A recent post asking when it’s okay to ignore strangers got me thinking about this guy I saw on the train Saturday night. He was a white man in his 40s, vaguely scruffy, but not obviously unhoused or otherwise in crisis.
Out of the blue, without getting out of his seat, he raised his voice and started addressing the whole car. “My phone battery has died and I’m late to my friend’s party. Could someone please send a text to my friend letting him know I’ll be late?”
When no one jumped up to help him, he added that he would pay a dollar. Then he that it was a non-local area code but that “the phone company doesn’t charge extra for that anymore.” (Duh?)
His tone was identical to the tone that someone has when they’re panhandling or announcing they have sandwiches or something. It sounded immediately sus to make that choice and everyone completely ignored him.
Then in a more normal voice he asked the guy sitting across from him and he said yes, very hesitatingly. Dead Battery Guy dictated the phone number to him from memory (again, weird). When I got off the train, he was telling the guy what to write; he was going to be an hour late.
Now maybe I’m a bad person, but there’s no way I would have taken out my phone and engaging with this fellow. I have had my battery die on me before, inconveniently, and it’s really annoying. But I would just deal with the consequences and show up late to the party.
Was this guy just a weirdo? Was this some kind of scam? Under what circumstances would you send a text message for a stranger??
submitted by /u/faltpalta
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