning picking up his elderly mother after allegedly forcing her to beg for money for several hours in the cold. This confrontation occurred at the UCI Town Center shopping center in Irvine California and the man becomes increasingly unhinged an irate.
The poster states:
I first observed the elderly women at 11:00 PM outside of “Cha for Tea” coffee shop. It was a cold evening, 55 degrees. Here sat a very old Asian women (possibly in her 80’s) with white hair in a wheelchair holding a sign that said simply “HELP ME.”
I asked her for her name, and how I could help her. She said her name was Cathy, and she asked for money because she had been homeless for six months. This was part of some type of a scam because she was not homeless, her son picks her up every evening in a very nice Toyota Prius!!
She appeared to have signs of disability (perhaps mental illness) based on her rambling speech. A nearby UCI Town Center security guard (young Caucasian male in his early 20’s) said that she is often dropped off there by her son, who drives a silver Toyota Prius. He then picks her up later in the evening. The security guard said this has been going on for “years.”The irate man insists that the woman’s home was taken by Wells Fargo bank.
The citizen remains calm and his statement of their relative rights is valid. The police have said that they are aware of the video and are now investigating. It is a remarkable case of citizen action through YouTube and the power of this technology. Indeed, at one point, both men are pointing cameras at each other. An incredible scene.
I had several medical problems recently . The fleeting temptation to sit outdoors and pretending I was begging with a tin cup stopped when I realized there are poorer people who have to beg for meals. I apologise for my feeble attempts at making jokes.
However, I feel sorry for those who were so traumatised by early poverty that they seem to define the word scamming with the word success . There’s an odd dignity about the bank guard letting their scam continue ; the youth was right to voice his concern .
So is mine, but I admitted (several times) my clinging. You?
Why kick a crippled man who does not hide it? Or do you tire of me. Too bad!
I have a few breaths left to draw. And I write in the sands of time. What do you do?