Remind yourself that the panhandler is defecting (in the Prisoner’s Dilemma sense) by putting you in that situation. Remind yourself that they are actively and premeditatedly manipulating you through a set of known exploitable psychological levers. There is a strain of Dark Arts to this advice, because you are choosing to preemptively deflect your empathy with a feeling of defensiveness. It is nonetheless true that the panhandler is being rude, definitionally, and that you are being tricked.
Remind yourself that the panhandler is defecting (in the Prisoner’s Dilemma sense) by putting you in that situation. Remind yourself that they are actively and premeditatedly manipulating you through a set of known exploitable psychological levers. There is a strain of Dark Arts to this advice, because you are choosing to preemptively deflect your empathy with a feeling of defensiveness. It is nonetheless true that the panhandler is being rude, definitionally, and that you are being tricked.