I try very hard not to be a bitter hateful bastard, but stories like this one restore my faith in cynicism. In my life I have found that the best place to look for compassion and generocity is not with those who can afford it, but with those who cannot. This beggar is a good and generous person, this woman is not. This ring, from the images at least, would have made a significant difference in this man's life, whereas for her is was no more than symbolic ornamentation. He gave away a decent chance at a better life, and in exchange he got a thanks and a few bucks.

The next time he finds something like this -- as improbable as that is -- one might hope that he would just keep it. But he probably won't. People like that never do.

Hopefully someone drops this woman's name and this story at the various chans just to see if anon finds her behavior as deserving of attention as I do.

It's possible that this woman does the same, in which case the man would have received a decent reward.

siccing Anonymous on the woman.

According the the link below the average cost of a jewelry store diamond ring is $3500 to $4000. Her ring looked significantly larger than average (in my eyes), but let's go with those numbers.

Even assuming that she is one of those people who regularly carries a couple hundred in cash -- and I suspect the number who do so is quite small -- even so she got the deal of a lifetime. This homeless guy gave her a gift potentially worth thousands of dollars. Maybe much more.

Does she DESERVE the loving attention of anon? Probably not, but then consider: Even KNOWING that she owed this guy a massive debt and that paying that debt would make a huge difference in this guy's life, she didn't care enough to head for a bank to get more money. She had her ring, he had her pocket change, and the beggar should be content with that.

http://financialplan.about.com/od/gettingmarried/a/buying-an-engagement-ring.htm

If he tried to sell it or try to get cash for it in anyway can you imagine what would probably happen to him. He is an honest man.

BUT how would he explain that if he COULD somehow sell it and it COULD be traced back to him if she reported it missing to her insurance company. Wouldn't there be some questions about how this poor guy got the ring.

Jesus christ.

I see this story differently than some of you.

The ONLY nice thing this woman did throughout the two day course of this incident was to give him some COIN change. That act of kindness (and I salute her for this) launched this whole thing.

In doing so she accidentally gave him her very valuable ring. To this guy it must have been like a freaking miracle. But he was nice enough to hang onto it just in case, and when she came back for it this guy with nothing -- a beggar -- gave the woman the most valuable thing he owned. Again, he gave her the most valuable thing he owned.

And as a reward for his damn near saintly action he got nothing that cost HER anything. She got a free multi-thousand dollar ring and a great story to tell at her next soiree, he got her pocket change. She had a chance to make a real difference in this guy's life, but instead she took advantage of the kindness of a beggar.

Given that, why would anyone feel sorry for this woman?

He would not want people to know how much she gave him. YOU have no idea how much. Do you ever see a silver lining? You make me sad.

I had considered the secret generosity angle as a possibility myself before rejecting it as improbable.

Sadly, I am a pessimist and a cynic, not by choice but because this seems the more objective assessment of the world. I would far rather believe that this woman, suddenly faced with the reality of want, rushed straight off to the bank and showered this guy with cash. Perhaps lacking that she gave him her ring, since to him it would mean so much while to her it is only decoration and symbol. I would far rather believe it, but it probably did not happen that way.

does anyone else feel like they perpetuate the notion that homeless folks are a bunch of thieving, stealing, deadbeats...hence people should be shocked that a homeless person would do the right thing (not necessarily here on DU, but in general)?

Maybe it's just me and I certainly don't mean to downplay it. Anyone doing the right thing should be applauded of course, including this wonderful man.

I believe that people are basically honest. Yeah he's poor and down on his luck BUT that doesn't make him any less of an honest person than anyone else.