The Tip Jar

There’s this video that went viral last August of a girl walking up to an Uber driver and stealing his tip money. Just takes it from the jar while he’s sitting right there. Which would be strange enough on its own, but everything about it raises questions I can’t stop thinking about.

Why is she only wearing a bra? Why does she stare right at the camera while she’s doing it? Why don’t her friends stop her—they’re literally standing right there? Why do all three of them run away like they’re being chased instead of just leaving? What was the driver thinking when he figured out what happened? And what makes you steal just a few dollars? What’s that calculation? What makes this a good idea?

The whole thing supposedly happened in New York according to some article I read. But knowing where it happened doesn’t explain anything. I keep going back to it, waiting for something to click. Some detail I missed that would make it all make sense—the bra, the eye contact, every weird part of it. There has to be some explanation.

But I don’t think there is one. I just keep watching anyway.