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The video itself was quite off-putting when I first saw it. He didn't even just kindly offer her flowers. He _tricked_ her into taking them by making it sound l
by drakonka 4y ago
The video itself was quite off-putting when I first saw it. He didn't even just kindly offer her flowers. He _tricked_ her into taking them by making it sound like he just wanted her to hold them for him. She was actually being kind to him by doing him a favor, and then he basically ran away and stuck her with them. That's not kind at all, it's pushy and exploitative. As someone who doesn't usually like to accept gifts from random strangers, I'd be really put off and uncomfortable; and that's before taking into consideration the fact that it was filmed and put online for people to gawk at.
- naillo 4y agoIt's funny how these videos say they're intended to spread love and encourage random acts of kindness, but the actual effect of them is decreasing trust in strangers (that they might be filming us for their tiktok). This makes me not trust anyone that goes up to me in the street.
- headsoup 4y agoI would like to ask this tiktok guy how often he does his random acts of kindness without the camera rolling...
- hef19898 4y agoHis spokespeople will be happy to answer that question for him.
- ushakov 4y agowhy the hell does a TikToker need a spokesperson at all? ego boost?
- powerhour 4y agoSame reason I have someone change my oil -- I don't want to spend the time myself, I can afford it, and they'll probably do a better job.
- Sporktacular 4y agoYou're right. His team of image consultants, publicist and spokesman are probably best able to handle this.
- Sporktacular 4y agoYeah, it's called sarcasm guys. Grandparent's question was rhetorical, as to say 'that seems out of keeping with a low budget tiktok producer'. Parent goes on to explain why anyone would conceivably have a spokesman. Sheesh.
- dymk 4y agoTo manage negative PR
- pennaMan 4y agowhen you make money by manipulation and lies you're gonna have to hire a spokesperson at some point to manage your web of lies. See politicians, institutions of the state, corporations, tiktokers, etc
- prox 4y agoIn the future everyone will have their 15 minutes of exploitation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_minutes_of_fame https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_minutes_of_fame
- weird-eye-issue 4y agoPossibly he doesn't even have one but just pretends to talk through a spokesperson. Gives you a fake fall person
- mcv 4y agoExactly. Actual kindness doesn't need a camera and takes into account what the recipient of your kindness actually needs. This was just some guy taking advantage of someone for internet points.
- charcircuit 4y agoIf you are doing a random act of kindness you might as well film it too. Is there any incentive not to film it?
- fleddr 4y agoYes, it's called common courtesy.
- winternett 4y agoSo much of the content I see now on TikTok and other apps is totally staged, and quite often poorly staged at that. It would be interesting to know who funds the production of many of the videos, because there's obviously an advertising scheme or some sort of moneymaking ploy behind a lot of it. I think things really took off with the people who were making "gold-digger" videos, where a guy tries to talk to a girl and she rejects him, only to come back when he walks up to a (most likely rented) exotic car. In many of these cases, all of the people involved in the video are not authentic, but there's never disclaimer that the video is staged or a skit. Even car accidents, sad stories of addiction and mental illness, and stunts can all be staged to gain views as well. I'm skeptical of everything I see online, been that way for a long time... Worst part is there is no real way to avoid that type of content, and that phony content often gets plastered across all the sites, and reposted for years too come, and even written about when it's exposed as fake, so there's no real way to avoid it, and there's no incentive for people to stop doing it because of the (negative) popularity it breeds for the people and companies that sponsor and create it.
- hk1337 4y agoAt least if it's staged you know all the parties are in on it and it's not leaving someone "holding the bag".
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- btilly 4y agoThe staged stuff doesn't bother me as much as the dangerous stuff: https://www.fastcompany.com/90287323/people-are-falling-off-buildings-in-search-of-the-perfect-instagram-shot https://www.fastcompany.com/90287323/people-are-falling-off-...
- branon 4y agoNatural selection at work.
- sva_ 4y agoWith the amount of beggars in cities, I already highly distrust anyone who comes up to me to speak to me. 99 out of 100 times it is someone who tries to somehow enrich themselves.
- naillo 4y agoPlease be more empathetic to people who beg for money.
