While modern entertainment can range from the wholesome to the heartwarming, there’s a surging interest in antagonistic “content” that simply relies on unfriendly, adversarial confrontations orchestrated by annoying content creators. Earlier this week, we reported on some YouTubers harassing a man in a grocery store, and it looks like they’re up to mischief once again.
The video clip was shared to Reddit recently, and takes place in a grocery store yet again. In the ‘Soup’ aisle, the YouTuber can be seen pushing a person’s trolley out of the way, saying: “Who needs the basket in the way? Who’s the idiot who just leaves the basket there?” For a moment, the person who owns the trolley just stares at the content creator and the cameraman in pure shock.
The target of the “prank” then walks over to retrieve their trolley from further down the aisle and in a calm demeanour exclaims, “It’s just a grocery store, it’s not that f***ing serious.” In response, the YouTuber says, “Oh, that was yours, Jackass? I didn’t know that was your basket. I didn’t know, ma’am. You hear what I mean, ma’am?“
Clearly getting more frustrated with the situation, the person replies, “It’s a f***ing grocery store, dude. Just go f*** yourself.” The YouTuber continues to harass his target and follows them down the aisle, saying: “Why are you being such a Jackass, lady? Hey, show some respect, Jackass.”
The victim then loses their patience, responding: “Eat s**t and die.” as they walk away pushing their trolley. At this point, most people would choose to exit from the situation as you can sense the anger and consternation in the victim’s voice, but the content creator persists, stating: “Don’t leave the basket in the way no more. That’s all I’m asking.“
It’s here where the target of the so-called “prank” really loses their cool, as they turn towards the YouTubers, pointing their finger and yelling, “Leave me the f*** alone, dude! Leave me the f*** alone!” repeatedly. “Follow me again and I will lose it!” shouts the person, who is clearly distraught and appears to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
You’d think that this would be the moment that the content creators would leave the target be, but alas, you’d be wrong, as the YouTuber continues to follow the person, occasionally looking back at the cameraman with a cheeky smile.
It’s at this point in the video where the victim starts to ask for help from other people in the store. “Can somebody help me?” The person then walks over to a store worker, and you can see that they’re requesting for help to stop the harassment that’s taking place. A manager and a security guard promptly arrive to the scene. “Can you just tell him to leave me alone?” the victim of the “prank” asks.
What’s particularly frustrating about the footage is that the store manager seemingly sides with the YouTuber, and says to the target of the prank: “No, I need you to calm down, man. If you want him to leave you alone, you need to go that way.” The YouTuber then tries to insinuate that the person “stole someone’s purse,” which is not true at all. “That’s his.” responds the security guard, regarding the purse.
What made me feel particularly uncomfortable was at the end of the video footage, the harasser is seen laughing and joking with the store manager and the security guard.
As the shocking clip is making its rounds across social media right now, the internet was quick to dissect the footage and weigh in with their opinions on the embarrassing incident.
Another commenter was shocked that audiences actually enjoy watching this type of content, penning: “They are known and people are PAYING MONEY to watch this content. I hate that people enjoy this bullsh*t.“
Ultimately, “content” like this is truly bottom of the barrel stuff, and watching it makes us feel very sad and uncomfortable. One commenter sums up my thoughts and feelings on the incident really succinctly, writing: “This is actually difficult to watch because you can see that this person is not just asking to be left alone but that their emotional tolerance for what they’re doing is very low. How does anyone know what this person has been through in life? Maybe someone they love just passed away. Maybe they have ongoing physical and/or mental health concerns. I don’t think this was funny at all, it’s outright harassment.”
Hopefully, in the future, this sort of pranking culture begins to diminish, as it’s arguably one of the lowest common denominators when it comes to modern entertainment. Here’s hoping, anyway.