In a healthy society, begging a burger chain for free food in exchange for Twitter retweets would result in shunning, banishment, or death. Moochers and parasites shouldn’t be rewarded. Gotta nip that $#!+ in the bud while they’re young. The worst thing you can do is encourage it.
On Tuesday morning, Carter Wilkerson, a 16-year-old high school junior in Reno, Nev., became the owner of history’s most-retweeted tweet, knocking Ellen DeGeneres and her famous Oscars selfie off her perch…
When he sent his fateful tweet on April 5, he thought it might be a fun joke for his friends…
There’s no way Wendy’s would actually give him free chicken nuggets, he thought.
But when the tweet passed just over 3.43 million retweets, Wendy’s said it would indeed give him free chicken nuggets for a year, even though he remained far from the 18 million retweets the restaurant’s cheeky Twitter account had originally said he would need for the free nuggets.
So, not only did this kid demand something for nothing, but now he’s getting it even though he failed miserably. #ThisIsHowYouGetTrump
I didn’t RT it because I didn’t want to be a part of this abomination, but I suppose there’s no harm, now that he’s successfully leeched off society:
HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3
— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm) April 6, 2017
Disgusting. On many levels.
Sure, the publicity that Wendy’s has gotten from this is worth a lot more than a year’s worth of “free nuggs.” From a business and PR standpoint, it makes sense to do this. But good lord, what a precedent to set. I feel bad for all the social-media interns at companies everywhere who now have to put up with a bunch of freeloaders begging for a handout.
If you want free “nuggs,” or anything else, the proper thing to do is get a job and pay for them. Or, hell, steal them. Even that would be preferable to this sort of pathetic groveling.
For the rest of his life, this kid will be known as a moocher. And people in this sick society will celebrate it, as long as he doesn’t mooch off them.
#BoycottWendys!
(Hat tip: Sonny Bunch, who is sometimes right)
P.S. If this tweet beats that kid’s RT record, I will voluntarily eat a Wendy’s chicken nugget. Which I will pay for myself.
How many RTs for a year's worth of "free nuggs"?
How many RTs for a full college scholarship?
How many RTs for cradle-to-grave welfare?— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) May 9, 2017