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359
Man Wishes He’d Thrown Phone In The Gutter Instead Of Returning It To Thankless Owner
New Yorkers sometimes get a reputation for being a little rough around the edges. Although we all know that some of it might just be stereotypes, one man’s story on Reddit seemed to back it up.
While walking through the city, he stumbled upon a lost phone and, being the good Samaritan he is, tracked down the owner to return it. But instead of being thankful, the owner was rude, even complaining that the man should’ve just left the phone where he found it.
Frustrated by the response, the man decided to get a little revenge. Keep reading to find out what he did next.
RELATED:
The man found a lost phone on the streets of New York and went out of his way to track down the owner
Image credits: Dominyka Proškėnaitė (not the actual image)
Instead of being thankful, the owner rudely complained that he should’ve just left it where it was
Image credits: friends_stock (not the actual image)
Image credits: Easy-F
Why are people rude for no apparent reason?
It’s never pleasant to be on the receiving end of someone’s rudeness, especially when you’re trying to help, like the OP in the Reddit story. Curious about what can trigger these outbursts, Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Charlotte Russell, a clinical psychologist and founder of the blog The Travel Psychologist.
While it may seem like some people are harsh without reason, that’s not always the case.
“Sometimes, stress or competing priorities can lead someone to act this way,” Russell told us. “For example, if we’re in a rush and stuck behind someone moving slowly, or if we’re dealing with something difficult in our lives, we might be more irritable than usual.”
Consider all the stories of tempers flaring during the peak of the COVID pandemic, when emotions were running high. In the U.S., for instance, Time reported several shocking incidents from September 2021 alone: a woman in Philadelphia pulled a gun on fast food servers who asked her to order online, several women from Texas assaulted a hostess at a New York City restaurant, and a California woman attacked a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, knocking out some of her teeth.
However, these are not common occurrences. “For a good proportion of people, this kind of behavior is relatively rare,” Russel said.
But for a smaller group, unkindness might be a more consistent trait. “These individuals may have an inflated sense of self or other personality-related issues,” Russell explained. “They tend to be critical of others and lack empathy, often feeling a sense of superiority. They usually know when they can get away with being inconsiderate and when they can’t.”
As for the Reddit post, the motivation behind the New Yorker’s difficult response may remain a mystery.
“What really struck me is the lack of empathy from the phone owner,” Russell noted. “He doesn’t seem to appreciate that the man who found his phone went out of his way to help. Of course, we’re only hearing one side of the story, so it’s hard to make strong conclusions based on a single example.”
Still, Russell added, “The phone owner’s reaction, as described, seems quite extreme. It makes me wonder if this is a pattern of behavior rather than just a one-off incident.”
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual image)
Commenters responded with similar stories—some grateful, some not
Other users sided with the man, agreeing that he did the right thing
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What do you think ?
arthbach 1 year ago
As I was getting off a bus, I spotted a phone on the seat. There had been two elderly women sitting there, one of which I knew. I explain this to the bus driver, and said I'd get the phone back to the owner. It didn't belong to the person I knew, but to her friend. I called the ICE number (In Case of Emergency), and spoke with the woman's daughter. She was so relieved as she'd been trying to phone her Mam for the last hour and thought something awful had happened. Her Mam lived a 5 minute walk from my office, so I dropped it off the following morning. Everyone was so happy to have the phone back, and to know the elderly woman was safe.
ValdaDeDieu 1 year ago
In three cases I've found lost wallets and gone out of my way to return them to their owners; money intact. All were appreciative; in one case I got a reward, though I protested. They weren't hearing me - they were Cuban/Venezuelan people and I think it was a matter of almost superstitious pride that they "paid" me, because that wallet was full of valuable documents and cash. But for me, I simply did it because it's what I would want done for me in Goddess Forbid, the same situation.
Load More Replies...
Trillian 1 year ago
At that point I would have dropped the phone off at the nearest police station and made him come get it there.
ValdaDeDieu 1 year ago
I mean, it's a whole lot of drama for nothing. It was nice of him to go out of his way to return it. But from the moment that d******d was rude to him; he should have hung up, blocked his number and dumped the phone into the trash. End of story. All this texting, complaining etc... Means he was expecting appreciation or a reward instead of just doing it because it was the right thing to do - and when he finds out that IN THAT case, it wasn't - just dropping the issue! You can be kind to others, and sometimes the kind thing to do to yourself is to forget them when they're ungrateful to you!
