**Title: Curb Your Empathy**

**Setting:** A trendy coffee shop, bustling with people. Larry (playing himself) is sitting at a table, sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper. The headline reads: "Empathy Gone Too Far?" with a subheadline: "Is Feeling for Genocide Victims Hurting Society?"

**Scene 1: The Setup**

*Larry reads the article with a skeptical expression, then looks up, seeing his friend Jeff (also playing himself) walking in.*

**Larry:** (muttering) Empathy? Hurting society? What is this garbage?

**Jeff:** (sitting down) Hey, Larry. What's with the face? Did someone double-foam your cappuccino again?

**Larry:** No, no, it's this article. They're saying empathy—empathy!—is a bad thing. Like, if you feel too much for genocide victims, you're the problem. How does that make any sense?

**Jeff:** (laughs) Oh, come on, Larry. It's the media, they need something new to make us feel guilty about.

**Larry:** (sarcastically) Right, right. Like, next they'll tell us that donating to charity is secretly ruining the economy.

**Jeff:** (smirking) Or that giving a compliment to someone is a form of psychological warfare.

**Larry:** (nodding) Exactly! It's like they're taking moral paradoxes and just throwing them at us like it's some sort of intellectual dodgeball.

**Scene 2: The Encounter**

*A woman (played by Cheryl Hines) overhears their conversation from the next table and turns to them.*

**Woman:** Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but overhear. I think the article makes some valid points. Too much empathy can cloud judgment. Sometimes, it's better to be rational.

**Larry:** (deadpan) Rational? You’re talking about genocide victims! What are we supposed to do? Send them a Hallmark card and call it a day?

**Woman:** No, but look at it this way. If you get too emotionally involved, you might make decisions that aren't... logical.

**Larry:** (incredulous) Logical? Like what? Not feeling bad when people are being murdered? What's the logical response there? 'Oh, I see you're suffering, but let me make sure it's not affecting my stock portfolio'?

**Jeff:** (chiming in) Or, 'Sorry for your loss, but let's not let it ruin our dinner plans, huh?'

**Woman:** (getting flustered) That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just… it’s complex.

**Larry:** (leaning in) Oh, I get it. It’s complex. Like, 'Sorry, I can’t care about your tragedy because I might overextend my empathy budget for the month.'

**Scene 3: The Moral Paradox**

*A barista (played by J.B. Smoove) walks by and hears the conversation, jumping in.*

**Barista:** Yo, Larry, you trying to solve the world's problems with empathy again? Man, you know that ain't gonna fly in today's world. You gotta keep that stuff in check.

**Larry:** (exasperated) Even you, Leon? What’s next, empathy taxes? You gotta pay extra if you feel too bad about something?

**Barista:** (grinning) Maybe! You over there crying about something, boom—empathy tax. You gotta pay up, Larry.

**Larry:** (throwing up his hands) This is insane! We've officially lost it. Empathy is now a liability. What's next? A sympathy surcharge?

**Jeff:** (laughing) Don’t forget the compassion toll booth.

**Woman:** (frustrated) You’re oversimplifying. It’s about not letting emotions control our decisions.

**Larry:** (sarcastically) Right. So next time someone’s in trouble, I’ll just calmly explain to them that I’m saving my empathy for something more 'rational.' That’ll go over great.

**Barista:** (shrugging) Hey, Larry, maybe you’re just old school. These days, it’s all about that 'tough love' approach.

**Larry:** (deadpan) Tough love? More like no love.

**Scene 4: The Conclusion**

*As the woman leaves, shaking her head, Larry and Jeff sit back, sipping their coffee.*

**Larry:** (sighing) You know, Jeff, I think I’m just gonna stop reading the news. It’s not worth the headache.

**Jeff:** (nodding) Yeah, it’s safer that way. Just stick to sports. At least there, empathy is still okay.

**Larry:** (grinning) Unless, of course, you feel bad for the losing team. Then you’re really in trouble.

**Jeff:** (laughing) Yeah, they’ll say you’re contributing to the decline of competition or something.

*They clink their coffee cups together and the scene fades out with the familiar "Curb Your Enthusiasm" theme music playing.*

**End Scene**