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.

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

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Other users sided with the man, agreeing that he did the right thing

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