Only a person who had been through the roughest of days can understand the importance of money in today's world. People who work hard throughout their lives value whatever they earn, less or more. And it hurts a lot when they see others misusing this money. Yes, that's true as many people get several government benefits to live a better life, sadly, most of these privileged people take these benefits for granted and exploit them.
This incident took place in a Walmart store when an Army officer rushed out of the store to follow a couple who looked completely normal to everyone around but not to the army officer. He sensed something very wrong about this couple and followed his gut feeling which was later seen by the entire world.
Patrick Gibson is not only a responsible family man but also a caring and dedicated citizen. He has always been in the habit of observing whatever happens around him. This observing skills of Patrick was soon going to make one big time difference in his life. It all started one fine day with another regular visit at Walmart when Patrick took notice of what was kept inside a couple's shopping carts.
To Patrick, it was nothing new until he stood face to face with a disturbing truth about a couple who stood in front of him in the cash counter queue. Just like anyone else Patrick too had a choice to ignore what was going on and move on. However, he couldn't handle what this couple was up to and ran behind them. What happened next brought thousands of people with a bitter reality of our society.
Patrick Gibson has never been rich in terms of money but in terms of ethics. Since a very young age, Patrick saw his parents work hard to earn a living and live a respectful life. No wonder he grew up to be a man of his words. After all, it's the men like Patrick who define the term gentlemen accurately.
In a hope to free his parents from all sorts of burden at an old age, Patrick applied for a job at the U.S. Army. He got the job and it was a big-time achievement for the young man. Yes, leaving his family behind for months was the hardest part but he was doing what he wished for the most, ie, doing his best for his family. His parents too were supportive of his choices. They were the ones who taught Patrick that nothing comes easy in life.
Patrick spent several years as a soldier. His parents taught him to be a good man while the military life made him a better man. Over the years, Patrick became more confident than he was ever before. And this confidence was about to help him when he'll encounter an old couple did what was unacceptable for him.
Patrick met a girl named Whitney, a beautiful, and happening girl. He fell in love with her at their first meeting. Understanding each other came effortlessly in their relationship and when two people are so comfortable together, it never takes too long for them to take the next huge step: tying the knots.
The couple got married and now had two kids- a boy and a girl to look after. Patrick was the sole breadwinner of the family now. He was facing a hard time in fulfilling all his kids' demands and wishes. As they couldn't afford over-spending. The couple was unable to save a single penny at the end of the month.
Patrick never told this to anyone but his wife, Whitney did understand why he denied breakfast. It's because he tried to save as much as possible to use it to fulfill his kids' wishes. He had a long list of household expenses such as diapers, car payments, gas, and toiletries, and this was keeping the basic food expenses aside. Patrick was still happy with his life and was certain that everything will work out as planned soon.
So, the end of the month was near and Patrick had a little balance left in his salary account. He thought of buying some of the necessary groceries from a near Walmart store. As always he made a list of the things he had on his mind before heading out of the home. In this way, he can calculate easily how much he is going to spend.
Little did Patrick know he would be least concerned about his own purchases but will be offended by an old couple's selfish actions.
Patrick himself is a fitness freak and always tells his kids the importance of eating healthy and stay fit. So, he looked at the red grapes and thought he can give his kids a healthy treat. After doing a little calculation in his head, Patrick was overwhelmed that he had enough money left on him to buy the grapes. Although, this happiness wasn't going to last for too long.
There were more people entering the store and Patrick wanted to leave early from there. He quickly gathered all the essentials and walked towards the cash counter. While he was trying to make his way towards an empty counter there was all sort of people on his way. A couple of ladies talking, their kids running here and there picking their favorites and insisting on buying it.
Patrick tried to be quick but an old couple made their way to the counter before him. And the wait was going to be long enough as the couple had two huge carts full of items they were going to get billed. Patrick wondered if they ever thought of making a list or not.
The couple standing ahead of Patrick had fresh steaks, butter, bacon, cheese, shrimp, and lobster. “Must be nice,” he thought and stood there using his phone. The couple in front took their time and put all the items on the counter one by one.
Finally, the wait was over as all the couples items were packed and handed over to them and it was the time for them to make their payment and go home. Patrick quickly picked his shopping bag to take a step forward and get his bill but there happened something so confusing that he just stood there in disbelief. But what was it?
