Kindness To Strangers Program Teaches Rude Woman To Respect Others
Germany Kent once said, “There’s no room for hate and violence in this world. We must learn to be more kind, compassionate, empathetic, and sympathetic to humanity.” Apparently, not many of us got the memo! While I’m not here to argue, I do believe that kindness has a positive effect on everyone it touches, don’t you agree?
Meet Bethany Roberts, a successful social media influencer with a penchant for fashion and anything else that bleeds expensive brands. Be it handbags, shoes, makeup, clothing, or jewelry, Roberts covered it all. With a large following of actively engaged people who pay close attention to the brands she promotes, it’s only obvious then that Roberts had a certain image to uphold.
On the 13th of November 2019, which is also World Kindness Day, Roberts decided to visit her local mall to catch up on the latest brands. On her way in, she came across a poster that read “Kindness To Strangers with Courtney Mason” in big black letters. Underneath those big black letters, something else caught her eye – Limited seats, $100,000 cash giveaway. Although Roberts didn’t know Mason, she instantly decided to participate in the event just so she could fuel her desire to own expensive brands, you know, in case she gets the money.
With pride and determination, Roberts walked into the room that the event was taking place only to find out that out of the 30 seats, only one was available. Without a moment’s hesitation, Roberts quickly rushed in to take her seat next to a stout old-fashioned woman, who instantly smiled and greeted her, showing her a poster of the event. The event was about Kindness to Strangers, but Roberts wasn’t here to be kind, she was here to win.
The stout woman couldn’t contain her excitement and she began asking questions and answering some herself, always with a smile on her face. Roberts, on the other hand, wasn’t interested, instead, she took out her phone and pretended not to hear her. When it was time for photographs, Roberts decided to shield her face as she didn’t want to be caught sitting next to an obese, old fashioned woman. As if that wasn’t enough, Roberts kept asking the stout woman to move, telling her that she was invading her personal space.
Seeing that her comments had no impact on the stout woman who was busy eating a bag of chips, Roberts demanded a change of seat. She insulted the woman for eating at odd times, and for not giving her enough space to sit. With that, she willingly swapped her seat with a teenager sitting in the next row. The delighted teenager quickly became friends with the stout woman and apologized to her for having to deal with Roberts’ rude behavior. Roberts, on the other hand, pretended to dust off her jacket, and breathed a sigh of relief, as she sat down beside another woman.
Minutes later, the event organizer announced the start of the event and told everyone about the $100,000 cash giveaway. When it was time for Courtney Mason to adorn the stage, everyone held their breath, even Roberts couldn’t wait to meet the woman behind the generous giveaway. No one had ever seen Mason or heard anything about her, and so Roberts imagined her to be a successful young woman, with a perfect sense of style. It was natural then that people were curious, they wanted to see the woman behind the name.
Instead of appearing from behind the curtains, Mason was sitting right there in the crowd and when she stood up to go on stage, everyone was shocked. She was none other than the woman Roberts had humiliated. Mason had a health condition that made her gain weight despite going on numerous diets. Roberts felt a huge lump in her throat, a wave of humiliation hit her, leaving her with nothing but bitter memories of how she treated the stranger. The event, which was about Kindness to Strangers, left Roberts with a life lesson she’d never forget. As far as the $100,000 cash giveaway was concerned, Mason told everyone that under their seat was an envelope and only one envelope, out of 30 was a winner.
Everyone quickly searched under their seat, grabbed their envelope, and looked around to see who was the winner of the massive $100,000 cash giveaway. As it turns out, Roberts would have been the winner, but because she willingly swapped her seat, she directly gave up her prize money to the teenager who was now $100,000 richer.
Mason stated that the envelope was placed strategically under the seat next to her seat because according to her, only a person with true compassion, kindness, and respect to strangers would sit next to a shabby, stout, obese, and an old-fashioned stranger, and only that person deserves to be the winner.
What’s the best way to teach kindness to strangers? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends!