In this blog post, we will tell you an incident where an army dad snaps a pic of a woman’s cart after spotting what’s in her grocery cart.
Anger often makes people blind. Sometimes, anger is justified and sometimes, not. Was Patrick too judgemental? Was his anger justified?
A Happy Man
Patrick Gibson was always a family man. He had a small family. Patrick wanted to support his family in every possible way. After registering his name in the US army, he thought it would be a rosy future for him and his lovely family.
Patrick found it difficult to live far away from his family for months. However, serving one’s country in uniform is always considered a noble job and Patrick loved it. Moreover, he always learned from his parents that nothing in life would come for free.
Meeting His Love
Patrick thanked God after meeting the lady luck in his life. Both were happy and madly in love with each other. They soon got married. And he soon became a proud father of a boy and a girl.
The couple went through hard times. Patrick being the only breadwinner, the family had to manage with his small income.
Patrick often had to starve to feed his family. He used to skip his breakfast so that he could save $70. However, it was too little savings to feed 4 mouths and manage other necessary expenses including car payments, gas, toiletries, diapers etc.
With every passing day, it became difficult for him to make both ends meet. However, Patrick was happy with his life and family.
Grocery Shopping
Patrick used to visit the local Walmart store with a small leftover from his monthly salary. That day, he was thinking about buying a treat for his family. The red grapes in the produce section looked lovely. Patrick had no idea that his smile would not survive long.
He was carefully choosing the best and special items while walking through the aisles. All the while, calculations were going on in his head.
The Walmart store was packed that day. Patrick wanted to finish his grocery purchase as soon as possible. Children were wailing for no apparent reason while their mothers were pushing them almost in a daze. Patrick could feel other buyers breathing heavily on his shoulders.
People were going to and fro with their shopping carts. The ambiance felt suffocating for Patrick. He moved his cart containing a few grocery items, to the checkout line. He was waiting with patience. Little did he think that a small incident would ruin the day for him.
As the crowd of shoppers queuing in front of the cash counter was moving forward, two shopping carts ahead of him arrested Patrick’s attention. A lot of items including bacon, shrimp, fresh steaks, lobster, butter, cheese and other luxury products were piled up in both carts.
He wished one day he could buy all these things for his family. “One day, I’ll!” Patrick could see the buyers unloading their goodies onto the cash counter. Most probably, they were a couple. He never thought that his next action would cause thousands to get angry with him.
Just a Minute
All the items they purchased were packed. The screen showed $880. The figure was not surprising, given the loads of items they purchased. They were now ready to leave the grocery store. The man was unzipping his wallet and paid the bill through the EBT card.
The full form of EBT is an electronic benefits card. It is used in an electronic food stamp system allowing state welfare departments to provide benefits through a payment card.
Patrick suddenly felt that a wave of anger swept him away. He pulled out his mobile phone in a rage.
Not Believable!
Angry Patrick bit his tongue. He clicked a picture. Was he in haste to judge? He thought while suppressing his anger as much as possible.
He had no idea of the couple’s situation. And then, something in the Walmart parking lot arrested his attention. It was the final straw.
The couple was slowly loading their purchases into the car. Patrick was done with his ‘loading’ and walked over to the parking lot.
Even with 3 baggages, Patrick went past them steadily while they were busy reloading the bounty into the car trunk. Suddenly he noticed what they were driving and decided to make them famous.
Outrage on Social Media
The couple had made a purchase of $800 and were driving a Hyundai Genesis. The car surely cost $15,000-$20,000 more than his family car. His blood started boiling. Patrick chose social media to vent out his anger.
He made a post online. It read, ““Sorry but I must say what I want to. The picture on the left shows the amount of groceries that I could afford for my family. (wife, son, daughter, myself). I paid in cash. I could not buy luxury things like steaks since I work hard for a living and to support my family.
He continued, “The picture on the right shows what a couple standing in front of me purchased. There are 2 full bags of groceries including steak and some other very luxury choices of food. They used food stamps for the purchase. However, I would have no problem with that had it not been for the couple moving a wad of cash out of their way to get to the EBT card and then reloading the items into a brand new Hyundai Genesis.”
If one can do psychological analysis of Patrick’s condition, the person can easily understand he was overcome with a mix of jealousy, frustration and anger. Patrick made it his daily routine to skip breakfast because he wanted to save money for his family whereas this couple was spending lavishly on their grocery purchase.
Some Facebook users also agreed with Patrick. Most probably, they too considered it a waste of money, just like Patrick did.
“The purpose of food stamps should be to help people stay alive. There should be some restrictions on the type and amount of food people will be allowed to buy. Bread, eggs, milk! They must not be allowed to buy luxury items like shrimp, steaks, cokes etc,” one person commented when agreeing with Patrick.
Backlashes & Patrick’s Befitting Reply
However, little did he expect that a cascade of backlashes would be coming his way!
“Do you know anything about them? You have not considered anything while judging them. This is because you are angry. Are you sure that the man works and his wife does not because of some serious problems? Their new car could be a gift from someone. Have you tried to know what the actual matter was?” someone typed a few lines hastily.
However, Patrick was ready with his scathing reply.
“Well, the odds of all these being in their favor like many other situations involving food stamps are as slim as my being approved for government assistance. Moreover, I’m pretty sure that no one gifted them the car. However, I am equally sure that many hard-working people like me are giving them a free life.”
Assistance Denied
Patrick was a confident and proud man. He would never have asked for assistance unless he really needed it. However, he was denied and his family suffered for it. “It beats me to see so many people being approved for food stamps and most of them don’t need it at all. It was clearly the case with the couple who purchased two carts full with luxury items.”
Gone Viral
Patrick’s post went viral quickly, inviting a large pool of attention. It garnered more than 100, 000 shares on FB. Many people agreed and while some disagreed to his point of view. One person highlighted an interesting point about Patrick’s observation, commenting that he might not have all the information about the couple.
Controversy
Patrick’s post created a lot of controversy among the netizens. Patrick asserted that he wanted to present a picture that could convey a thousand words.
Replying to the comments in disagreement with his POV, Patrick wrote, “Unfortunately, your point is baseless and highly biassed. Most of the families approved for the program are struggling families and the program helps them make their ends meet.
It is a burning question who is eligible for government assistance and who isn’t. We love to hear from you.
Summary: Patrick is a hard-working army man. He struggles to support his family. One day, he visited the local Walmart store to buy grocery items. He was standing in the queue in front of the cash counter.
Suddenly, he noticed two carts loaded with luxury items and stationed in front of the counter. What happened next irked him a lot, prompted him to make a FB post and a controversy erupted on social media.
