Column: Social Experiments...

Viral videos are a huge deal in 2017. Everyone has a phone, and everyone is recording just about everything they can to post to YouTube or a variety of other platforms.

While there are certainly millions of horrible videos, there are some that are well worth watching. The other day Melissa and I were discussing several “social experiment” videos. The subjects of the videos were homeless residents in various places around the world. A lot of people like to turn a blind eye, but the homeless problem in large areas is a huge epidemic. It’s not just people who have addiction problems either. There are many who are mentally ill or have had a few bad breaks in their life. I feel for homeless people when I see them. It breaks my heart to see anyone in that type of situation, no matter how they got there.

During a “social experiment” I watched online, a young man gave a homeless man a pizza. Rather than keep it to himself, he offered some of the pizza to others in need. I was fascinated by what he did with the pizza. He could have made the pizza last quite a while and kept it to himself, but he didn’t. That showed me that even in the worst of situations, people still care about those around them. In a world of stupid videos, it gave me a little faith in humanity.

The last time I we were in Vegas, Melissa and I both spent a little bit of time gambling. We are by no means high rollers and risking thousands of dollars a bet, but we still like to have a little fun. While at MGM Grand, I had won a few chips, and for some reason or other didn’t cash in a $5 one. The last night of our trip we attended a UFC fight to watch Conor McGregor. It was a crazy experience and there were a lot of people celebrating on the walk home to our casino. The fight had ended around 10 p.m., but since it was August in Vegas, it was hot. Stupid hot. It was the kind of hot that made you want to not venture outside, even if there was a fire. As we were walking down the strip, I noticed a homeless man who was asking for money. Although I feel bad for the homeless, I could never get out of Vegas with any money if I donated to every homeless I person I encountered. On this night, I had a change of heart and really wanted to give him money. Spending his day in the sun in August had really done a lot of visual damage. I don’t ever carry a lot of cash when traveling, so I felt bad when I didn’t have anything to give him. I was looking in my short pockets for a loose bill or two when I found the $5 chip from MGM. I was elated to be able to give it to him, but also skeptical if they would even let him in the casino. They have the right to refuse anyone, and they do. The casinos are big business and you can’t have the bathrooms filled with the homeless, that’s just the way it goes.

I handed him the chip and went on my way. Hopefully he could get in and cash it, or at least have someone do that for him and bring him back the money. That would also be interesting to watch on video to see who would actually bring him back the money, or who would go in and use it on a table without a care in the world. Anyone that would do that deserves to be wacked by a wooden spoon as hard as my Aunt Margaret used to get me when I was little.

We would see the same man a little while later, and what I saw brought a huge smile to my face. The man had spent his money on food and water. Not only did he do this, he was sharing it with his friends. I didn’t intend for this to be a “social experiment”, but I’m glad it turned out that way. In a time of need, he helped those around them and that’s never a bad thing.