Similar story here in the UK. I was paying for my McDonalds at the drive-thru when for whatever reason I looked in my mirror and saw a young girl sat crying in her car looking deeply depressed. I asked if I could pay whatever her meal, did so, picked mine up and looking in the mirror I could see a genuine smile appear.
I hope that if I cheered her up for even 2 seconds, she can see whatever happened to make her cry isn't going to keep her stuck feeling down.
why the fuck would someone education enough to be on HN be eating that fast food crap
Have you ever seen the food at a startup/hack-athon/all-nighter-in-the office? There is a time and a place for junk-food ! And doing stressful things in a hurry whilst maintaining high-levels of concentration is one of the physiological test-pieces for high caloric density nutrtion consumption. Its a strategy rooted in science, not gluttony. Fat, salt, sugar will impact your bio-chemistry and manage stress hormones (thus increasing concentration and performance). The "stupid" use of fast food is merely to engage in chronic, long-term consumption outside of such windows of appropriate use.
..and if everyone could afford to pay 2x-4x the price of a McD's. And spend 3x-5x the amount of time sat around in a restaurant instead of grabbing and going.
I hope that if I cheered her up for even 2 seconds, she can see whatever happened to make her cry isn't going to keep her stuck feeling down.