For a Burger King employee in Butler Township, a video that went viral this week could possibly be seen as a blessing and a curse.

In the video, a man is seen yelling, cursing and pointing his finger at the employee. After the employee told the man the scene was being caught on camera, the man slapped him, causing the employee’s glasses to fly off.

It’s unclear whether cameras at the restaurant captured footage of the incident, but another patron filmed it and handed it over to the police, resulting in an arrest. That’s the blessing.

The curse is that the footage made its way onto Twitter and was shown on TMZ, garnering millions of views. We feel for the employee, who was obviously caught off guard by the assault.

It’s sad we’d even have to take the time to note that such behavior is completely uncalled for — and unlawful. But there’s another point to be made about public behavior.

In our modern world, everything is constantly being filmed, from security cameras to people using iPhones as recorders. It’s a good reminder for people to act in a manner in which they wouldn’t mind being portrayed in front of millions of viewers.

If you behave like a buffoon in public, there’s a chance someone will film you, and your behavior could come back to haunt you. It could affect your ability to get hired and, in some cases, you could face legal repercussions.

Also, people who have been deemed essential workers — which includes restaurant employees — are among those who have taken great personal risks these past few months just by showing up for work and interacting on a daily basis with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It shouldn’t need to be said they deserve more respect than was given to this Burger King employee.

The man who filmed the scene — who told the Eagle he works in retail — said the incident portrayed the reality of what retail and food service industry workers often have to put up with, and that this wasn’t the first time he’d seen a worker get slapped.

The pandemic has created a lot of stress, and it’s not surprising that people’s patience is being tested more than usual. Stress can cause people to take actions they might regret.

But that’s never an excuse for the type of behavior exhibited in the Burger King video.

— NCD