Why do some Americans seem to want to pretend to have the same problems as 3rd world countries?

I seriously just had the following conversation with someone I don’t know. It started when a cousin posted a this POV (which I happen to agree with.)

I made a comment, though, about the woman with the water bottle. As many of you know, I kind of have a problem with bottled water. If you’re so poorly paid, why would you spend money on something you can get for free? I know I know I know! She may have been using the same bottle for years and filling it up for free so lets not even go there.

So the following conversation ensued:

ME: “That is an excellent article. And you see the gal in the picture above, holding a plastic bottle of water? She can’t be suffering too much is she can afford to buy something relatively expensive that can be had for FREE. That’s a sign of “comfort.”
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Him: Water isn’t free, and access to safe drinking water is real problem in low income areas.
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Me In America you can walk into any convenience store and fill up any container with water and it is free. I do it all the time.
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Him: “Free to me” is different than “free.” I assure you, in America, there are convenience stores who don’t offer complimentary water. I’ve been in more than one of those stores within the last few days. I suspect that the ratio of convenience stores who offer complimentary water to their customers is greater in higher income areas, particularly suburban areas. You can see some of the dynamics of how income affects access to water very easily if you read into Californian news right now.
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Me: “If you bring your own cup, you can get ice for free and then you can either use the water tab that some pop machines offer, or go into the bathroom and fill it up at the sink.”