If you have ever been to a large city, you have probably been mugged, and you might not have even realized it. I'm not saying you failed to notice a guy in a ski-mask jumping out of an alley and pointing a knife in your face; it was probably more subtle than that. It could be as simple as someone politely asking for money. To see why I call this a mugging, let's identify the essential features of a traditional mugger and see how a panhandler compares.
In a mugging, there are usually two parties: the mugger and the victim. The victim has something the mugger wants (say money). The mugger cannot or chooses not to try to exchange anything for the money. Instead, the mugger forces the victim into a dangerous position (such as the business end of a gun) and offers to release the victim—in exchange for the money. The mugger has produced nothing of value. He created a problem and expects to be paid to take it away.
Notice how the paragraph above becomes a typical begging situation when the gun is replaced with social pressure. Beggars create awkward an social situation and expect to be paid for taking it away.
A defender of begging would probably point out that awkwardness is not deadly whereas muggers' weapons are. This is certainly true, but they operate on the same principal, and while I prefer to have a nasty feeling in my gut rather than a knife, you can successfully threaten me with either.
Furthermore, while beggars are less physically dangerous, I suggest that there's a special sort of repugnance in using someone's own pity as a weapon to against them. Imagine if muggers did the same: they would ask to borrow your pocket knife and then held it to your throat saying, "Give me your wallet!"
I am not suggesting that we arrest people for begging. Asking for money (like most forms of speech) is a right that should be protected. Denying people the right to solicite "donations" could easily lead to outlawing certain types of fundraising for non-profit organizations (I think we can agree to avoid that). However, if individuals recognize begging as a sort of coercion, then we will feel less of the social pressure beggars attempt to apply. We will be disarming our muggers.
