Man occupies two seats by resting his hand on one and refuses to move it to allow a pregnant woman to sit down: she sits on it
A 30-year-old woman told about her experience in taking public transport whilst pregnant, focusing on one anecdote in particular, which caused a strong reaction in many of her followers. It is well known that pregnant women should have priority on public transport when it comes to seating, but not everyone is always kind enough to give up their seat. The woman explained that she always felt very lucky in meeting people who, of their own free will, gave her their seats or place on the bus or queuing in line at the supermarket. She never took advantage of her condition. One day, however, a young man refused to give up his seat and the woman, who had politely asked to be allowed to sit there, acted accordingly. The seat she wanted was not occupied by the man himself - he only had his hand resting on the otherwise empty seat.
via Reddit
Freepik / not the actual photo
Can a hand occupy a seat that would otherwise be perfectly free? Apparently so, and a young woman told her strange story on Reddit in order to get a second opinion. The woman was in her eighth month of pregnancy, so her tummy was certainly clearly visible to everyone, when she had an argument with a young passenger who did not want to give her a seat. Usually, she has no problem getting a seat on public transport, as most passengers always offer her their seats when they see her get on a bus or a subway train. Usually, it is the more elderly travellers who show this respect more than others, while younger travellers tend to ignore this social norm.
That day, the bus was full, but next to a man (who was dressed as a builder), there was a free seat. The woman was very tired, she had a pain in her back and her legs were burning: she couldn't wait to sit down, as she wasn't feeling very well. The man, however, had his hand resting on the vacant seat and seemed unwilling to move it. The pregnant woman politely asked him to move his hand so she could sit down, but the young man replied that the seat was "occupied". But occupied by whom? "By my hand" the man replied. Even a request from a young, very pregnant woman to kindly remove his hand, the man was not at all interested or sympathetic to the woman's needs.
At that point, the woman was so tired that she decided to proceed with an risky but effective gesture: she sat on the man's hand, provoking a disproportionate reaction from him. The young man, in fact, immediately removed his hand from the seat and started shouting at her, claiming that the woman had acted disrespectfully, making him uncomfortable. The two argued publicly on the bus, until the man left. Everyone present was staring at the pregnant woman and she, with some embarrassment, continued to gaze down at the ground. When she recounted the episode to her husband, he told her that she had, in fact, acted inappropriately, even if it made the man feel uncomfortable.
What do you think of this episode? The woman is sure that the man paid for only one ticket and that, given this, he should have only occupied one seat.
