There are certain social rules that we learn throughout life that we go with without question. One of them is that you should always offer your seat to a pregnant woman.
Reality will tell you that fewer people offer this courtesy than should. One person decided to share his story with Reddit, feeling justified in his decision.
The original poster (OP) explained that he worked an exhausting job that saw him on his feet for over 10 hours a day. The bus ride was his only reprieve between work and his 15-minute walk home, he reasoned. Other people thought it was still rude, but there were a few willing to defend him.
OP opened up by admitting that he wasn't sure why this was as much of a problem as it's been read as. "This happened just last night, and my family completely lost their minds at me about it. So here I am," he wrote.
"I take the bus to and from work (car got totaled about a month ago, still waiting on insurance to reimburse me so I can get a new one), and right now on public transit you have to social distance. This means limited seating."
"At my job, I'm literally on my feet all day, and I work 10 hour shifts. It sucks but the pay is good, so I can deal, but after a long day, my feet are sore AF," he continued.
"I genuinely cherish the time I spend sitting on the bus ride home, knowing I have to walk another 15-20 minutes to my house from the bus stop. Which means more time on my feet."
Then he explained how this became a problem. "So last night I'm on the bus, and a very heavily pregnant lady gets on. She looks around for a seat, only to find there are no available ones left," he noted.
"I'm the closest to her, so she starts giving me the imploring eyes. I had my headphones on and tried to pretend I couldn't see her, but once she started talking to me it became inevitable."
He considered this an appropriate response.
"I wasn't rude or anything, I just told her no, I've had a long day and my feet are sore. I don't want to give up my seat," he said.
"She started crying about how she's a pregnant single mom, and I told her I'm sorry, but that was her personal choice and she can't expect other people to accommodate her life choices," he said.
"We live in a state where birth control and abortions are free, so I don't know why this should be my problem. It's not my fault she decided to have a baby when she can’t afford a car."
"After going back and forth for a bit, an old man finally shouted that I'm a 'worthless punk' and offered his seat to the lady," he continued.
"He started ranting and raving about the '[expletive] millennials' and I just looked the other way and pretended I didn't hear it. As they were trading seats, the bus driver had to slam the brakes for whatever reason, and the pregnant lady and the old man both fell. They started yelling at me, calling me all sorts of nasty names, but I just looked the other way and ignored it."
"When I got home and told my sister, she flipped the [expletive] out and went crying to our parents, who also chewed my [expletive] out," OP revealed.
"But I was tired and had a long day, and I don't know why we need to keep perpetuating the idea that breeding somehow means your entitled to people's seats. I'm tired, too, we're all tired in this pandemic."
OP was clearly hoping that someone would be sympathetic to him, but it quickly became evident that wasn't the case.
"Did you know that being heavily pregnant really alters your balance, let alone the tired thing?" one commenter wrote.
"No – you didn't ask her to be pregnant, but you can, as an able-bodied otherwise healthy person just choose to be nice. By being a selfhsh grumpy bugger a heavily pregnant person and an old person fell over. Bringing up the contraception/abortion/'breeding' angle too really makes you an [expletive]. I bet you're a real 'nice guy.'"
"No one normal uses the word 'breeding' to describe someone who is pregnant. Please tell me you're a troll," another frustrated commenter wrote.
"This makes you look really cruel and insensitive! You were also kind of an [expletive] in this situation. You were sitting in the seats that are reserved for handicap people and also well, pregnant women, and you refused to give up your seat to a pregnant woman! Be the bigger person and give up your seat next time!" another added.
He did find a single sympathizer, however. "I'm a woman, btw. I just don't feel like you should be forced to give up your seat because she is pregnant," the commenter shared.
"Yes, pregnancy sucks, and it's uncomfortable as all [expletive], but that is no reason for you to suffer, imo. You're in pain, too, and there were plenty of other people who could have stood rather than you. There's no reason for you to be forced to stand when you're in pain when there is almost certainly someone who can give up their seat when they aren't in pain."
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