Last evening, I was on my way home on a packed MRT carriage. A pregnant lady boarded shortly after, squeezed her way to the privileged seat (without any 'excuse me'), stood in front of it, and scowled at the passenger occupying it. Upon seeing a pregnant lady, that passenger hurriedly stood up and gave up her seat. And the lady just sat down without a word of thanks.
I was both amused and disgusted. Firstly, squeezing your way deep into a packed train carriage can cause quite a bit of inconvenience, so the least you could do is to say 'excuse me'. Secondly, there are nicer ways to ask for a seat. A simple "sorry, do you mind giving me the seat?" would suffice - and I doubt if many people will outright refuse. (If someone did, he or she will be in for a barrage of dirty looks, including from me.) To add on, the train was packed, so that passenger couldn't see the pregnant lady until she was practically face to face with her tummy. It's not as if she was pretending not to see. And lastly, is it so difficult to thank someone for giving up their seat?
The seat is hers by privilege and not by right. The public is encouraged to give up their seats to the needy, but they are not compelled to. The lady was treating it as if it's her right. Not only that, she seemed to think that no one else should have sat there as long as they don't deserve it - that probably explains her scowl.
This is also one reason why I always prefer to stand in the train.
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