The Nephew, newly back, but he has some opinions he'd like to share...
Like about how he never tips cab drivers, "brown people" as he so generously describes them, there's a table sitting not 5 feet away from him as he's telling us this. A table of brown people, to look at them, one of them for sure drives cab.
He uses their tip later to justify his philosophy, never understanding how possibly his moral stance led to theirs...
...But this is not all. He's reformed in his time away, no more tipping period, he doesn't tip anywhere he goes, anywhere, bars, restaurants, it's too much this...
...And it seems to me a bit strange, that for someone who's very livelihood depends on the kindness of others, to decide against reinforcing the economy he's the very best winner in...
More idiocy, less epiphany, the Nephew ....he explains it, tries to defend it, gives up, I can't be bothered to listen. He's an idiot.
Tipping, yes, it's a bit morally suspect, too much obligation, too little discretion. I get that. Too many greedy servers and minimum wage employees. For sure, for sure. But, I have to consider the positives, I depend upon them, (not so much, there are other jobs, but for the moment) - and they are that tipping enables you to appraise the worth of your service and reward it accordingly. If only you could do this in retail, with your internet or telephone bill, your new car, house, ...
So it's not completely without merit...
For more insights into the history and tradition of tipping (and the reasonable controversy surrounding it) go here: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/11/30/457125740/when-tipping-was-considered-deeply-un-american