"Who’s doing the ketchups?"
Every shift at the Hard Rock Café, my shift leader would ask the same question. Funny thing—Gloris was never the one doing them.
"What about you, Gloris? Have you done the ketchups lately?"
Side note: In restaurants, "Side Work" is the grunt work—rolling napkins, refilling glassware, wiping down mustard tops (don’t ask), and yes, doing the ketchups.
But what does this have to do with virtue signaling?
Two Types of People When Presented With a Problem:
💡 I coined these terms because I’ve seen this pattern everywhere:
1️⃣ The Self-Auditors – “Oh my gosh, did I do something wrong?” (At least they self-reflect.)
2️⃣ The Blame Gamers – “What did YOU do or didn’t do?” (These are the Glorises of the world—always pointing fingers, never stepping up.)
Virtue signaling is just Blame Gaming at scale. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
"The act of expressing an opinion or sentiment to enhance one’s moral standing without taking action to address the issue." Sound Familiar?
We see it in corporate PR statements. We see it in politicians making grand speeches.
We see it all over social media—the virtual carnival fairgrounds where every game is rigged, but the stale baby blue cotton candy still looks festive as it rots your teeth.
Most of what we call "awareness" today is just performance.
👉 A company makes a splashy post about supporting workers—while cutting wages.
👉 An influencer posts about social justice—but never donates, never volunteers, never lifts a finger beyond a hashtag.
👉 A leader talks about “accountability”—but never holds themselves to the same standard.
🔥 The New Corporate Consultant starts a fire so others won’t see them steal from the cookie jar.
Tip O’Neill, former Speaker of the House, once said, “All politics is local.”
The same is true for real change. It doesn’t happen in PR statements or Twitter threads—it happens in what you actually DO.
So I’ll leave you with this:
When everyone is a Gloris, who’s doing the ketchups?
👉 Have you seen virtue signaling in your industry?
👉 How do you spot the difference between real action and performance? Drop your thoughts below.
I gotta do the ketchups.
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