# Exasperated man buys everyone in Burger King an apple pie to teach boy throwing a tantrum a lesson. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267 "2014-08-10T21:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/101 "2014-08-12T18:13:43Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > Yet the last thread you started was a big complaint about parents paying attention to kids while they were on the phone. > I should think it’s better to be in agreement with oneself before seeking it from others. When parent is on the phone, I want him to say “Sweetie, I’m on the phone right now. Please don’t interrupt unless it’s something important,” or something similar. If the kid is throwing a fit, I’d like parent to say “I’m sorry, I will have to call you back” and go deal with it. If a kid is chucking stuff around at Burger King, screeching and demanding pie, I’d like the parent to say “if you can’t behave in a way that is not disruptive to other people, we’re going to have to go outside and not get pie,” and then follow through with that. I’m applying the exact same rule in both cases – kids should be taught that other people count too. Where is the inconsistency? ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/102 "2014-08-12T18:52:44Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > My initial reaction was to the whole of [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17627523&postcount=25). > > I just found it kind of funny that a post containing multiple accusations of smugness on the part of others (not just one person) was expressed in such a smug tone. > > Now you’ve introduced another negative characterization (“ **snidely** ”) into the mix, with no more awareness of how your posts might contain elements of this than you had before. [bolding added] Absolutely. Quick, hide all the whips! (Hmm, perhaps no one will get that reference. It was a character. Snidely Whiplash. Somewhere in the cartooniverse, I think? Not the user **cartooniverse**. Just a mashup of the words “cartoon” and “universe”. On the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, I think. An animated cartoon. \<_Crap, I don’t know where I’m going here._\> What do ya think about those Whippet dogs? Some crazy shit, huh?) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/103 "2014-08-12T19:56:11Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > When parent is on the phone, I want him to say “Sweetie, I’m on the phone right now. Please don’t interrupt unless it’s something important,” or something similar. If the kid is throwing a fit, I’d like parent to say “I’m sorry, I will have to call you back” and go deal with it. > If a kid is chucking stuff around at Burger King, screeching and demanding pie, I’d like the parent to say “if you can’t behave in a way that is not disruptive to other people, we’re going to have to go outside and not get pie,” and then follow through with that. > > I’m applying the exact same rule in both cases – kids should be taught that other people count too. Where is the inconsistency? In that maybe the parent already said it and you didn’t hear it, and the parent is probably better than you at knowing when it is better to talk to the child and when it is better to wait it out because any attention will be a victory for the little brat. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/104 "2014-08-12T20:11:51Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > And in this case, there is zero upside. The longer the story stays in play, the more people will associate McDonald’s with caterwauling children and rude, lying customers. The reporter will politely be told that McDonald’s sales records are confidential and given a packet of press releases celebrating the Ronald McDonald House. I bought 23 pies to teach a bad child a lesson AND the cashier wrote racist remarks on my receipt. I’m not saying everyone should send me money but, you know, anyone who wouldn’t send a racially oppressed pie-buying hero money is probably a jerk. Look for my story soon on Buzzfeed! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/105 "2014-08-12T20:31:03Z")
I really don’t understand the ‘‘this person was immature, so I get to be immature back’’ mentality. There was no lesson being learned here. I don’t know why anyone would be deluded enough to think that they can somehow impart valuable life lessons from a chance encounter with complete strangers at Burger King. That man comprised .0001% of that child’s life experience and the child didn’t learn shit. But aside from that, the title of this thread is really misleading. That man never reported to have given pies to everyone in the restaurant. In fact, if you read through the reddit comments (god help me, I did) he says pretty clearly that he gave them to his housemates. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/106 "2014-08-12T21:19:09Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I really don’t understand the ‘‘this person was immature, so I get to be immature back’’ mentality. There was no lesson being learned here. Why must a lesson be learned? Sometimes a “fuck you” is satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/107 "2014-08-12T21:31:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Why must a lesson be learned? Sometimes a “fuck you” is satisfying. Most of the defenders I have seen are acting as if this man somehow was taking the moral high ground and teaching Mom and parent a valuable lesson. In reality, he was just being an asshole. I guess you could argue it’s okay to be an asshole sometimes. I wouldn’t agree, but you could argue it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/108 "2014-08-12T21:55:57Z")
Did someone mention pie? ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/109 "2014-08-12T22:20:03Z")
The line “who bought them all?” rings totally false. If a restaurant runs out of something, it never occurs to me that an individual bought the whole supply. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/110 "2014-08-12T22:25:24Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > In that maybe the parent already said it and you didn’t hear it, and the parent is probably better than you at knowing when it is better to talk to the child and when it is better to wait it out because any attention will be a victory for the little brat. You’re just randomly adding crap to the scenario if you hypothesize that something else “maybe” happened, and I don’t even know whether you are talking about being on the phone or being in a Burger King when you refer to the parent “waiting it out.” In the phone scenario, my complaint was that the parent repeatedly engaged in conversation with the child, making no attempt to discourage him from interrupting. The person being rude was the parent, and the one stuck waiting it out was me. In the Burger King story, the parent made no attempt to discourage the behavior and both parent and child behaved rudely. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/111 "2014-08-12T22:26:51Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Most of the defenders I have seen are acting as if this man somehow was taking the moral high ground and teaching Mom and parent a valuable lesson. In reality, he was just being an asshole. I guess you could argue it’s okay to be an asshole sometimes. I wouldn’t agree, but you could argue it. Is the legal system just “being an asshole” when it doles out punishment? In my opinion, often yes, but most people support having one. