Meet TikTok user "Sahmir Schenck" who has recently gained quite a bit of notoriety because he shared a seven-second video message on the social media app. The Dunkin' Donuts employee's video has been viewed nearly 800,000 times and has elicited comments and commentary over multiple social media platforms.
So, what did Sahmir do in those seven seconds that got so much attention and such emotional reactions?
He just did something that could begin to save our society, that's all.
His message, superimposed over his smiling face in Dunkin' uniform, was, "me after a customer tried to pay for the person behind them in drive-thru, but I took the money as a tip."
Hero.
Oh... Some will say he technically "stole" the money, but did he? And, even if he did, isn't a greater good achieved through this petty act of larceny?
Let's step back a moment. This whole "paying for the person behind you in the drive-thru" thing has become known as a "pay it forward" scheme. It was quite trendy a few years back, and every once in a while, like a bad case of herpes simplex, it comes back.
Here's a straightforward (if not touchy-feely liberal utopian) description of the trend from five years ago:
The concept of pay it forward is simple. Do a good deed for someone else and then they feel inspired to do a good deed for another person and so on and so forth. In it’s drive-thru incarnation, this takes the form of telling the cashier that you would like to pay for the person behind you. Because the person behind you has already placed their order, the cashier can tell you what that is and charge you for it. Alternatively, you can give the cashier $5 and they will relay that to the following customer, who will then only have to pay the difference. In both instances, the cashier or barista will ask the person if they would like to pay it forward and cover the next person’s order. In Pennsylvania this week, this happened 160 times.
So, you drive up to the window and the chirpy little attendant informs you that the last car "paid it forward" and bought your coffee. He/she/they/them/gif/jif then ask if you'd like to "keep it going" by paying for the car behind you.
You then feel pressured and guilted into participating in this Ponzi scheme, thus contributing to the degradation of all that is holy in our society.
Let's be clear: The spirit behind "pay it forward" is commie drivel. It's a "we're all in this together, so let's be a community and share the burden equally" kind of experiment which – far from altruism – displays the worst possible kind of selfish, preening bullying under the guise of charity.
Don't fool yourself. Nobody actually benefits from this drive-thru performance art. At the end of the day, the last person in line will get something free and never actually thank or acknowledge those who made their good fortune possible.
Every once in a while, the "pay it forward" curse is threatened by a brave consumer of the product being gifted. Earlier this year, it was a Starbucks customer who got a hell of a lot of anger and hostility for refusing to maintain the pyramid scheme.
In January, a different TikTok user was lambasted because he kept his $6 "pay it forward" drink and refused to cover the car behind him for $46. A perfectly reasonable and justifiable action that made him the enemy of the people.
His heart is in the right place, but I truly think the only real way to end this plague once and for all is to follow Sahmir's example. Drive-thru attendants should just pocket the money and go about their business. If a person wants to start one of these nightmares, just smile along, forget they said anything, and keep the change, you deserve it.
This is the way.
Bottom line: If you want to help your fellow man, give alms and charity or volunteer your time for the truly less fortunate. You're not going to make the world a better place by buying a latte for the NPR listening lady in the EV BMW behind you.
Sahmir for the Nobel Peace Prize! (And, Sahmir, get off TikTok... it's run by commies.)