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Comment by MetallicCloud | Hacker News Reader

We had a similar experience when living in NY with two small children. People would always offer to help, but one time in particular a woman grabbed the front of the stroller and started helping me down the subway stairs, then she looked back and said "Could you please go faster, I'm running late". She was in no obligation to help us in the first place. We got to the bottom and she ran off to a train.

I found New Yorkers are always happy to lend a hand when needed.

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This is a fantastic variation on this story.

I was in NYC a year ago and as I was walking down the subway stairs, I saw a woman - black, maybe 60 years old - struggling to get up the stairs with what looked like a heavy bag. I moved out of the way, then said, "nah," went back, asked her if she needed help, she said, "you're the only one who asked, thank you," and carried the bag upstairs. It was much lighter than expected, maybe 10 pounds. And I went on my way.

>It was much lighter than expected, maybe 10 pounds

This tickled a memory of a time I helped a lady with her suitcase up a long flight of steps. She was about two thirds of the way up and was wrestling it like it was full of lead bricks. I wasn't in a hurry, so I offered to help - she paused before accepting, like she didn't want the help but desperately needed it. As I reached towards the suitcase, I tried to break the ice a bit with "haha I'm probably going to regret this huh" - and broke off in shock.

The suitcase was light as a feather.

I could hold it out at arms length easily. It could have been filled with packing peanuts. I couldn't suppress an exclamation of surprise - "why, it's so light!" - which the lady took as quite an insult. I felt very odd about it all - should I have pretended to have struggled a bit?

"you're the only one who asked, thank you,"

While 2 posts above you,

“I found New Yorkers are always happy to lend a hand when needed.”

That's why I wrote my comment, I had a very different experience than the one reported in the previous comment. Mine is genuinely a single data point though, but it was a curious difference.

What did her being "black" have to do with your story?

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