Dad and son step up to help stranger who was scared to get onto escalator: 'We need men like him'

We all come across people in public places who need some sort of help, but probably very few of us stop by and help them out. It could be on a crowded street, in a restaurant or in a shopping mall. In a video posted on Reddit by u/Ok_Lebanon, a man is seen seemingly scared to get onto the escalator. He keeps hesitating even as a few people pass him.

Then a family comes by and the father asks the stranger, "Are you scared?" When the man nods his head, the dad goes back a bit, holds his hand and helps him to get onto the escalator. The dad tells him, "Keep calm, relax yourself." The other person tells him that he has always been scared. The dad assures him again and tells him, "Raise your foot when I say it."

By then, his son also comes to the stranger and says, "I'm here. Don't worry I'm Batman." The child then holds the stranger's hand as they go down the escalator. The video gained more than 22k upvotes on Reddit and is captioned, "We need more men like him." This video appears to have been a social experiment with a videographer recording people's responses to a scared man unable to get onto an escalator.

However, many could relate to the fear the man was having and were grateful for the father-son duo. u/tygermouse commented, "My son is 19 and struggles with escalators. It's incredible how rude/mean people are when they see us and I'm trying to convince my son it's OK and we can do it together." u/OsoBear92 wrote, "I'm 30 years old and still have quite a fear. I'm clumsy, and afraid I'm gonna crash and burn. This gave me a little slice of hope today."

u/oakbea expressed, "I have never seen an escalator like that. I'd be scared too. Glad there are kind people in the world." u/Habaduba pointed out, "Compassionate people raise compassionate children. Compassionate children grow up to be compassionate adults. The world would be a better place if there was a little more kindness. Try compassion first, before you judge or doubt someone!" u/jackson_2015 wrote, "What a wonderful man and his helpful son. Please help when you can because fear is real."  

Talking about helping others, in another story, a 54-year-old homeless man looks after himself and other people on cold winter nights. He checks on people in different locations. "I walk around, make sure they stay awake and they stay alive," said Ernest McPherson. Meadow lake has a population of 5,300 but doesn't have even one homeless shelter. According to CBC, McPherson often provides people with warm clothing or takes people to 7-Eleven or an ATM lobby for a brief respite from the cold.

"It's like there's nowhere in the world for them and nobody wants them," McPherson said. "They're really happy when they see me come along, and I'm really happy to find them [alive] because it doesn't take long to freeze out here." Last winter, he almost froze to death in a –38°C snowstorm. "I lost direction and time... so I sat down for a minute, and thought I'd rest for a minute. I fell asleep," McPherson said. "I had a guardian angel that night. She came and kicked me in the foot."