I really don't believe it. I'm sorry, but real life doesn't play out like that. Maybe there is a grain of truth to the story but alarm bells start ringing when the tale comes straight out of a script writers workshop. Read it again!
And why does this have to be a troll post? The Internet is full of this stuff, reddit in particular (see IamA). Is it so bad to be skeptical?
The story meshes perfectly with my experience of reality.
For example, people who appear to be extremely wealthy are much less likely to be generous tippers, because most people with garish appearances are actually middle-class folk who are up to their ears in debt accrued while accumulating the trappings of their specious wealth.
The people who actually have money to spare are the ones who live within their means, whether that's tens of thousands of dollars per year, or tens of millions.
Similarly, people who seem like they have all the time in the world are actually less likely to be good samaritans, because they're caught up in the high-speed goal-oriented mental framework where every minute has a Scheduled Purpose That Must Be Fulfilled.
The people who actually have time to spare are the ones who do not over-commit themselves, and are "disconnected" in just the right ways. I don't mean disconnected technologically, because it's entirely possible to take a liesurely stroll while tinkering with a smartphone. I mean "disconnected" in the sense that they are not plugged into the country-wide network of social obligations and expectations that most of us accept without even realizing there is an alternative.
Also, from a more concrete standpoint, please consider the context in which your disbelief is thriving. This is a world where people lie to friends, business partners and loved ones for decades at a time to accumulate fraudulent wealth; where inexorable neuroses drive people to become serial rapists; where devoted hobbyists spend weeks and months of their lives to do things like catalog every instance of the "Wilhelm scream" in the history of cinema, or document the pop culture references in every episode of the Simpsons; where some privileged people are so affluent that they can spend more on a single meal than an entire family of third-world country residents spend in an entire year of living expenses. In this world, men can survive in the vacuum of outerspace, where there is literally nothing. Men can survive in the depths of the ocean, where the exponential weight of the ocean creates enough pressure to crush steel.
We live in a world of absurd extremes, pernicious and healthy. Viewed through this lens, is the OP story really so unbelievable? If Buddhist monks can forgive oppressors who murdered their friends and loved ones, is it really that improbable that some worldly Mexicans stopped to help a down-on-his-luck white guy because they had a jack and tire iron in the van?
Ah, so this is about faith in humanity, and whether the story is true or not does not matter -- as long as we believe. I can live with that. I have to say though, I've met plenty of non-poor, non-immigrant folk that like to help people out.
All we can do is speculate about whether the story is true or not, and in practice, its veracity is completely irrelevant to our lives. You said "I really don't believe it." What I understand that to mean is "I am as certain that story false as I am certain that I'll suffocate without air." To the extent that you are saying the story is certainly untrue, I am confused by your skepticism. What about the story seems that unbelievable? That in all the billions of people in the world, that four of them didn't end up in a van on the highway with the means and and impetus to help a stranger?
"I have to say though, I've met plenty of non-poor, non-immigrant folk that like to help people out."
Sorry... I hate how much it seems like I'm just categorically slamming everything you're saying, but I'm honestly not gunning for that: When did anyone claim that non-poor, non-immigrant folk don't enjoy helping people out? In my grandparent post, I was only contending that the likelihood of someone helping may be unintuitive. I fancy myself a non-poor, non-immigrant fellow who likes to help people out... so it clearly can't be impossible. :-)
Like I said, I am sure there is some truth to this and people are nice and all, but I think the story was embellished. It's ok for me to believe this, it doesn't mean I'm a misanthrope or anything. :) The story certainly hit an emotional chord with everyone, as it was designed to do. People are really upset that I don't just believe it outright!
You know, I almost feel like we are both saying "believe," but that we both mean something different.
When someone says "I really don't believe that," what I hear is, "I am certain that more of this story is false than true." Based on this post, though, that doesn't seem like what you're saying--it seems like you are just asserting that the story has just been modified to become a little bit "larger than life." For example, maybe in real life the tire iron didn't break, but in the Redditor's Magical-Love-Compassion-Universe, it snapped and the Mexican man's wife was on the road to get a new one just seconds later, still all smiles.
When it comes to stuff like that, I have what I would call "Schrodinger's belief" in those details. It's not that I believe or disbelieve; I simply wouldn't be surprised either way. Turns out the details were embellished? No shock there. Turns out it was patently true, through-and-through? Well that's just spiffy.
I was upset when I thought you were certain that the entire thing was fabricated. I didn't understand how anyone could come to possess a world-view that precluded the possibility of such a simple kindness. And, as we all know: Humans fear the unknown; Americans yell at it and accuse it of terrorism. So, to the extent that you were just saying "This seems embellished," I'm sorry I called you a spiritual terrorist.
When I re-read your OP now, I think I see what happened.
This was my thought process when I originally read it, and I bet the downvoters felt similarly:
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> That's a good story but a little over the top.
I can buy that. Obviously I'd like to believe it's 100% true, but everyone loves to embellish.
> If the author had dispensed with the $20 bill in the tamale the suspension of belief would have been a little more effective.
Wait, what? "Suspension of disbelief?" This guy doesn't believe the entire story... and it's because the Mexican wouldn't take the poster's money? That's crazy. I've turned down money after helping a stranger before; why wouldn't the good samaritan in the story? This guy is either crazy, misanthropic, racist, or a combination of all three. My disgust must be broadcast to the world... dear colkassad, who was foolish enough to be wrong on the internet, I downvote you with the fury of a thousand suns!
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Okay, maybe that last part was a little over the top. But the gist of it is: I think that when you explicated a potential embellishment that everyone else had ostensibly already accepted, they thought you were taking it one step further.
Or, I dunno. Maybe people were just pissed 'cause we're all optimistic hippies and you were harshing our rainbow love groove. The world may never know.
Thanks for continuing to explain yourself in the face of my opinionated ranting, by the way--I love Hacker News most of all for its tendency to nurture discussions like this.
What is it that you don't believe? I have direct experience (at either end) of all the elements of the story - people in poor situations refusing money because of their pride or principles, people in bad situations helping for no reason at all... There isn't a single element in the OP that I could say "I've never heard of such a thing!". The family's behaviour is perfectly consistent of what I know of certain cultures.
I am sorry you have reason to be so cynical. I can't vouch as to whether the OP is true, but I can assure you that real life can and does "play out like that".
I don't know much about Mexican culture but in south Asia, specially the rural areas, if you give someone money for a job or favor that they don't want the Monet they will often find creative ways to give it back. In my case I found my 500 "taka" bill back in my pocket even though I remember giving it to him (forcefully) and he grudgingly took it.
I have no problem believing the authenticity of the story. Some cultures behave in certain ways (when it comes to money) that is very hard for western society to understand.
