He Gave the Homeless Liquor For Christmas. Everyone Has Opinions About It.
When @russsymes showed the TikTok world that he hands out alcohol to the homeless instead of food, clothes or money, he got comments from both sides of the fence. Being an ex-addict himself, he said, “As an addict, I didn’t need food. I needed to feed my addition. I understand.” And boy did the comments light up! Questions and comments like – “What they should want is a job,” “This is called enabling,” “Giving an addict what they’re addicted to,” and “Come on give them the real stuff like an 8 ball,” filled the comment section. But Russ sticks to his guns, and explains over and over why he stands by his decision without regret.
Russ claims he’s doing “God’s work” and that as an ex-addict, he knows just what the homeless really need and what will make them happy. “I’ve done food drives. I’ve given out canned food. But I’ve never seen such happiness the day I was giving out that liquor.” He explained in one video why alcohol and not food, and said he would give out $20 bills and then ask what it will be spent on. The typical response was to spend it on their drug of choice. “Before you start to judge, actually understand the homeless and where they’re at in their life and what they really want,” he explained.
To prove that the homeless would prefer to have alcohol over food, Russ filmed a video showing him buying McDonalds and bottles of liquor and offering one or the other to random homeless people. Each of them chose the alcohol over the food.
Some people insisted that it’s not alcohol the homeless need, but rather a job. Russ had a video answer for that!
For every hater Russ has, he also has someone who understands and agrees. While many comments were negative, there were some positive ones thanking him for what he’s doing and explaining how the thought process behind his actions are correct. One viewer commented, “Love this! Thank you.” Another commented the reason she feels Russ is doing the right thing.
Whether you agree with what Russ is doing and his reasoning behind it, he’s still going to go out into the community and hand out alcohol to the homeless. “The homeless don’t want cookies. It’s party time,” he said.