Trap games make us dumber

Author: Robert Skuch Published 5 seconds ago

The trap game is slowly dismantling society as people stop thinking critically and instead chase sensational “gotcha” moments. I admit, it’s fun to catch someone red-handed if they do do something wrong, but that’s not the case with trap games. Most of the time, what is presented is basic common sense to anyone who understands how things work.

It should be a common sense mark

After watching a supposed tell-all video called “I Tracked the Company That Destroyed Restaurants,” I started thinking about the gotcha game being played by the YouTube channel More Perfect Union. Their “big reveal” was that the restaurant chain used a supplier called Sysco. Mozzarella sticks from one place are the same as mozzarella sticks from another place because not every restaurant makes them in-house.

This is not news to anyone who has worked in a kitchen. But for many viewers, it was shocking. The comments are filled with people swearing not to go to any restaurant with a Sysco truck in the back. Here’s the thing: Sysco doesn’t just sell food. They sell paper products, cutlery, takeout containers and dish pit sanitizer. You name it, they sell it. Thanks to reductive reasoning and another gotcha game, people now view local diners as corporate villains.

I’ve worked in makeshift kitchens. We peel our own potatoes, make our own sauce, hand-bread and marinate the chicken tenders, and hand-make every burger patty. But even these places use large distributors to boost profits and pay wages.

Now, because of this trap game, people are ready to boycott small businesses just to survive. Sysco provides services to schools, prisons and restaurants, among others. They are a business that sells products to other businesses. How did people react? Say “our children’s school lunches are actually prison food.” See how ridiculous that sounds?

How do you think they did it?

On TikTok, it’s nothing more than a trap game for fast-food workers who “expose” their employers for who they really are. You’ll see Little Caesars employees reveal that pizza sauce is made from a powdered mix and water. It’s as if anyone expected a chef among the 4,200 $8 pizzas to be crushing fresh tomatoes at the crack of dawn.

What to do next? McDonald’s ribs reveal shows McDonald’s doesn’t light up smoker fireworks every morning?

Yes, we should watch what we eat, but this reasoning is a slippery slope. I’m not excited about mid-sized chains offering the same food at different prices, but boycotting small restaurants because they share domestic suppliers with large corporations isn’t radical. This is ignorance.

It’s not just food

I know this sounds like a defense of fast food and corporate giants, but trap games are everywhere. This is exactly what I thought of.

As a full-time freelancer and stay-at-home dad, I’m always looking for effective ways to improve my workflow so I can live a normal life while being there for my kids when they need me. I love this quote from Bill Gates: “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to get it done.”

No matter how you look at it, this is good advice. I tell my small business friends to consider this when hiring a contractor. Their reaction? “Bill Gates is on Epstein’s list.”

Okay, but the advice still stands. This is very practical. A diligent slacker (the best oxymoron) always has efficiency in mind. They want to get the job done quickly without cutting corners. This is a great trait to look for when interviewing applicants. Sure, that particular trap game has some weight, but every useful idea is ignored because who says that’s lazy thinking.

The gotcha game forces people to think in black and white. We should think critically about ourselves because most of life happens in the gray area where most of us actually live.