A woman has claimed she was criticised by an older woman when she refused to give up her seat for her, but her excuse for staying seated has people on her side
We all know that when it comes to seats on a bus, it’s polite to stand up and free up a seat for those in need when it gets busy. Most of the time this involves younger, healthier people standing up to allow older people to sit down, but pregnant people or those with disabilities may also need a seat.
One woman, however, has explained that she recently refused to give up her seat in a public place for an elderly woman – and had a good excuse for doing so. The woman said the stranger gave her dirty looks for not getting up, but when she shared her reasoning, the older woman was stunned into silence.
In a post on Reddit, the woman said she and her husband were visiting their favourite diner for breakfast, but when they arrived the restaurant was busy, so they had to sit in the small waiting area.
Two older couples walked in while they were waiting, but there was nowhere for them to sit. When the woman made no move to give up her seat for one of them, she was given a “nasty side-eye” look – which prompted her to speak up and tell the older customers exactly why she deserved the seat.
It turned out that the woman had recently undergone breast reduction surgery for health reasons, and as a result, her chest was sore, and it made standing for long periods of time very uncomfortable.
She wrote: “Myself and the other couples tried to politely explain how the queue worked, but one of the elderly women interrupted us by loudly announcing, ‘Well, you should just let my friend sit because of her age, you know,’ then gave me a nasty side-eye, rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend as if we should all be ashamed of ourselves.
“I finally said, ‘I’m sorry, I would have given you my seat, but I’m still recovering from surgery and can’t stand for long periods of time. I’m sorry.’ It got VERY quiet until, finally, the same lady said, ‘Well, do you want to sit here-‘ and I just stopped her and replied, ‘No, I’m fine where I am.’ We all waited in silence until it was our turn to be seated.”
The woman ended her post by encouraging others to be more considerate of those around them, as although she would normally give up her seat immediately, she felt she “had the right” to remain seated this time. And commenters on the post agreed with her.
One person said: “Not every disability is visible; even though yours is only temporary, it doesn’t make you any less valid. Hope your recovery goes well.” And another added: “As someone with an invisible illness, I feel you. I just keep sitting. It’s less of an issue when I have my cane. Even then, people look surprised, I do not care.”
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