167 acts of imposed obligations in Scottsburg.

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  • JettaKnight

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    Kind act spreads to 167 drivers at Indiana McDonald?s | WANE

    At least 10% of INGO will hate me for this... but, you probably already do, so I can take it.


    Here it goes...



    Stop the smug Ponzi scheme.

    These people weren't atruistic, most of them did it solely out of unconscious obligation or a false sense of generosity.

    In their mind the money they were going to spend on that slop was already spent by the time they rolled up to the window. So, the cashiers says, "no it's paid for already!" So what do you do? Be a louse and keep the undeserved money and suffer the icy glare of the cashier? For the rest of the day it's her disapproval that'll be ruining your day. Nope, your obligated to take that money (that you had already spent in your mind) and pay for the next unsuspecting victim of this ponzi scheme. Now you can go about your day thinking, "Gee, I'm such a nice person. I committed an act of spontaneous giving!" No you didn't. You got caught up in the smug train and the drive through. Joe Pesci's right - they **** at the drive through, but it's not the restaurant, it's the other customers acting like sheep.Listen, it's great if you want to help someone out and pay for their food - you feel good about yourself and most likely they feel good about getting a free meal - except they're now obligated to pay for someone else's meal... or be a louse.

    I'm just asking that before your start, or continue, this chain of smug obligation, you stop and think, "maybe the next guy just wants me to mind my own business."

    Or, give that money to someone that needs it; or at least buy them something they aren't already planning on buying for themselves! Seriously people, are you really making life better by paying for the double decaf, gluten free, rootin' tootin' latte for the soccer mom in the brand new Prius behind you?! Maybe you are, maybe she can't see the forest from the trees and you both have fallen into the ruse.

    I just wonder how smug people are when they see a letter to the editor in the newspaper thanking, "the kind young couple that paid for our meal at..." Hey, honey! Look we're in the paper for our generosity!

    Thankfully this crap hasn't happened to me so I don't know exactly how it works... but what if you pay for chicken sangwich and fries for Grandma driving fifteen year old Cavalier... "Oh bless his heart!", says grandma, "I'm going to continue this generosity and pay for the car behind me..." .... which happens to be a Ford Exterminator loaded up with kids on the way home from rugby practice...



    "That'll be $84.32. Pay up, grandma, or we spread the word that your a deadbeat loser."
     

    T.Lex

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    Did I miss purple or something?

    Each subsequent pay-it-forward is a separate act of generosity. The "already paid for in their mind" misses the point.

    "Instead of accepting something free, I will use money I would've spent on myself and pay for someone else." is more accurate, IMHO.

    The cash is fungible. What is done with it is more important.

    (Could the money be directed to more "worthy" institutions or people? Probably. But that's a judgment call.)
     

    SSGSAD

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    I have paid for 2 Military people lunches, at Steak & Shake .....

    Why did I do it ?????

    Because when I did it, I could afford it .....

    To be nice, and support our troops .....

    This is something I would do more often,

    but my budget won't allow it .....
     

    IndyDave1776

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    I accept both sides of the argument on this one. The true motives behind each individual act are known only to the person acting and to God, and could be good motives, or not such good motives. Events such as this can either encourage good intentions or foster an untoward sense of obligation, opening that question of motives to which we will never have an answer.

    I would also point out that the first person paid for both is own meal and that of the next person, so we have that to take into consideration.
     

    JettaKnight

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    Here's another question: Why was this reported? Who was counting and why?

    To some it may be sincere niceness, to others an annoying obligation, yet still others make it a game to see "how many".

    Probably most people just don't care and go along.
     

    Alpo

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    Well, back in the day, we bought rounds for the house. The rest of my check I wasted. :)

    Bar-I-Love-Everyone-In-This-Bar-I-Love-Everyone-Next-Rounds-On-Me-Reaction-GIF.gif
     

    JettaKnight

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    I would also point out that the first person paid for both is own meal and that of the next person, so we have that to take into consideration.

    I noticed that. What's protocol in that situation?

    Because that's how I view this - someone does something good, then the unintended consequences is the total chaos to the social norms.

    OK, so I'm going a bit George Costanza on this...


    But yes, yes I do often rely on protocol in the course of odd social situation - like funerals. That's the one place you don't want to screw up a social interaction.
     

    T.Lex

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    I'm not tracking where the "obligation" thing comes from.

    A couple months ago, I got a coffee at a shop near my office. (I rarely do that.) After she handed it to me, she said someone had already paid for it. I offered to pay for the next person in line, but she said that one was already covered, too. So I took it. :)

    I didn't feel obligated to offer the next person, it just felt like the right thing to do.

    And, since they know the total number, at some point the "last" people in line just took the free food. :)

    Finally, the "newsworthiness" of things - since I sometimes have background information on ACTUAL newsworthy things - is, to me, a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, surrounded by dollars. Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense.
     

    HoughMade

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    One more reason to avoid a drive through.

    I'll be generous in many situations....of my choosing.

    Feeding people with the means to feed themselves? Nice, but not necessary and not exactly "when i was hungry, you fed me...".
     

    IndyDave1776

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    One more reason to avoid a drive through.

    I'll be generous in many situations....of my choosing.

    Feeding people with the means to feed themselves? Nice, but not necessary and not exactly "when i was hungry, you fed me...".

    I concur regarding more careful selection in my acts of generosity when doing so in earnest. I agree that this isn't a 'charitable' contribution to the community or the universe, but I still won't be critical of doing something nice just because or necessarily decline to do so myself on occasion.
     

    T.Lex

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    One more reason to avoid a drive through.

    I'll be generous in many situations....of my choosing.

    Feeding people with the means to feed themselves? Nice, but not necessary and not exactly "when i was hungry, you fed me...".

    I concur regarding more careful selection in my acts of generosity when doing so in earnest. I agree that this isn't a 'charitable' contribution to the community or the universe, but I still won't be critical of doing something nice just because or necessarily decline to do so myself on occasion.

    Hold up now. That idea of "people who could pay" goes back to the nature of cash.

    That $5 is something those people could then spend on something else. We really don't know the financial means of the other people. (I am related to certain people who, despite having negligible earning potential nor savings, choose to eat in those kinds of places.) The effectiveness of the charitable act is open to debate, but the fact of it being charity ought not be.

    Whether it is a large or small impact does not change the nature of the gift.
     

    phylodog

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    Who cares? People are free to do what they want (last I checked). If passing it on feels good to them, who am I to judge or put someone down for it? Was someone harmed by this or something?
     

    HoughMade

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    Hold up now. That idea of "people who could pay" goes back to the nature of cash.

    That $5 is something those people could then spend on something else. We really don't know the financial means of the other people. (I am related to certain people who, despite having negligible earning potential nor savings, choose to eat in those kinds of places.) The effectiveness of the charitable act is open to debate, but the fact of it being charity ought not be.

    Whether it is a large or small impact does not change the nature of the gift.

    I said it was nice, but good point. That $5.00 saved at McDonalds can pay for a month of Metformin.
     

    HoughMade

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    I have a theory about Go Fund Me campaigns that's pretty unpopular too.

    I can't speak for the OP, but I don't care if people want to engage in this no matter how silly it is.
     

    IndyDave1776

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    I have a theory about Go Fund Me campaigns that's pretty unpopular too.

    I can't speak for the OP, but I don't care if people want to engage in this no matter how silly it is.

    Oh the fun a person could have with this. I did have the thought cross my mind to start a Go Fund Me with some completely stupid story to see if people would actually donate.
     
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