I went to the mall a little while ago and when I was coming out and getting in my car I hear, "Hello ma'am" from across the parking lot.
I turned and there was a man coming towards me.
My heart fell into my feet and I unlocked my car and got in. He was still walking towards me. I shut and locked the doors. He still walked up to my window. He told me he was homeless and asked for change. I honestly didn't have anything to give him - change, cash, food, water, nothing. I told him so through my shut window and he said ok and walked away.
I felt so bad. Not just because I didn't have anything to offer, but because of how I reacted. But honestly he was a strange man and I was alone with no other people close by.
Re: I feel like a terrible person.
do not feel bad. there is nothing wrong with keeping yourself safe.
When I read this, there were a few sentences that really popped out at me, so put them in a quote above. I think if you take out just a couple of details from what you told us, which mainly had to do with how you reacted, you will see that you did the right thing.
He may have been harmless and he may have not been. You can never know.
But in a situation like this, where you're alone and some strange guy is approaching you, it is always better to be safe than sorry... or dead, or raped, or whatever *could* have happened.