I only saw this video yesterday for the first time, so forgive me if its already been discussed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suVLQdMFAKY
Basically, a kid opens a gift which and gets very excited when he sees an XBOX 360 box. Turns out the box is stuffed with clothing and the family who pulled the prank take great joy in letting the kid discover this.
I hate people. Har, har, har. Gee, how funny.
The kid should be happy that he got anything.
That’s the sort of thing my parents would do… then I’d get the actual awesome present in a shoebox or something.
I despise this sort of “humor,” i.e., let’s scare/disappoint/anger children, because it will be hilarious to watch their reactions. Maybe it’s because I was on the receiving end of some similar “hilarious pranks” as a small child, but it just makes me want to find these people and beat them with a shovel.
I **hate **his family, especially the guy who kept laughing. I think they are amazingly cruel.
If they can’t afford an XBox that’s fine, but to taunt a little one is so unneccessary and to post his hurt on the 'net is heartless.
It’s evil to do to a kid, but fun to do to a spouse. One year, I gave my husband a crappy, obviously junky $1 digital wristwatch. He tried to be gracious, and he missed the note in the box that directed him to the spare bedroom, where his leather chair and ottoman waited…
He probably was happy with whatever else he got before they pulled the prank. It’s the using the XBox packaging for mundane crap like clothes. They had to go out of their way to find the box.
According to the comments, there is another video/explanation somewhere that explains. According to the story, the kid peeked at his presents, found the XBOX, and bragged about it to his friends. Parents found out, pulled this, then gave it to him afterwards to teach him a lesson.
Still kinda f- up, but I’d like to think it’s true rather than just blatant cruelty.
It depends on the other circumstances. My enjoyment comes from the assumptions everyone in the thread is making about what they see. I’ll grant that it is clear the child believes he’s opeining a highly prized and much-desired electronic gadget. What we don’t know is the back story. Was this payback for something truly despicable the child had done earlier? Was there a moral lesson to be learned? Was the real gift presented later? Did the adults deliberately deceive the child?
To be honest, I didn’t watch the entire video, and my sound card is shot, so I couldn’t hear any dialogue, so I don’t know if some of these questions are answered in the last seconds of the video. But I have to agree that, yes, unless there are some amazing extenuating circumstances, that’s a pretty crappy thing to do to a kid.
Oops, **pantheon **was posting while I was writing. So that answers the questions I was raising. Yeah, it’s a little heavy-handed but, well, some people grow up in harder places than others. I wouldn’t have done that – I’d have returned the XBox and let the stinker wonder what happened to it. And, there may be some people who think even that would have been cruel.
It was a total prank. He never did get the XBox. From what I understand though Engadget and its community pulled together to get the kid a real one.
I don’t know if I’m just playing devil’s advocate, or maybe I’m in a combative mood, but really, I don’t think the kid should have been that upset. His reaction just screams, “I’m a spoiled brat and deserve $300 gifts.” My goodness, what an unappreciative little bugger.
If I was the kid and my parents did that, I would be right pissed as well. Did the kid act like a spoiled brat, yeah. But if you open the wrapping paper expecting the Gift of Your Dreams, and it turns out to be socks and underwear, wouldn’t you be pissed as well?
Shame on the parents in this case. I’m all for teaching my children to be appreciative of whatever they receive, but Christmas morning is not the time.
Someday, I hope I have the opportunity to give you a fake lottery ticket to make you think you’ve hit the jackpot. Then, I’d say, “Duh, of course nothing that good would ever really happen to you! But, hey, to make it up to you, here, have a coupon for a free small fry at McDonalds!”
Most people would probably be kind of pissed if I did that to them, but it’s good to know you’d be thankful just to get anything at all.
I’d go further and wouldn’t call him a spoiled brat, I’d say he’s feeling heartbroken and betrayed. That’s like giving a relative who’s really poor one of those fake lottery tickets just so you can see their face light up with joy at the thought of what relief it’ll bring, just so you can pop their bubble and tell them it’s fake. OK, that’s worse than this, but kids still dream these magical dreams of wishes coming true on Christmas, and pulling that stunt is just meanness.
Edit: Hey, simulpost.
Yeah, and even worse with sound. The kid goes from elated to heartbroken in seconds, and I can’t blame him a bit. The guy who keeps saying “you know we can’t afford an x-box” needs to have something crammed down his throat. Most of the time kids don’t understand the need versus want concept, especially when it comes to Christmas. I felt awful for the kid!
Reading comments from the masses on YouTube makes one grateful for the Straight Dope. The most recent comment for this video is simply “Fucking niggers”.
I keep telling my husband, as he scrolls down after viewing something on YouTube, “do *not *read the comments. Really.”
I also hate this kind of “joke”. I hate seeing the fake lottery tickets on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” as well. Raising hopes and joy just to dash it–ha ha fucking ha.
I’ve always wondered about the market for those fake lottery tickets. Where do you even go to buy them? Is there a specialty store for dicks that exclusively stocks bogus scratch-off cards, empty toy boxes that you can fill with underwear, and realistic-looking hospital letters that falsely claim the recipient has been approved for an organ transplant?
“Hey Timmy! A note just arrived here at the orphanage, from a loving couple who wants to adopt you! Wait, check out the last line-- oh, you’re too young to read? Well, it says: ‘Valid when hell freezes over!’ Heh heh, just screwing with you! April Fool!”
I’ve always hoped that when Mom gets up and goes in the other room it’s to get the Xbox. There’s such a thing as a prank that goes too far and crushes a spirit. It’s sad to see this happen in this boy’s eyes.