There's been a video circling social-media for a week now, featuring a man pretending to be hungry asking the patrons of a Pizza Parlor (parlor?) for some food, being denied each time. Later, he has two friends drop off some pizza slices to a man who appears to be homeless. That same man asks the homeless guy for a slice, and the homeless guy obliges and they sit down and eat a slice together. Everyone is taking this as a lesson. Everyone is missing the bigger picture.
Here is the video, created by YouTuber Sam Pepper:
Everyone collectively thought: "Wow. The homeless guy has so much more compassion! I need to be more giving." I'll admit: I did too. That is, until I really pulled apart what is happening here. First off, let's not be fooled. Sam is not a person in need. He was in the pizza place with two obnoxious gold chains, hair freshly cut, designer frames for his spectacles, and he was wearing clean clothes. None of which strikes the thought: This guy is in need. Actually, shame on Sam for pretending to be hungry, while not actually playing the part, and then attempting to SHAME the people smart enough to see through his bullsh*t via youtube video! The people in the pizza place were actually the smart ones, because again, Sam is not really "in need."
What else did we learn? People are much less likely to care about their possessions when they are simply given to them. The homeless guy barely even looked at Sam when he asked for a slice. If he did, he might've reached the same conclusion the people in the restaurant did: this guy is not really hungry. Oh, and shame on Sam for taking food out of a homeless guy's mouth in an effort to shame people enjoying their day eating pizza. Again, he's not really hungry. If he was, he would've pawned those obnoxious chains and his damn video camera a long time ago.
What Now?
Thanks to Sam, if you approach me in a restaurant asking for food, I'm simply going to think you're filming an emotion-manipulating youtube video, and am going to deny you food. Thanks Sam, because of you and your manipulative techniques, I'm now a worse person. Next time, send an actual homeless person into the restaurant and see if you get the same results.