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/112 "2014-08-12T23:35:17Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Is the legal system just “being an asshole” when it doles out punishment? > In my opinion, often yes, but most people support having one. If that’s how you want to frame the argument, then what this guy did is tantamount to vigilante justice. This is where I’m coming from. America, as a society, has a problem with retaliatory aggression. This is true of young people in particular as it is becoming more and more prevalent. People have begun to feel, if a wrong is committed against them, they are morally justified in retaliating, often in a disproportionate way. (This is a well documented phenomenon and has become kind of a hot topic in social psych research.) It may seem relatively harmless in this context but as a cultural pattern it is actually quite damaging. (See: Road rage, revenge porn, school shootings.) So there’s that. I don’t understand how one bad behavior justifies another. I just don’t. These are discrete actions to me. The mother is morally accountable for being a shitty parent and the guy in Burger King is morally accountable for however he chooses to respond. Do I think he is the worst person in the world? No. Maybe he’s even a really nice guy most of the time. That doesn’t mean he was justified in acting like an asshole. Even on your worst days you have to be accountable for your actions. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/113 "2014-08-12T23:46:15Z")
I was on an airplane from Chicago to Atlanta in flight the fat 12 year old at my side, his mother had the aisle seat, I had the window, fat kid between us. He drank 3 cokes on the trip and with a wooden block pounded the pull off tabs into the seat belt buckle in some manner or other. When we landed he couldn’t get the seat belt off and started screaming. I said to him "let me help and i reached for the seat belt and his mother screamed “You keep your hands off him!” making it sound like he was screaming because this old guy had his hands on him. I stepped across them both and left, wondering if some security guy would tap me on the shoulder for an explanation, but noone did. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/114 "2014-08-12T23:47:36Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > The line “who bought them all?” rings totally false. If a restaurant runs out of something, it never occurs to me that an individual bought the whole supply. Oh, this guy clearly pulled half this story out of his ass. It’s like a ‘‘Dear Penthouse’’ letter. But I think if we take it at face value it raises some interesting questions. I wouldn’t even care if some people weren’t acting like he was some kind of hero. This is not the model of behavior that should be held up as an example. It will just result in more people feeling justified in doing asshole things every time they perceive they have been slighted. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/115 "2014-08-13T00:31:35Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > If that’s how you want to frame the argument, then what this guy did is tantamount to vigilante justice. > > This is where I’m coming from. America, as a society, has a problem with retaliatory aggression. This is true of young people in particular as it is becoming more and more prevalent. People have begun to feel, if a wrong is committed against them, they are morally justified in retaliating, often in a disproportionate way. (This is a well documented phenomenon and has become kind of a hot topic in social psych research.) It may seem relatively harmless in this context but as a cultural pattern it is actually quite damaging. (See: Road rage, revenge porn, school shootings.) > > So there’s that. > > I don’t understand how one bad behavior justifies another. I just don’t. These are discrete actions to me. The mother is morally accountable for being a shitty parent and the guy in Burger King is morally accountable for however he chooses to respond. Do I think he is the worst person in the world? No. Maybe he’s even a really nice guy most of the time. That doesn’t mean he was justified in acting like an asshole. Even on your worst days you have to be accountable for your actions. This isn’t “retaliatory aggression,” it’s a natural consequence. Piss off those around you and you get no pie. And there is no bad behavior on the part of the pie buyer. We all have a right, both legal and moral, to buy as many pies as we wish at Burger King, unless it is the last food available and now others starve. He didn’t trip the child and make it fall down or call it nasty names. What I like about his actions in the story is that they are completely within the realm of decency. He was able to make his point without stooping to behaving badly himself. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/116 "2014-08-13T01:47:13Z")
All I know is if I ever screamed at my parents that I needed a fucking apple pie I would have been back handed into next week. that would have been off-the-charts bad behavior in my generation. Kids will live up to (or down to) whatever standards are set. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/117 "2014-08-13T03:46:12Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > What I like about his actions in the story is that they are completely within the realm of decency. He was able to make his point without stooping to behaving badly himself. Pssst. It’s a made up story about revenge fantasies. > [@Magiver](#): > > All I know is if I ever screamed at my parents that I needed a fucking apple pie I would have been back handed into next week. that would have been off-the-charts bad behavior in my generation. > > Kids will live up to (or down to) whatever standards are set. It’s off-the-charts bad behavior for 99% of this generation as well. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/119 "2014-08-13T04:19:24Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > This is where I’m coming from. America, as a society, has a problem with retaliatory aggression. This is true of young people in particular as it is becoming more and more prevalent. People have begun to feel, if a wrong is committed against them, they are morally justified in retaliating, often in a disproportionate way. (This is a well documented phenomenon and has become kind of a hot topic in social psych research.) It may seem relatively harmless in this context but as a cultural pattern it is actually quite damaging. (See: Road rage, revenge porn, school shootings.) This allegedly occurred in Montreal. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/120 "2014-08-13T04:22:43Z")
double post ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267/121 "2014-08-13T04:46:26Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Pssst. It’s a made up story about revenge fantasies. I disagree. One man’s revenge is another man’s justice. For the child to be denied pie is perfectly fair, and a win for everybody. And so what if it’s fiction? Fiction can’t be analyzed or discussed? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exasperated-man-buys-everyone-in-burger-king-an-apple-pie-to-teach-boy-throwing-a-tantrum-a-lesson/695267.md?page=7)