Microblog Memes

This is such a typical NYC thing. Same happened to me when dragging heavy luggage from the subway to an elevated track while the heat wave was going on and the escalators and lifts were broken. Dude just grabbed one end of the bag and helped without a word and kept walking

I love New Yorkers

It probably helped put her mom at ease that I am woman

Probably somewhat... As a man, it's a crapshoot what kind of reaction I'll get if I try to help someone else's kid. Last time I was ice skating with my kids, a little (like 4 years old I'd guess) girl had fallen, she was getting quite upset, she was trying to get up but couldn't get her skates to cooperate. Her older sister (who wasn't much bigger) was just standing there kind of helpless while their dad (who didn't have skates on, so wasn't allowed on the ice) yelled incoherent instructions from 20 feet away. I asked the girl if it was ok if I helped her- she didn't even say anything, just grabbed onto me, and let me pull her to her feet- and that's when the dad decided to ignore the rules and walk out onto the ice himself finally. He grabbed her with a bit of a dirty look in my direction. They left shortly after.

oh that really.depends! You can hate on me as much as you want but there are 12 kids in my imediate family and I can tell if a kid is just acting out or if it's being raised to be an asshole

In nyc it's such a part of the culture that people just stand in front of the staircase with their luggage or stroller and wait for someone to help carry it up or down. If they're standing there, they want help.

Same here.

No matter what, one can't just assume the other person wants it or even will be alright with it - it's not up to me to decide what's best for others hence I offer my help, not impose anything on anybody.

If they don't want it (which happens at times), fair enough.

wise move. https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/us/mahendra-patel-caroline-miller-walmart-kidnapping-claim-hdy

teaching people to not be an asshole is a virtuous endeavor

Haha, i know someone in NY who talks about doing this as a casual part of daily life.

dad recognise dad

Except I'd have to pretend to be on the phone. 1. It means conversation with the person I'm helping can't happen, and 2. It gives the illusion I have someone who wants to talk to me.

Suburbanites are terrified of strangers and cities because they can't fathom not driving a 4-ton SUV to a parking lot as a precursor to anything in life.

Lol is this some new form of prejudice that I was unaware of? 😂

Edit: on second thought, I've heard some "rural" people use the term "city slickers", so maybe it's not so new 😆. I suppose people will always look for some way to separate themselves from others

Sounds terrifying.

Exactly this! Cities have such a bad reputation for being impersonal and anonymous, but in reality that just means people here are way more willing to trust strangers.

A few months ago my partner and I were struggling to parallel park late in the evening (we rarely drive, that day was an exception where we borrowed his mom's car to transport some larger items) and a random guy saw us struggle and offered to help. We absolutely took him up on it, so he got in the driver's seat and parked the car for us. Then he got out, we thanked him and he continued on his way like it was the most normal thing ever. The fact that he could have just driven off probably didn't cross anyone's mind haha

Still depends on the city though. Like in a city like LA where a lot of people drive in their little SUV safe space many have that suburbanite mindset if even they live right in the middle of the city.

It’s like that joke. In Los Angeles, your car is on the side of the road with a flat tire. People slow down, roll down their windows, and say: “Oh my God, that’s terrible! Are you okay? I’m so sorry this happened to you!” and then they drive off.

In New York, your car is on the side of the road with a flat tire. Someone yells: “What, are you an idiot? You can’t park here!” and then they get out of the car and help you change the tire.

This really is an east coast / west coast thing though.

West coasters are more insular and stereotypically suburbanite.
Nice but not kind.
Not outwardly hostile but won't break their own protected little bubble to help a stranger, usually.

East coast, we'll tell you you're an idiot for hittingbthat piece of slag in the road while helping you change a tire.
Kind, but not nice.
We go out of our way sometimes to help, but you're gonna get an earful or no conversation at all (as in OP's story).

One time in London (in the Tube, if I remember it correctly) I actually saw somebody telling somebody else off for just passing them on the stairs and not helping.

Maybe I don't recommend it, but my bus love story is cute so I'll share. Moved from a small town to a big (ish) city for college and took the bus every day. So did one of my neighbors who I recognized to be from a neighboring small town. Whenever the bus was busy we'd sit together, and nearby if not. We are both SUPER introverted but after a year we knew each other pretty well. She would try to catch pokemon when the bus would slow down which was always an exciting moment. Then when YuGiOh Dual Links came out we were both playing it non-stop (I wish that game didn't power creep so much, or I'd still be playing it).

Anyway, we'd sometimes run into each other on walks and then walk together. Share baked goods and all that. But YuGiOh was what actually gave us an excuse to hang out (so we could play each other). We were both busy with college and so we had "the talk" where we basically both said we weren't interested in a romantic relationship at the time. I think we both meant it, but somehow it made us relax around each other more. Suddenly we were best friends (with benefits), going out to eat, doing homework together, making sure we took the same bus as much as possible. It was really easy and not a demanding thing. We both knew we were busy and had goals, we just also tried to spend time together when we could. After probably four months of that we realized we were in love and just pretending we were too busy for commitment. Nothing changed and today we're happily married and still working hard on our careers. But we play Magic The Gathering now.

I don't think they really are, but there's lots of lonely people out there open to chance encounters. Transit's one of those rare spaces where diverse groups of humans gather, and chances are attend on a frequent schedule. Most folks on transit would prefer you just leave them alone, but hey, you never know. I've met people/had good conversations on busses before.

A thought: if you see one of these regulars again, try giving a nice compliment (with strangers, nice = one that doesn't involve their body - think a cool book they're carrying, t-shirt, dangly thing on a backpack, cool shoes, etc.) and a question (open ended if you feel like trying for a conversation, closed is fine if that seems daunting). Sometimes cool shit can follow - worst thing that generally happens (so long as you follow the advice afterwards) is you're told to fuck off. A lot of the time, it's something in a middle - the question gets answered, you might say "Awesome! Well I hope you have a great day" with a smile and go sit, and the stranger moves on with (maybe) a little boost. That ain't nothing - lots of us could use those little boosts. All of of a sudden you might see yourself mentioned in those missed connection posts, lol.

Despite having my own hot-and-cold periods over it, I truly feel we need to talk to strangers in meatspace as a whole more often.