Sketchy guy

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

Has anybody else ever been in or around Davis Square late at night and run into the guy with the clip board asking you to donate money to children in Africa?  He's super sketchy, and gets really aggrivated when you refuse.  I've seen him follow people for a block or so pestering them to give him money...

The first time he approached me, he shouted at me from like 50 feet away and said "I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!  I DO NOT HAVE ANY WEAPONS!" 

I saw him last night standing in the middle of the square looking for people, and it made me wonder if anybody else had run into him.

Comments

[glen-highland.livejournal.com]

If it's the same Sketchy B. McSketch I'm thinking of, we have encountered him twice. The first time, he was wearing scrubs and "collecting money for med school" or something. But I'm pretty sure it's the same guy, as he was completely nuts and shouted preemptive warnings about not being a criminal as he approached us. The second time, (more recently), I didn't give him a chance to make his pitch. ;-)

[rishikanta.livejournal.com]

It's the same guy.

This guy goes down Cambridge St to Lechmere.
From my own experience, and that of my friends, he can get very aggressive around women sometimes following them for blocks, but the one time I encountered him firsthand he backed off once I got out of my car.

My friends (both female, who live in the Inman area) have called Cambridge PD but have been given the "nothing we can do" line as he didn't physically assault either of them, and they don't have a name.

He is dressed neatly and cleanly (almost looks like an 'academic' with his glasses, tie, satchel, and papers) but he behaves like someone with a strong mood or personality disorder.

If people start reporting more encounters with him maybe that will spur the PDs to action.

[chivesthebutler.livejournal.com]

is he blonde?

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

Nah he's just a normal looking black guy. Glasses, clipboard, and wearing a suit if I recall correctly.

[ron_newman]

What organization does he claim to represent? There are so many people around the square with clipboards for Greenpeace, Environment Massachusetts, Mass PIRG, and the like, it's hard to keep track.

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

I don't know who he claims to represent. I don't remember him saying he represented anybody. And it was like 1am.

Super sketchy.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen this particular one, but they're all over Harvard Square.

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

I bumped into him too. What about the Vet looking guy with the dog tags going around saying "shoot me in the fucking head"?!

[ellf.livejournal.com]

There are few things that would set off my sense of concern about a person I don't know more than having them approach me while announcing that they were unarmed, especially at night and in the city.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

If you think he's a fraud, just call the cops. I run into these guys occasionally at Porter.

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

yeah ran into him twice. once near alfrescos, he gave me a look like he just needed directions or something then goes into the money schpeel. even saw a few bucks tacked in his clipboard. i was like fuck this dont beg for money right near my house.

next we left the burren a few nights later at like 2 am and he was there. i was like yeah i aint fallin for that shit and hightailed it. i think he hit up my friend for a minute. smart to pry on the drunks leaving the bar, i guess.

sketchy mcgee to say the least. i'll make sure my GF knows to tell him to fuck off if she runs into him.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

In all seriousness, I'd tell her to walk quickly past him and not to say a word.

I'm amazed that this works well enough on people that they keep doing it. I once had a friend who gave a guy who had quite obviously not seen a bicycle saddle in 20 years $20 for the "AIDS Ride" in December.

[othniel77.livejournal.com]

He was hanging out in front of Skybar this past summer. My fiance thought he was a Jehovah's Witness and ran him off.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

If you've seen this guy, you know it.

I first encountered him after the Pats/Colts game when he claimed to be raising money for kids with AIDS in Africa. Here was his pitch:

"Did you just see what they did to those guys?" (I had my Patriots shirt on).
"They are the baddest N****** in the world."

When i refused to give him money he said, "You fool. Go f*** yourself," as I walked away.

[daft.livejournal.com]

He approached my S.O. & I in Inman Sq. at, like, 2:45 a.m. one night (we were walking home from a club) with the "I am not a criminal" line. It struck me as really damn odd for anyone to be soliciting for any cause at that hour of the day, so we brushed him off. I've seen him once or twice since then at slightly more reasonable hours, but the first encounter was enough for the warning flags to go up.

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

That is pretty messed up. Davis Square could use a few less characters like him, the Spare Change guy (whom I thought had been disapepared, but has been pooping up in the subway station crazy early in the morning.......don't forget your headphones, kids.....), and Loud Mumbling Drooling and Smells Like Pee Guy who "hangs around" Ball Square and Powderhouse.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Two thoughts:

1) Davis already has a few less characters like him now that the Square boasts attractions that are not limited to the Social Security Office and the methadone clinic. It wasn't all that long ago that you couldn't get off the train without stumbling onto a bum fight... with knives.

2) Homelessness is not an uncommon phenomenon in urban areas, even in areas as posh as Davis is on its way to becoming. It is both curious and interesting, however, that NIMBY-ism is as wide-spread as it is here despite our supposedly progressive and socially conscious population. Of curiosity, where do you propose they go?