It was about this couple's payment method that caught Patrick's attention. Usually, people pay with their debit cards, credit cards, or in cash, however, this couple didn't use any of these methods to make the payment. Then how did they pay?
The total amount they needed to pay was $800 and the man started to look into his wallet for something. He checked through $100 bills as he was searching for a card. A specific type of card; the EBT card. But what difference will it make?
The term EBT card stands for electronic benefits card. It is based on an electronic food benefit stamp system which gives the state welfare departments the authority to circulate benefits through a payment card. This card is ideally supposed to be used in case of emergencies and to meet the basic requirements. Unlike this couple who was using this card on their luxury items.
Patrick tried not to be judgemental about it. He tried to calm himself thinking they might have guests visiting but it was quite frustrating to see people misuse the benefits they are getting. As the couple passed by Patrick, he quickly paid his bill and followed them.
Patrick decided to follow the couple and the next thing was going to be outrageous for the army dad. The couple didn't go too far as they had three full-size bags with them which made them walk slowly.
It didn't take him much time to locate the couple as they had loads of stuff to load in their car. And Patrick was shocked to see the sight in front of him. The couple was slowly reloading their purchasing in the trunk of their car. After all, they had bought 3 bags of it.
Guess what, this couple owned a brand-new Hyundai Genesis, as per Patrick the cost of this model is around $15,000 to $20,000 which more than his own family car. At this moment he decided that he has to do something about it. He took out his phone and clicked a picture of it.
Patrick shared this incident on a Facebook post stating: “Sorry but I had to vent. The picture you see on the left is the amount of groceries including diapers that I was able to afford this pay period for my family. (wife, son, daughter,my self) which was paid in cash since I actually work hard for a living. The picture on the right is of the purchase in front of me in line.”
He further added, “If you can’t tell in the picture there are 2 full buggies of groceries including such items like steak and some other very nice choices of food. Here’s the kicker. This purchase was made in food stamps. Which I wouldn’t have a problem with if I didn’t see the person move their big fold of cash out of the way to get to the ebt card and then load them into the back of a brand new Hyundai Genesis.”
“That is about 15k-20k more than my car. I just thought I would take the time to tell this person/family that you are very welcome from all of us hard working/ struggling to buy food Americans that have to foot the bill for your fancy steak feast while I skip breakfast and lunch every day that way my wife and children have food to eat every day, because $50-$75 dollars doesn’t go very far. So you enjoy your $800 free grocery purchase,” he mentioned. Patrick had no idea how much this post was going to affect people.
A commentator went on saying: “Food stamps should be to get a family on their feet. It should not be expected and it is NOT meant for people to be on for their entire life. Makes me sick too!! There should be a limit on the types of food they are allowed to buy. Bread, milk, eggs, ground beef. They shouldn’t be allowed to use them to buy things like steaks, shrimp, cokes, etc.”
People even started to criticize him saying: “Do you really know their back story. Don’t be quick to judge someone ’cause you’re angry. How do you know if that person works and their spouse doesn’t work because of problems? That all the money in their pocket is to pay their bills that the new car was a gift. How do you know that’s not the case?” However, Patrick wasn't in the mood of taking any blame for it. He knew he wasn't wrong and he came up with an accurate answer.
Patrick said, “Well the odds of that being the case in this situation much like many other situations with food stamps are almost as likely as me being approved for some government assistance because we are struggling…..oh wait I forgot. We already got denied so I’m pretty sure the chick isn’t dying and no one gave her a free damn car. I am sure that hard-working people such as myself are giving her a free life though.”
Patrick believes in working hard and earning for himself. he would have never asked for government assistance unless the worse take place. Now the real question is whether the couple was exploiting the government benefits or was it all a huge misunderstanding on Patrick's side?
It wasn't a big surprise when Patrick's post went viral on every other social media site. The post was shared for more than 100,000 times. A person took this matter seriously and shared his own views about how this entire incident can be different than what it looks like. After all, no one has any factual information about the couple.
“My point is, a picture paints a thousand words and your version is highly bias. No one needs to thank you or anyone else for working for their grocery bill when the fact is that a majority of families participating in the program are working families struggling to make ends meet just as you are,” said the Facebook user. We would know your point of view on this...