A woman has asked for advice online after feeling remorseful that she didn’t give up her seat on the bus for a woman who was eight-months pregnant.
Before we just leap straight to the conclusion, we’ll have to hear her story, but in general, it’s good to give up your seat for those who are pregnant, elderly, or just less able to stand.
In this instance though, the woman clearly feels a bit of remorse, but that didn’t prove enough for her to give up her seat at the back of the bus.
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Let’s hear her side of the story though, eh?
She shared it on the popular Reddit page ‘Am I The A**hole?’ where people head to ask that very question of the wider community, hoping for either vindication that they were right or to understand where they went wrong.
The woman explained: “I was coming back home from college using the public transportation as I often do (I live in Argentina).
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“In my stop there were plenty of seats available, I pick one in the back of the bus near the door.
“A few stops after a pregnant woman got in, she ignored the first seats (which are the priority seats) and came up to me and asked if I could give her the seat.
“At the time the bus was crowded enough to not be any seats available.
“I told her no because I was tired and wanted to sit down.
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“She mumbled that I was a jerk and said she's 8 months pregnant, I told her I don't care for that and that the priority seats are in the front of the bus.
“Somebody else gave her a seat in the background but still made me feel kinda like an a**hole.
“I think I'm entitled to the seat if I got in before.
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“But I also don't know if the people in the priority seats were people who really needed it so that woman couldn't have asked them to give it to her.”
She later added some additional information, continuing: “Every single seat was taken, I told her to go get one of those seats since people who don't need them takes them anyway when the bus is crowded.
“Also lots of people don't want to sit in the front and would ask for a seat at the back near the door even though they're entitled to the priority seats.”
As you can imagine, most people seem to side with the pregnant woman, declaring the poster to be the proverbial ‘a**hole’.
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One said: “I find it kind of disappointing that an 8 month pregnant woman had to ask for a seat.”
Another wrote: “So here’s the thing, you don’t have to give up a seat for a heavily pregnant person.
“It’s the kind, considerate, understanding and sympathetic thing to do and if you don’t do it, then you are exactly what you think you are.
“I think YTA, but then again I give pregnant people a seat.”
Not everyone is so sure, though.
One person defended the woman, writing: “NTA. She should have taken the priority seats or any other free seat.
“You don’t need to give up your seat in this situation.”
Another commented: “She literally had other seats designated for her. Why would anyone offer theirs?”
So, there’s no clear consensus on this, but – if you find yourself in this situation – it might just be easier to give up the seat if you can.
Save yourself the moral dilemma.
Tom Wood