[obie119.livejournal.com]

I know of a similar guy at Central, but I thought he had longer hair, maybe in braids. He does have a clipboard though, yells at people, and is not affiliated with the other clipboard people around. I guess either he got a haircut or has a twin? :)

seen him in kendall sq

[slick-o.livejournal.com]

I ran into this guy in Kendall, same story "money for kids with AIDS in Africa," told him that unfortunately I was late for class and bolted. Sketchy characters do not belong in Davis sq. I have no interest in supporting someones drug/alcohol habit or being hassled on the street in the middle of the night. If town of Somerville would be as diligent in removing these individuals of the street as they are in giving people parking tickets, Davis sq would be a better place. Homeless or not, there are plenty of odd jobs these people could do to support themselves. Why should we pay for their inability to function in a normal society?

Re: seen him in kendall sq

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

Somerville is a City =)

[ywwg.livejournal.com]

I think we're talking about different people here. The one I've met matches the first description perfectly. He's a friendly-sounding but pushy guy with a clipboard, and he's always raising money for something. I've seen him in Union Square a couple times, and I saw him in Davis this weekend.

As for the commenter asking where we should send "these people," there should be well-funded state hospitals for the mentally ill who have no family and no means of support. The crazy mumbling guy that hangs around Powderhouse square and Davis is a prime example of someone that clearly has mental problems and needs care.

[komos.livejournal.com]

I would like to point out that "these people" was dylanesque29's phrase, not mine. As I'm assuming you've deduced, the phrase is distancing and being applied to people who are effectively our neighbors and, as you have noted, in need of help. My question was not where we should send the homeless, but where dylanesque29 proposed to send them since he(she?) appears to take issue with being inconvenienced by their presence and behaviors and has offered no solution other than pointing out how irritating it can be.

The system of which you are speaking existed, but it was systematically dismantled during the Reagan years. Other social programs designed to meet some of the needs of the homeless and/or mentally ill have more recently been allowed to dry on the vine for cuts in or lack of funding. I won't disagree that necessary care should be provided to those that need it, but I fail to see how grousing about inappropriate social behaviors or suggesting that shelter-seekers should be chased out of bus stops and T stations brings us any closer to that end.

My story

[pstripe.livejournal.com]

This man approached me recently at night. I was walking alone down through Davis, near the camera store. He walked along side me telling me that he's collecting money for babies with Aids in Africa. He had a clipboard. I said that this isn't the best time for me to contribute, sorry. He continued to walk along side complimenting me on my utter beauty. I am quite pretty. I stopped, thinking it might get him to stop walking with me and that's when he leaned in and kissed me on my face. It was gross and weird and I told him that I didn't appreciate him making me cheat on my boyfriend like that. Then he went away. My boyfriend, a longer time resident of the sq. area said that he's seen that guy around for years.

What about the sketchy old, haggard white guy who asks gals to marry him. Boy, he's a pip.

Re: My story

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

Is this the same guy I was talking about in my entry? Balding, slightly paunchy, smells like piss and nicotine? Hangs around Powderhouse?

[slick-o.livejournal.com]

Komos seems to enjoy to presence of the sketchy individuals around the square area so s/he can write amusing stories about them, how noble...As for the question where the aforementioned types should be placed, well that's for the democrats to decide since they like to spend the money.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Wow, did you create your account to troll THIS thread? You must REALLY hate poor people!

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I would prefer that a) people who harass and threaten others face the consequences of their actions, and b) people who harass and threaten others because of mental illness/substance abuse issues be provided with whatever care they need to get past those issues.

Also, nobody should be living in the Davis Square T station. That's an unpleasant and inappropriate situation for THEM, let alone for the people using it as a transportation hub. Those people should be provided with better housing opportunities.

If that makes me a Scrooge, so be it. I know some people are homeless by choice, but if they're sleeping in a public building, they're inconveniencing others and need to move. If they're homeless not by choice, they should be provided with appropriate housing.

[slick-o.livejournal.com]

Then stop talking and come up with a viable solution. Everyone knows what should be done.

I ran into him once in Kendall square

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I was going to meet a friend at the movie theater and he jumped out of the bushes at me. He was persistent, but eventually went away when I said I didn't have time to talk.

clipboard guy

[evenblend.livejournal.com]

I have seen this guy numerous times. Kendall, Ball, Central, and Davis... The past couple times has been near the last call hour in front of the bars. My friend and I bust his balls telling him that we see him everywhere. I can't believe he has been around for so long. He always says he is "close to his goal" and he "needs a few more donations" I would love to know his monthly income. If you see him, just tell him that you know he's a scam.