AITA for running away from a homeless man?

A Reddit user, 19, shares a troubling experience at Little Caesars when she and her great-grandma went to correct an order. After a man suggested she give her pizza to a homeless person, he followed her inside, making her feel uncomfortable with his behavior. Despite the man’s apparent need for food, the user, feeling unsafe and uneasy due to his slurred speech and odd demeanor, quickly left the store. Her grandma was upset, and now the user wonders if she overreacted by leaving so abruptly. Read the full story below.

‘ AITA for running away from a homeless man?’

I (19F) live with my great-grandma (81F), and one evening we went to Little Caesars to pick up a pizza. When we got home and opened it, we realized they had messed up our order. So, we went back to get it corrected.

When we got there, my grandma pointed out to a man who was heading to his car that they had made the mistake with our order, and suggested he check his pizza box. The man then told me that maybe I should give my order to a nearby homeless person. I felt uncomfortable, but I didn’t know how to say no, so I let him follow me inside.

The man smelled strongly of cigarettes and was giggling in a way that made me uneasy. I couldn’t tell if he was under the influence or had a mental illness. He made comments about the pizza order mix-up, and I felt increasingly uncomfortable, especially when his voice sounded slurred.

Eventually, the employee gave me the correct order and took the wrong pizza back. At that point, the man continued to follow me, and I honestly just wanted to leave. I quickly walked out, almost ran to the car, and asked my grandma to drive off. She was upset with me for running away and said that the man just wanted something to eat.

Now I’m feeling conflicted. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but I felt unsafe, and I just wanted to leave the situation. AITA for running away like that?

These are the responses from Reddit users:

TheNerdHiding −  NTA, you didn’t run away because he’s homeless you ran away because he looked and smelt high and was giving you the creeps, that’s just SMELTH defense honestly ( edit added dad joke).

blahhhhhhhhhhhblah −  NTA. This is a moment of trusting your gut in an uncomfortable situation, not being prejudiced against the unhoused in general.

MISKINAK2 −  You had to return your pizza and he followed you anyway. You ran. No problem. Grandma is upset because she didn’t understand. (Took me a second too) Yes you could have told him to ask the cashier for the first pizza. If he was confused that would have sorted him, if he was just creepy you could still run. But yes running was the correct response. Clarify with Grandma, that you ran because his pizza was on the counter, not with you.

GMartinez77 −  NTA, never go against a gut feeling when you feel you are in an uncomfortable situation. With what happened the worst outcome is a grown man got his feelings hurt, he can get over it.

VaneWimsey −  NTA. Never, ever, be ashamed of running away from a person who gives you creepy vibes. You need to protect yourself first; their feelings come second, if at all. Listen to your instincts. Gavin De Becker, an expert on personal security, has called this “the gift of fear.”

katycmb −  Your grandma was incredibly naive. Trusting your gut might have saved your life. NTA.

Fntsyking655 −  NTA, instinct told you to run, always listen to your instincts, they are meant for only one thing, to keep you alive, decorum be damned.

Head_Contribution619 −  NTA I would’ve ran too. You never really know with people these days.

Impossible_Gazelle27 −  NTA. But hoping the homeless guy ended up with the pizza when it was thrown out.

revengeofthebiscuit −  NTA. You didn’t run because he was unhoused, you ran because he made you incomparable. Trust your gut in these situations.