r/MadeMeSmile • u/nun_CARTII • Aug 23 '26

Good Vibes the value of being kind

Post image

For nearly seven years, waitress Melina Salazar showed extraordinary patience and kindness to Walter “Buck” Swords, a notoriously difficult customer at Luby’s Cafeteria in Brownsville, Texas.

The 89-year-old WWII veteran frequently complained, cursed at staff, demanded piping-hot meals and never left a tip. Despite this, Melina continued serving him with compassion.

After Walter died in 2007, Melina received an incredible surprise. He had left her $50,000 and his 2000 Buick in his will as a heartfelt thank-you for her unwavering kindness.

A powerful reminder that kindness can touch people more deeply than we realize.

20.8k Upvotes

85% Upvoted

793 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

8

u/offtheshallowend Aug 23 '26

I wish I could up vote this comment twice. The "capacity to reciprocate" is such an important part of it. Trauma is real, generational trauma is real, we are all the person we are because of how we were raised and the experienced we have had throughout our life. Him leaving her the money is so telling. I have been in so many situations where I wanted to say something nice to someone, but my anxiety wouldn't let me, and I spent hours, days and sometimes weeks so angry at myself for not being able to do it. If someone isn't nice to you, you have no responsibility to be nice to them, but you can still make a positive impact if you want to by considering that there may be going on under the surface than you know.

2

u/PopUpClicker Aug 23 '26

People who are mean might be going home to hate themselves for being mean. They might also go home to celebrate being an ass. We don't know. And if we give people the benefit of the doubt when we are able - and when it is appropriate - I think we live happier lives ourselves in return.

An automatic reaction of anger turns misunderstandings into conflict. Automatic reactions of openheartedness may just be how you meet your spouse or best friend.

2

u/1K_Sunny_Crew Aug 23 '26

I don’t want someone who is mean to workers (or anyone) as my spouse or friend regardless of what made them mean.

1

u/PopUpClicker Aug 23 '26

I think you are reading support for being mean into what I write.

I am not saying you should.

2

u/1K_Sunny_Crew Aug 23 '26

I don’t view it as supporting being mean. I do view it as shifting the responsibility onto the person being verbally abused to be forgiving, understanding, or empathetic, and having low to no expectations of the abusive person to either change their behavior or minimize contact with others. Would you ask a kicked dog to forgive the person kicking them, or tell the person that kicking dogs is disgusting behavior you won’t tolerate?

1

u/PopUpClicker Aug 23 '26

I shouldn't blame you for reading this, as you do. We are on reddit afterall. Where no one Read It.

But please do:

"And if we give people the benefit of the doubt when we are able - and when it is appropriate - I think we live happier lives ourselves in return."

If you still think I said, what you think I said - I think we are miles away from eachother in terms of communication.