An American folk hero was born under the fluorescent lights of a nondescript grocery store in Michigan.
In a viral rant reminiscent of Rick Santelli’s famous “Chicago Tea Party” moment during the Obama years, a Red Baron employee, identified as “Walt,” stood down a group of internet-addled goons and let it fly. It began when the kid filming the video took out his iPhone, pretended to scan an item that Walt was placing into a grocery store fridge, and then claimed that he stole $10 using Apple Pay and that he really needed the money. Unsurprisingly, his voice had a slow, drawn-out cadence, leading one to suspect he was high as a kite. As Walt quickly grew frustrated, the kid kept insisting it was a “joke.”
“I don’t have time for this crap right now, okay? My life is hard enough as it is. I’ve got kids at home who went to bed without me right now,” Walt said. His voice grew louder. “I was supposed to be home an hour ago. I’m still out here working. And I got to get up at 5 in the morning and do ten more stores! So this is not a joke to me!” The livestreamer makes a half-hearted attempt at an apology, but it is already way too late. Walt continued: “I’ve got a mortgage. And I’ve got four kids at home! So not funny!”
If you’re like me, the video makes you sick to your stomach. Only sadists would find this even remotely amusing, as no one with any sense of decency wants to watch a stressed-out family man get harassed in the late hours of the night as he finishes up a grueling shift. Thankfully, though, this story has a wonderful twist. Like all good stories, it shows the very worst in humans, but it also shows the very best. It also shows how the internet and social media have ruined society, but can still, in rare instances, provide an antidote to the emotional destruction it has caused.