We've all found ourselves in situations where a total stranger gets on our nerves.
The wise thing to do in this situation is simply to ignore them, knowing we'll most likely never see this person again in our entire lives.
More often than not, however, our emotions might get the better of us, and we feel compelled to do something about it.
Redditor YungYanush recently found themself in a rather unpleasant encounter with an elderly woman.
An encounter that ended up costing the original poster (OP) a very hard-to-get appointment.
Their frustrations getting the better of them, the OP ended up taking measures others might consider drastic.
After being accused of "harassment", the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**Hole" (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:
"AITA for calling the police on an elderly woman who blocked a parking spot and made me miss my doctor’s appointment?"
The OP explained why they ended up getting the authorities involved over a parking spot:
"I had a doctor’s appointment over an hour away, and I’d been waiting more than a month for it."
"I arrived about 5 minutes before the appointment."
"Parking there is always crowded, but I can usually find something."
"This time, every spot was taken."
"Then, right in front of the doctor’s office, the car ahead of me pulled out of a space."
"I immediately turned on my blinker and started parallel parking into it."
"I was already halfway in when an older woman suddenly stepped into the space and said I couldn’t park there because she was 'saving it' for someone else."
"I told her I was there first, was already pulling in, and had a doctor’s appointment in minutes."
"She refused to move."
"I told her what she was doing was illegal, but she said she didn’t care and wouldn’t move."
"I got angry and said that if she kept blocking it, then nobody would use the spot."
"We stayed there for about 10 minutes."
"There were no other spaces nearby, and this was my only chance of making the appointment."
"She started taking pictures of my license plate and saying things like, 'We’ll see who wins', and 'You’ll find out who you’re dealing with'.”
"I started recording and called emergency services."
"The operator told me what she was doing was illegal and sent police."
"A few minutes later, when she got distracted looking for the car she was saving the space for, I quickly finished parking."
"She walked away still threatening me."
"I called the doctor’s office to explain I might be late because of the incident, but they said they couldn’t hold the appointment."
"I was the last patient of the day, so the doctor left."
"I missed an appointment I’d waited over a month for."
"When police arrived, I showed them the videos and explained everything."
"They confirmed she was in the wrong."
"We found her at a nearby restaurant, and her daughter came out and started insulting me for 'harassing an old woman'.”
"But when police confronted the older woman, she suddenly acted innocent."
"The police asked whether I wanted to pursue the matter further since I had suffered a financial loss by missing the appointment."
"After hearing that money is the problem she offered to pay me for my loss."
"I said I didn’t want money."
"I just wanted her to admit she was wrong and promise not to do this to anyone again."
"She agreed, and I let it go."
"Now I feel conflicted."
"She was elderly, and I did call the police over a parking spot."
"But she blocked me, threatened me, and caused me to miss an important medical appointment."
"The police did not order her to pay me compensation."
"They only said I had suffered a real loss by missing my doctor’s appointment and asked whether I wanted to make any claims. After that, she was the one who offered me money and asked how much I wanted."
"That part was entirely her idea, not the police’s."
"The police did not say she had to pay me money on the spot."
"They said I had suffered a real loss because I missed my appointment, and they asked whether I wanted to pursue the matter further."
"They explained that if I did, she would have to come in and formally give her side/explanation."
"Only after that did she offer me money herself and ask how much I wanted."
"That was her idea, not the police’s."
"AITA?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community was somewhat divided as to whether or not they felt the OP was the a**hole for calling the police on the elderly woman.
While just about everyone agreed that what the woman did was wrong, they also felt the OP didn't do themself any favors by arriving at their appointment with so little time:
"NTA for calling the police."
"However arriving only 5 minutes early for an important appointment is just poor planning."- stayuntill
"NTA."
"But you should have given yourself more than just 5 minutes."
"You knew that parking was going to be difficult and if you had given yourself more time you probably could have found another spot further away."- Nightlilly2021
"NTA."
"But you should have pressed charges."
"At that age, it takes a lot to learn a lesson."
"I doubt she learned anything."- Present_Ad1553
"Well, she was in the wrong, so I suppose NTA."
"But honestly, arriving at a parking lot with 5 minutes to spare when you know that it is hard to find parking isn't a good idea."-SavingsRhubarb8746
"Hour away, waited a month, 5 minutes before appointment arrival time?"
"NTA for the situation, but your priority of this makes the rest not really matter."- mil578
"NTA."
"That lady deserved to be told off."
"But who shows up to an important Dr appointment only 5 minutes early?"
" Especially if you know parking there is a nightmare."
"You kind of set yourself up for failure there my dude."- SassyClassy
There were others, however, who had trouble sympathizing with the OP for arriving at their appointment only five minutes early:
"ESH."
"This woman for what she did but you also, you came 5 minutes early knowing that the parking is sparse."- steina009
"ESH."
"YOU arrived 5 minutes before an important appointment?"
"Most docs want you there, in the office, 15 mins early."
"Her because age doesn't excuse that sort of behavior."- canvasshoes2
"ESH."
"You knew you had an appointment in a place where it's hard to find parking, and showed up expecting to find parking 5 minutes before your appointment, that would allow you to get to your appointment on time."
"Seems like an asshole move."
"If that spot hadn't been open, and you had to park further away, would you have been on time to your appointment?"
"Parking is part of getting there."
"Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on anyone else's part."
"When she started blocking your car, you could have driven off and found a new spot, and/or called your doctor's office and told them you were looking for parking, and would be a few minutes late and asked if they could have held your appointment for you."
"You should have let the staff know you would be late and not wasted the staff's time in waiting as long as they did for you before they went home."
"You knew about 5 minutes before your appointment you weren't going to make it and as you said, you waited a month for this appointment."
"You called the police on her, and they helped you look for her, and after all that, you didn't want to press charges or be compensated for missing your appointment you waited months for, you just wanted an authority figure to tell this old woman you were right and she was wrong?"
"That'll teach her for next time."
"You sure showed her!"
"She was an asole for trying to hold the spot you were actively parking in."
"You were an a**hole for everything else."
"I hope choosing to miss your own appointment and wasting the time of the police and staff at the doctor's office was worth the time it took for the police to help you find an old lady in a restaurant, so that that they could tell her you were right."
"I hope nobody had a serious incident they needed the police for while they were wasting their time with you."- MsAresAsclepius
Parking spaces can be notoriously hard to come by.
With that in mind, standing in a parking spot that someone is clearly waiting for when the car they are holding it for is nowhere to be seen is fairly tacky, and in most places, illegal.
This justifies the OP calling the authorities, especially considering the woman was threatening them.
That being said, when parking spots at this location were known to be few and far between, the OP should have arrived earlier.
