If you’re ever searching for a textbook example of “being ratioed” — i.e. the phenomenon of a tweet getting way more negative comments than faves or shares — then look no further than this fresh take from conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks.
This tweet suggests that Brooks sees restaurant servers as disingenuous tricksters who only put on happy masks when they hear the jingle-jangle of a purse overflowing with coins. And clearly, an insufficient amount of groveling from the plebes puts Lord Brooks in a foul mood. After firing off this missive, he likely retired to his chamber, put on his sleeping cap and gown, and hoisted himself upon hillock of high thread-count sheets to dream sweet dreams of the $100,000 vacation that he took in 2015, when the Times footed the bill.
While this tweet is definitely not a good look for a columnist who writes about income inequality, it is perhaps not surprising coming the guy who once wrote about saving his friend from the trauma of ordering an intimidating Italian cold cut sandwich at a highfalutin delicatessen. Understandably, this tweet inspired many jeers from other social media users as well as some hilarious parodies. Twitter, please take it away:
“Hey cheer up, David Brooks is finally about to leave our restaurant.” https://t.co/Jnl8wBQI7D
— Ken Norton (@kennethn) July 26, 2019
They’re ready for you to go? https://t.co/hUO7SoNoNd
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) July 26, 2019
Maybe because you’d requested a high chair and bib for “my beloved adult oaf” and had two fingers in your friend’s mouth trying to forcibly teach him the right way to pronounce “soppressata?” And the waiter didn’t want to interrupt? https://t.co/RN3T4BTyR6
— Max Silvestri (@maxsilvestri) July 26, 2019
Funny how someone who writes about elites being out of touch for a living could have this kind of attitude towards working-class folks.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) July 26, 2019
Almost every server I’ve ever had is cool as hell to me, bringing me food and booze with smiles on their faces (the only noble profession on earth, really), so if this is your experience it’s probably because of you, not the wait staff, you perennially overrated tool https://t.co/JeQZxq5tCq
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) July 26, 2019
Imagine vocalizing this elitist power position...and it being a grievance! https://t.co/wzc72vmK5t
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) July 26, 2019
I’m a creep
— sarah miller (@sarahlovescali) July 26, 2019
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here
I don’t belong here https://t.co/qlZL5OTmJk
"Why does the peasantry abhor me?" https://t.co/141tYzwqtc
— Eli Valley (@elivalley) July 26, 2019
If writers were paid tips based on their talent, all of your kickers would consist of begging.
— Katelyn Burns (@transscribe) July 26, 2019
Logic then dictates that all waiters are 13% conflicted about ever taking tip money that came from David Brooks https://t.co/2GlpWz2NHM
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) July 26, 2019
My name is David Brooks, Mediocre Writer of Privilege;
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) July 26, 2019
Look on my Meal, ye Lowly Waiter, and despair!
For I am The Decider of thy tip and The Decider of whether thouest has a Good Night! https://t.co/1dF0RhvLcD
Line cooks are 100 percent spitting in your food when your waiter tells them “it’s that insufferable prick from the Times.”
— Kris M. Wernowsky (@kriswernowsky) July 26, 2019
Brooks has yet to respond to any of these tweets, but this is easily the most attention he’s received for one of his opinions since the great sandwich debacle of 2017.
• @nytdavidbrooks [E]
• Heroic Columnist Saves Uneducated Friend From Embarrassing Meal at Sandwich Restaurant [E]
