I actually saw this floating around the internet awhile ago and opted out of watching it. I thought it was going to be another one of those viral videos similar to “Fitch the Homeless” – demeaning the person who is struggling and homeless while giving the content creator hits and a power trip (or savior complex depending on the viral video).
Well, yesterday my husband and Andrea on our Facebook page both within seconds directed me to the post. I finally watched it…
I still have mixed feelings about prank/social experiment videos like this, but in this case I think it ended up having a positive outcome.
The video shows a man who is currently homeless was given $100 by Josh Paler Lin, his team them follows him around to see what he purchases. At first I wondered if this was a setup because this could have either ended with something negative (and what really would you be proving if you posted that?) or with zero content. (I guess I’m getting old and cynical…)
But, for the sake of not turning into a bitter crotchety old woman, I’m going to believe this is true because it certainly could have happened just like it was presented to us.
Now the man goes off and buys food for other people currently struggling with homelessness, some of whom he does not know but he wanted to pass on his good fortune.
Lin is so moved by what he witnessed that he goes over and asks the man his story. He recounts his heartbreaking story of ill family members, quitting his job when medical coverage ran out for hospice care and then after it was all over, finding himself with nothing- a true victim of circumstance. He goes on to explain that many people who are homeless have similar stories. So in the end, he helped humanize a group of people completely misunderstood in the US.
This is why Lin apologizes to him and gives him another $100.
Did you see the video? What do you think?
