Sitting in my car at a stoplight a few days ago, I noticed a typical occurrence: there was a man claiming to be homeless, asking for a little help. Ordinarily, I would feel some compassion for the person on the side of the road, and I would use my judgment to decide if I should give them something. You know, the whole good karma thing.

I didn’t have any money, like most college students, so I didn’t really feel too bad when I couldn’t give him anything. What I did have, however, was an extra cheeseburger from the Cookout. I wasn’t going to eat it, so I decided to give it to the man on the corner.

Imagine my surprise when he told me to “keep your damn food, I need cash.” Wait. Hold on. Is a homeless person really giving me an ultimatum? Really? So I thought to myself, you know what, fine. I was just trying to do something nice, but it’s cool.

Only at this point did I realize that on every corner of this same intersection was there a person with a “homeless, please help,” sign. Wow, I thought, this is crazy. But it got better.You see, not only were there four people working the corners, two more homeless people, one man and one woman, walked up to the corner closest to me, and started a fight with the homeless guy that was already there.

From what I could hear, the couple was mad because somebody was in their usual corner, and they weren’t about to share their side-job money. Wait, side-job? Since when did being homeless become a part-time gig?

I know the economy is rough, and people are losing their jobs left and right, but everyone can’t just go crying homeless when things get tough. It’s just rude. There are people out there who are legitimately homeless, with disabilities and are truly down on their luck, but these “newly-employed” homeless people are making them all look like con-artists.

If you will devote this much time into faking homelessness, you could probably put just half the energy into looking for a real job, or coming up with new ways to sustain yourself. It is in the most critical moments of a nations economy when some of the best inventions are created, or the best business plans develop. Why not do that? Why not try?

I know I am no one to judge another, and I’m not judging anyone. But where does faking homelessness factor in?

Ever since then, I have been looking a littler closer at “homeless” people and I recommend you all do the same. I don’t want to look up and see anyone I know standing somewhere asking for money when I know they aren’t without shelter.

Word of advice: if you need a new job, don’t sign up to be homeless.

• Dexter R. Mullins