Man Refusing To Help Neighbor in Frozen Car With 2 Kids Cheered—'No Sorry'

A man has been praised for refusing to help his neighbor when she was unable to take her kids to school.

In a post on Reddit's r/AmITheA****** forum, user u/goodneighbor123 shared the story with thousands of Redditors.

"I live in a major city in Ontario, Canada. I live in a small subdivision and have five neighbors total on my street," he explained. "For the past few years during the winter when we're getting a lot of snow or a bad storms, as I'm leaving for my overnight shift at around 8-9 p.m., I'll put my wife's windshield wipers up on her car and do a quick walk around to my other five neighbors and put their windshield wipers up on their cars."

When expecting a snowstorm or heavy weather, as well as staying warm, it is important to be aware of tips and precautions to take to ensure safe traveling.

Before weather hits, it is advisable to lift windscreen wipers to make it easier to scrape ice and snow from the windshield and prevent soft rubber wiper blades from getting frozen onto glass.

"It's just something nice I like to do to look out for my neighbors. They're all always grateful of this and thank me for it," he said. But recently, a new neighbor moved in and the man's kind actions were not as well received.

"It was snowing really heavy and we were supposed to be getting almost 30cm of snow and it was freezing out. So I put my wife's wipers up and do my usual quick walk around to the other neighbors," he said. "I was hesitant when I reached my new neighbors house, as I've only introduced myself once, but did it anyway. As I was putting the second wiper up on their pick up truck the husband came charging out of his front door yelling 'Hey what the f*** are you doing to my truck?'"

The man tried to explain to his neighbor that he was just putting his wipers up to prevent any freezing issues before the weather hits, but he did not take it well.

"He continued to scream at me to 'get the hell off my property and don't touch my s*** again!' The wife then came out and started yelling at me too," said the poster. "I apologized and started walking away. Some of my other neighbors heard the commotion and came outside to see what was happening. They tried explaining to him too that it's just something we do, both of them wasn't having it."

But the next day, the man arrived home from his night shift and found his new neighbor struggling with her car, trying to get the ice of the windshield wipers to take her kids to school.

"She sees me and yells over 'Hey there! Do you mind giving me a hand please?' I look over to her and yell back, 'No sorry, thought I was to never touch your s*** again ma'am' and walked back inside. She yelled back at me 'wow AH!" he explained.

Florence Ann Romano, personal growth strategist and author of Build Your Village: A Guide to Finding Joy and Community in Every Stage of Life, told Newsweek: "I am horrified by this behavior. I understand that the neighbor may have been nervous about seeing someone touching his truck. But, after the explanation, he still continued to act irreverently and crassly. Clearly this gentleman—and I use that term loosely—has no manners. Second, when the wife found herself in exactly the position the good neighbor was trying to advert on her behalf, she should have used that moment to apologize and humble herself for her actions the previous evening."

"Being helpful and friendly are the expectations of living in a community," added Romano. "You look out for each other; there to help if/when is needed; and should follow this simple rule: treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated."

When the man told his wife about the altercation, she said that he should have helped the neighbor despite the argument. But online, Redditors sided with the man.

"It's good to refuse help to people who rejected your help, especially for the exact problem you tried to help them with," said one reply. "They'll either solve the problem themselves or learn not to shout so much before getting the facts."

Another commenter said: "The fact that she can cuss you out the night before and then turn around and expect you to help when you already tried is baffling."

But maintaining good relationships with your neighbors can be helpful, from avoiding any awkward conversations while taking out the trash to looking out for each other's homes.

For those looking to build a good relationship with neighbors, Romano suggested: "When I moved into my home, I left small bottles of bubbly on each doorstep with a card attached—introducing myself; giving a little background, and providing my contact information. After the fact my neighbors called; dropped by, and texted to thank me and introduce themselves, too. It has made for a really lovely feeling of warmth on my block, and we're there for each other when needed. It doesn't take much to be kind, and putting in the effort with your neighbors is worth it every single time."

Newsweek reached out to u/goodneighbor123 for comment. We were unable to verify the details of this case.

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