- upupandup 4y ago
- revolvingocelot 4y agoArguments of the form "So $MISREPRESENTATION_OF_STATED_OPINION" are disappointing to see here. I don't think you really think that the grandparent is suggesting that to be "more empathetic to people who beg for money" is to invite them to Thanksgiving or give them your bed. Consider visiting Reddit, where discourse of the form "So $MISREPRESENTATION_OF_STATED_OPINION" is more accepted.
- upupandup 4y ago
- phpnode 4y agothat's not what empathy means, you don't have to house someone to feel empathy for them. In this case, I'd say don't judge them so harshly because they're a product of a failing social system. They're the consequence of society's collective decisions and priorities.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- tuxie_ 4y ago
- de6u99er 4y agoWhat they are intendet to do, is generate views and likes for the owner(s) of the channel.
- giarc 4y agoLet's be honest though, they aren't intended to spread love and kindness, they are intended to get views. It's nothing more than a ruse to get views. If the creator was so inclined to spread love and kindness, he'd donate some of the millions he makes off these exploitive videos to charities.
- yawaramin 4y agoHowever he did pay for groceries for a few randos, so that completely balances it out.
- ComputerCat 4y agoI think true acts of kindness are difficult to achieve because something that you might find "kind", I might not, and vice versa. I think if you truly want to make people happy and do nice things for them you need to know them, their situation, what they're doing well with, what they're struggling with. Being tricked into holding random flowers wouldn't have made my day.
- greyhair 4y agoTrue acts of random kindness are rare only because most people aren't in need of random help that often. There is a wide range of things that would fall under the umbrella of 'just being polite' that are more expected social behavior than actual kindness. And you can be kind to people that aren't in dire straights or in need.
- duxup 4y agoIt seems like the video is for the creator and the audience… and that’s it. There seems to be little interest in the actual person given the flowers other than as a prop.
- TrueGeek 4y agoEven The Guardian couldn't help but link to the TikTok channel, point out when it was posted so you could find it easier, and post a screenshot of the video with the woman in it even though it's an article all about how she didn't want to be on camera. They're going to get tons of views!
- gonzo41 4y ago'Journalists' dont' give a shit about anyone. Her concerns are mute, now they guardian gets to talk about the meta issue. The tiktok was exploitative, the guardian article was likewise exploitative. They could have not linked to the channel and also just written a description of the tiktok. Choices were may, all of them to exploit that women directly or indirectly by piling onto the hype.
- drcongo 4y agoSmall thing, "moot" not "mute".
- pwdisswordfish9 4y agoWell, it’s not like she’s been meaningfully given a voice…
- rad88 4y agoMy guess is you don't know this woman or even live on the same continent as her? This is a thread of 500 comments from strangers, more or less unanimously condemning the tiktok media culture that led to her abuse. It's possible most people here know more about the incident and how it affected her than what happened this week in Ukraine. > Maree gave her consent to publish the video with this article https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/tiktok-video-maree-melbourne-flowers/101228418 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/tiktok-video-maree-me...
- nkozyra 4y agoObviously the most exploitative thing is doing it for the clicks, but none of this has ever felt "sweet" or "positive" or whatever other guise they're presented as. I wonder who finds this type of content genuinely appealing?
- throwaway0a5e 4y ago>I wonder who finds this type of content genuinely appealing? The only people I've ever heard say anything about this kind of content are radio DJs who are talking about the wholesome stuff they've posted to their employer's twitter and why you should definitely follow them.
- workingon 4y agoThe answer is always ‘kids’.
- raunak 4y agoEh I’d say you’re looking at the wrong culprit. More likely than not, the average person who mindlessly spends time on their phone. Next time you take public transportation, look around you to see what people do when bored - nearly everyone these days is on either TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, or whatever nonsense Facebook calls their short algorithmic video. It’s everyone - people fall for whatever the path of least resistance to the next dopamine hit is. And even if not true, you’re discounted bored housewives, the elderly, etc.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- xorcist 4y agoGood thing it was just free flowers. Imagine if it had been a free puppy. "Here, just hold this" running off
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- tuxie_ 4y agoOr a baby.
