Stranger Buys Homeless Man Meal at McDonald's. Cop Shows Up & Kicks Him Out
The saying “no good deed goes unpunished” is a wry and oddly comforting mantra for some people who’ve tried to do the right thing and been reprimanded for it.
Most of the time, you expect that kindness will be met with gratitude, smiles, and if you really reach the person, maybe a few tears. But loud words and police?
That’s what one patron experienced when he stopped in at a McDonald’s in Myrtle Beach, North Carolina. He posted the debacle on Facebook shortly afterward.
Allegedly, the man filming had seen the homeless man somewhere nearby, and invited him to come inside the fast food restaurant and get a bite to eat.
He began filming when a police officer arrived on the scene. She informed the homeless man, who was sitting in a booth eating his food, that he would need to leave as soon as he was done eating, and that he was not welcome back in the future.
The filmer piped up and started challenging the cop’s accusations. She said that people had called in complaining that he had been asking for money, but the man who’d bought him the meal insisted that he had offered to get him food without being asked for money.
It wasn’t long before the man began to get very loud, obviously distressed over the injustice taking place before him.
He repeated “You guys suck,” said he’d never come back, and challenged their decision to cast out the man he’d invited in.
The manager came out and asked him to quiet down, but he parried with a full-volume retort: “This is how I talk. I talk loud.”
He was told he was being disruptive and disorderly, which he also balked at. The homeless man seemed stunned by the accusation that he’d been asking for money and looked helplessly to his only friend in the restaurant, his hands thrown up and his face blank.
Warning — The following video contains brief strong language:
There is always more than meets the eye. Who knows what happened immediately leading up to the filming of the video, or what the disgruntled customer had done at that location previously.
Joel Pellicci, the owner of that McDonald’s, later released a statement concerning the fiasco.
“At my restaurant, the goal is to provide our customers with a positive and welcoming experience each time they visit.
“Unfortunately, the individual in this video has a history of disruptive behavior and has been asked to leave by management and police on several occasions. His unpredictable behaviors have created significant concerns for the safety and comfort of our employees and customers.”
Whether or not the man had a history at that particular location, it seems cruel and unusual to kick out a homeless man who was quietly eating his meal. It obviously caused him a lot of distress, and he was visibly upset afterwards even as he still denied the allegations leveled against him.
As a result of this video, many people have chimed in and voiced their displeasure. We hope that the unnamed homeless gentleman eventually got a full meal and kinder treatment.
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