Derlin Newey's story may have warmed the hearts of some who watched it, but it certainly, in the greater context of the world, is really depressing that it was necessary in the first place.
Newey is an 89-year-old pizza delivery employee of Papa John's Pizza forced into working for the company because he could not afford his bills on social security alone. At 89, Newey has been working 30 hours a week and, after seeing his story, TikTokers got together to raise money for the man.
He was surprised with a $12,000 tip upon a pizza delivery to the home of Carlos Valdez, who helped get Newey's name out on TikTok in the first place.
Couple surprises 89-year-old delivery man with $12k tipwww.youtube.com
While it's nice how strangers helped Newey, people are upset because he should never have been in this position to begin with.
Some are hailing the "feel-good" presentation of this news as symptomatic of a deeply broken system, which values single-use heroism but not universal support for its citizens.
Older Americans have trouble affording their bills almost universally, and specifically their healthcare.
Programs like Social Security and Medicaid are meant to negate some of these costs, but clearly are not working adequately.
With the election coming up, this is just one of many issues the country will need to address in order to make progress.
For the Derlin Neweys out there who can't rely on TikTok as their savior, it's time to act.