- FalconSensei 4y agoEven with flowers, I would be mad, because them I'll have to take them home, put on a pot near the window, water them... (I don't like the idea of just throwing plants and flowers out in the trash). Actually, I would like it even less because I hate the idea of cutting flowers out to put on a bouquet. They'll just die way faster for nothing. I think it's just not a good thing to give someone
- matheweis 4y ago> I hate the idea of cutting flowers out to put on a bouquet. They'll just die way faster for nothing. Many kinds of flower plants last longer and produce many more flowers if the flowers are cut away from the main plant. I have flower plants in my garden that I intentionally and frequently cut blooms from because it keeps the main plant healthier and blooming longer.
- pcurve 4y agoAgreed. Even if did appreciate the gesture, I wouldn't want to be filmed without consent, especially for the whole world to see. He should've given her opportunity to review he footage at the minimum.
- flycaliguy 4y agoSpot on. The connection between these types of videos seems to be an inability to appreciate that a filmed encounter is ultimately inauthentic. I wonder if young people who have always had smart phones and perhaps have always been filmed by parents and friends live in a different reality a bit. They went to school probably guarding their “image” at all times from a cellphone video. Thank god there were no cellphones during my high school goth phase.
- zelos 4y agoIt does sound truly odd. He seems confused about the concept of giving flowers. The actual flowers are not the point.
- atomicUpdate 4y ago> As someone who doesn't usually like to accept gifts from random strangers I'm dubious this happens enough for you to even have an opinion about it. What sorts of gifts are random strangers giving you?
- maxwell 4y agoThinking of the common CD bullies in New York: https://www.scam-detector.com/article/cd-bullies-in-new-york https://www.scam-detector.com/article/cd-bullies-in-new-york
- drakonka 4y agoIt's happened enough to know I'm not into it. You don't know when they just genuinely want to do something nice or when they're expecting something in return. I've had someone hand me a flower and then ask for my number. It got kind of awkward. Other times they hand you something making it out to be a gift, but then when you hold it in your hand they actually expect money for it. A trick sales tactic. And being _really_ pessimistic (unfortunately also from experience), who knows where that object has been or what's in/on it. And now, of course, who knows if they're actually filming you for some cringe TikTok video (luckily this one has not happened to me). It does depend on the place, situation, and general vibe you get from the person, though. Aside from awkward experiences, I think it's just weird and rude to hand someone something under the guise of asking them to hold it for you and run away, then try to claim it as some sort of act of kindness. One act of genuine kindness from a total stranger that still stands out to me the most years later did not involve them giving me anything.
- hypertele-Xii 4y agoWhat a weird psychological fragility. If a stranger leaves me holding their trash I shrug and shove it in a garbage bin.
- drakonka 4y agoWhat a weird straw man; he did not hand her trash, he handed her flowers under the guise of doing him a quick favor, then ran off. I guess she could think of it as trash after he left and even if she did - you genuinely wouldn't think some random person handing you their trash is kind of a rude thing of them to do?
- hypertele-Xii 4y ago> you genuinely wouldn't think some random person handing you their trash is kind of a rude thing of them to do? Sure, but I'm the kind of person who picks up litter anyway.
- drakonka 4y agoThat's great, then it sounds like we're on the same page.
- gonehome 4y agoIt's worse when that stranger is also surreptitiously filming you to paste it all over the net as evidence of how 'kind' they were to you.
- datavirtue 4y agoWarning: This video was designed to generate profit.
- kelnos 4y ago> that's before taking into consideration the fact that it was filmed and put online for people to gawk at. That's the thing for me. If you are truly doing a "random act of kindness", then you are not planning it, you are not filming it, and you are not putting it online. You are also being respectful: some people would be put off or offended for accepting certain kinds of help, so you probably should ask for consent. If you're filming it, and intend to post it somewhere, then you have some sort of ulterior motive to doing it. And I don't really find credible people who claim to be posting them in order to "spread awareness" or inspire other people to do these sorts of things. I wonder how much advertising revenue this sort of thing generates for someone with this guy's viewership...
- lurquer 4y ago"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.” Matthew 6:3-4
- yunwal 4y agoI feel like having an open culture around charitable giving is important. If more people felt like they were participating in something when giving to charity, they'd probably donate more (not saying that applies to this video, just in general). I think you can recognize when someone's not being genuine, but I don't mind people talking about their generosity.