Load More Replies...
JayWantsACat 1 year ago
Walking home after work one day, I found a lady's wallet in the street next to a car. I figured she must've dropped it when exiting and didn't notice. I looked at her license and she lived in my area and I was driving to a date that night anyways, so figured I'd drop it off at the house. A guy (her husband?) answered the door with a baby in his arms, I asked if this belonged to his wife(?), he said yes and took it. What was weird was that he was less thankful (IIRC, he said thanks but wasn't overly effusive about it) and more interested in WHERE I found. I told him near my house and told him the cross streets. He looked confused and kept asking where, how, when, etc. I found the wallet. I thought it was weird that he was more suspicious (I guess, of me, even though I literally brought it to him and cash and cards were all in it still) than thankful. Afterwards, I thought about it and I think his wife might've been cheating on him. He seemed surprised about the whole thing.
Parmeisan 1 year ago
I think you're right, or at least he suspected she might have been. When you were telling the story that was my thought, not suspicious of you but of her.
Load More Replies...
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
It wasn't a phone, it was a purse (1990s, roughly). I'm walking home from college, see a purse on a sidewalk that has regular foot traffic. I pick it up, look inside and it was probably thrown away by a thief, only ID cards and a bank card with a PIN, no keys or cash. I call the cops, ask how to turn it in, and, I kid you not, the PUCKING FIG has the nerve to say "how do i know you didn't steal it?" Rather than deal with criminal cops, I ended up throwing it into a dumpster. I felt bad about throwing it away, but when you try to do the right thing and the pucking figs act like that, it's no wonder nobody trusts them.
Panda Kicki 1 year ago
I found a passport and ticket in a trash can in Egypt. Gave it to the staff, who found the owner, a US young woman, who went totally crazy, accused me of stealing (even though she had seen a dark haired man going through her stuff earlier that day) and threw her charger at me , yelling "You stole my phone, so take the fxxxxing vharger as well. Staff apologized, they had assumed she wanted to thank me and therefor showed her my seat. At arrival she tried to call the police on me but staff explained the whole thing. Not likely I will act again in I find more stuff in trash cans.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
No, please don't take my phone home, after letting me know I can pick it up tomorrow. Please just leave it on the street to get stolen. It's much easier and more convenient to get a new one, try to remember all the stuff on it, hope that the thief doesn't track me down with the old one or steal my identity or something. I'd be so thankful to the person who found it, and took it in order to get it back to me!
Artful Penguin 1 year ago
About 10 years ago I got a package in the mail at the place I had lived for over a year. The return address was the same as the mailing address, so no idea where it originated. It contained a driver's license, work ID, credit card, rosary beads in a tin and earbuds. The address on the ID was mine, but obviously not me. I reached out to the woman on FB and a few weeks later she responded. Apparently those items had been in her purse that was stolen when she was assaulted several years before. No idea why they were returned, or by whom! By the time she responded I had shredded the credit card and given the rosary beads to a friend. The rosary had come from her grandmother. I was able to get them back, and mailed everything to her. She was very grateful!
Christopher Crockett 1 year ago
Rude behavior should be punished. I would have taken the phone home and taken out my frustrations with a hammer. Sometimes it feels wonderful to break something. It's better than beating people with hammers, honestly. Society tends to frown on that.
arthbach 1 year ago
As I was getting off a bus, I spotted a phone on the seat. There had been two elderly women sitting there, one of which I knew. I explain this to the bus driver, and said I'd get the phone back to the owner. It didn't belong to the person I knew, but to her friend. I called the ICE number (In Case of Emergency), and spoke with the woman's daughter. She was so relieved as she'd been trying to phone her Mam for the last hour and thought something awful had happened. Her Mam lived a 5 minute walk from my office, so I dropped it off the following morning. Everyone was so happy to have the phone back, and to know the elderly woman was safe.
