She’s having second thoughts after she avoided a stranger who may have needed her help. Here’s the full story.
She Encountered a Woman
The Original Poster (OP) shared that she had just finished eating at a restaurant on a college campus at about 8:30 p.m. and was walking down the stairs.
The woman, a middle-aged Mexican with a thick accent, appeared to be holding her phone and seemed to want to ask OP something. She appeared to be waiting for someone to come down the steps.
Then the woman approached OP as she reached the bottom and said, “Can you…” but she was instantly cut short by OP’s “no” response.
She shouted, “Rude people!” as OP walked into her car.
She Refused to Help
OP shared that when she saw her and heard her talk, she immediately assumed the woman was either a scammer or a person asking for money because OP has been in a similar situation before.
OP said that these people ask for money, try to con her and bring their kids along, and tell her how poor they are and how they need money for food.
However, OP went on to say that the con artists who have previously approached OP usually accept the “no” and went on. But in this situation, the woman was obviously angry, which seemed weird to OP.
While OP was sitting in her car, she was wondering if the woman may have wanted directions, and OP began to regret not listening to her and stereotyping her.
She May Have Misread the Situation
She acknowledged that the stranger’s reaction to her “no” might have been because she was genuinely looking for help, and the young woman’s abrupt response caught her off guard.
OP said that she has fallen victim to these street con artists before, and it was incredibly difficult for her to leave in those situations as she didn’t want to appear impolite.
Since then, OP has been developing her ability to say “no” and create boundaries.
However, she regrets that she may have declined to answer someone who genuinely needed help this time.
She’s Working on Boundaries
OP mentioned that although she didn’t feel in danger, she stays on guard at night as a young woman, and something about the whole circumstance just felt a little odd as she has never been approached by a stranger at night.
The situations that happened to her have always taken place in the daytime.
As a result, OP thinks that the novelty of the circumstance caused her to act rudely.
Reflecting on the situation, OP thinks that she might have missed an opportunity to help someone who genuinely needed it.
Hindsight Suggests She Was Wrong
She asked Redditors what they thought, and they shared several thoughts supporting OP.
Most of the comments read that OP was not wrong and she did the right thing by not talking to strangers when walking alone at night.
One Reddit user shared that she could understand the situation pretty well and commented, “So often I experience the “Can you…” as well. And when I think they may need real help they come up with a long story and in the end, ask for money. Whoever needs real help asks the question directly “Where is xx street?” “How do I come to xx?” “Does the bus xx drive to xx?” I’m someone who gets asked often for direction or help. And the difference in how people beg is really big. Better safe than sorry.”
However, some comments argued that OP was being rude and racist for coming to a conclusion based on a person’s accent and looks.
A Redditor wrote, “As a female college student, I completely want to avoid strangers, but bluntly saying no in their face is rude. Either ignore them (which isn’t the height of respect but isn’t as rude) or say sorry, I can’t help you. Also, assuming someone is a beggar or scam artist because of their accent is pretty racist.”
As a young woman walking alone at night, she had every reason to feel on edge and slightly uncomfortable in the situation. The stranger’s sudden approach could have been perceived as threatening or dangerous.
So what do you think? What would you have done in that situation?
The post She Was Approached at Night, but She Refused to Help. Did She Unfairly Stereotype? first appeared on Wealthy Living
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / fizkes. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit