The old adage, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, means you shouldn’t take a person or a situation at face value and believe you know everything. It can sometimes be easier said than done, especially if we think another person is being mistreated.
A man has shared how he got a first-hand reminder of this lesson in London, after spotting a homeless man lying in a doorway. Taking to social media to recount the story, he wrote: “I saw a homeless guy passed out on the floor in a doorway.
“A lady walked up to a bag full of food next to him and started going through it. I asked her what the hell she was doing. It turned out she bought that food and was opening it for the sleeping dog because she was worried the unconscious guy who owns the dog wouldn’t open the food to feed it.
“She’s been dropping food off every day for a year now. I felt awful. It goes to show, you can’t judge from first glance. That lady is an angel.”
People reading the post were quick to ask questions and admit they too might have reacted in the same way. Giving more details on the situation, the man explained that he didn’t need medical assistance.
He went on: “He was fine. He was sleeping very heavily. His friend was there after the situation between the lady and I. A kind homeless guy who was looking out for the guy on the floor. They were friends. He said the guy sleeps in the day.”
Another user chimed in with a tale that tugged at the heartstrings. They wrote: “This reminds me of being at the train station about a month or so ago – this old blind man walked out of the store entrance I was standing at, swearing aggressively – I felt afraid and stepped away.
“Five minutes later I saw a young lady assisting the man, arm in arm, she was calmly talking to him and helping him find his way – she walked him to the information kiosk, reassured him and left. It made me really wish that I’d stepped in to try and help him myself, instead of acting on first impressions.”
Fellow Redditors rallied around the original poster, confirming he did the right thing by asking and that there was no way for him to know she was actually helping. Then another user piped up: “Yes. What a beautiful soul that lady is.”
Another added their two pence, commenting: “The thing is it just doesn’t happen to the homeless. Many of us have health issues that cause such things. I was ignored when I collapsed and smashed my face on a busy train station. I’m sure help would have come fairly quickly but not as soon as it should have and I had to scream, blood streaming down my face, for help as everyone just walked around or over me.”
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