ValdaDeDieu 1 year ago
In three cases I've found lost wallets and gone out of my way to return them to their owners; money intact. All were appreciative; in one case I got a reward, though I protested. They weren't hearing me - they were Cuban/Venezuelan people and I think it was a matter of almost superstitious pride that they "paid" me, because that wallet was full of valuable documents and cash. But for me, I simply did it because it's what I would want done for me in Goddess Forbid, the same situation.
Load More Replies... Trillian 1 year ago
At that point I would have dropped the phone off at the nearest police station and made him come get it there.
ValdaDeDieu 1 year ago
I mean, it's a whole lot of drama for nothing. It was nice of him to go out of his way to return it. But from the moment that d******d was rude to him; he should have hung up, blocked his number and dumped the phone into the trash. End of story. All this texting, complaining etc... Means he was expecting appreciation or a reward instead of just doing it because it was the right thing to do - and when he finds out that IN THAT case, it wasn't - just dropping the issue! You can be kind to others, and sometimes the kind thing to do to yourself is to forget them when they're ungrateful to you!
Load More Replies... JayWantsACat 1 year ago
Walking home after work one day, I found a lady's wallet in the street next to a car. I figured she must've dropped it when exiting and didn't notice. I looked at her license and she lived in my area and I was driving to a date that night anyways, so figured I'd drop it off at the house. A guy (her husband?) answered the door with a baby in his arms, I asked if this belonged to his wife(?), he said yes and took it. What was weird was that he was less thankful (IIRC, he said thanks but wasn't overly effusive about it) and more interested in WHERE I found. I told him near my house and told him the cross streets. He looked confused and kept asking where, how, when, etc. I found the wallet. I thought it was weird that he was more suspicious (I guess, of me, even though I literally brought it to him and cash and cards were all in it still) than thankful. Afterwards, I thought about it and I think his wife might've been cheating on him. He seemed surprised about the whole thing.
Parmeisan 1 year ago
I think you're right, or at least he suspected she might have been. When you were telling the story that was my thought, not suspicious of you but of her.
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 1 year ago
It wasn't a phone, it was a purse (1990s, roughly). I'm walking home from college, see a purse on a sidewalk that has regular foot traffic. I pick it up, look inside and it was probably thrown away by a thief, only ID cards and a bank card with a PIN, no keys or cash. I call the cops, ask how to turn it in, and, I kid you not, the PUCKING FIG has the nerve to say "how do i know you didn't steal it?" Rather than deal with criminal cops, I ended up throwing it into a dumpster. I felt bad about throwing it away, but when you try to do the right thing and the pucking figs act like that, it's no wonder nobody trusts them.
Panda Kicki 1 year ago
I found a passport and ticket in a trash can in Egypt. Gave it to the staff, who found the owner, a US young woman, who went totally crazy, accused me of stealing (even though she had seen a dark haired man going through her stuff earlier that day) and threw her charger at me , yelling "You stole my phone, so take the fxxxxing vharger as well. Staff apologized, they had assumed she wanted to thank me and therefor showed her my seat. At arrival she tried to call the police on me but staff explained the whole thing. Not likely I will act again in I find more stuff in trash cans.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
No, please don't take my phone home, after letting me know I can pick it up tomorrow. Please just leave it on the street to get stolen. It's much easier and more convenient to get a new one, try to remember all the stuff on it, hope that the thief doesn't track me down with the old one or steal my identity or something. I'd be so thankful to the person who found it, and took it in order to get it back to me!
Artful Penguin 1 year ago
About 10 years ago I got a package in the mail at the place I had lived for over a year. The return address was the same as the mailing address, so no idea where it originated. It contained a driver's license, work ID, credit card, rosary beads in a tin and earbuds. The address on the ID was mine, but obviously not me. I reached out to the woman on FB and a few weeks later she responded. Apparently those items had been in her purse that was stolen when she was assaulted several years before. No idea why they were returned, or by whom! By the time she responded I had shredded the credit card and given the rosary beads to a friend. The rosary had come from her grandmother. I was able to get them back, and mailed everything to her. She was very grateful!
Christopher Crockett 1 year ago
Rude behavior should be punished. I would have taken the phone home and taken out my frustrations with a hammer. Sometimes it feels wonderful to break something. It's better than beating people with hammers, honestly. Society tends to frown on that.
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