Comments on: Mistaken Seat Identity

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:01:08 +0000

I remember one time that I had recently had foot surgery. I had probably only been walking without a cane for a week or so when I took the Metro home from downtown. I sat down because my foot would really hurt after a few minutes of standing. Some woman read me the riot act for not offering my seat to someone else. Who the fuck is she to decide who is able bodied?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:25:06 +0000

A driver on the 38 stopped driving, got up and yelled at a few of us to give up front seats last week on one of those awfuly crowded runs outbound around 10pm. I got up, because I figured the rest of the bus just wanted to get going, and I wanted to do my bit to placate the (likely) insane bus driver. But for the record, none of the older people standing up took the seat. It remained empty until a lucky soul who got on at Van Ness thought they won the lottery.

By: Laspic

Laspic — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:41:52 +0000

My very pregnant wife was riding the 19 home from a long day at work and plopped herself down in one of the front handicapped seats. Some busybody boarded and immediately and started yelling at people to give up those seats. My wife hissed at her “I’m 8 months pregnant and I’m not going anywhere.” The rest of the bus laughed at the woman and she finally STFU.

By: kevin

kevin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:20:10 +0000

was she a african american woman missing a few teeth?
there is one of these rude nasty people doing the same thing
on the 24 who berated a woman who just came from chemo treatment

wonder if same

By: Rolo

Rolo — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:43:34 +0000

I hate sitting in the seats for the elderly and disabled. I almost always prefer to stand than to deal with the internal hassle that goes through my mind. Because most of the time I’m reading or “resting” my eyes on the bus, I don’t always pay attention to who is entering the bus. Sometimes I look up and there are some people who are much needier of the seat than I am and I feel awful. If someone asks me to sit I’ll always get up, but I know, especially in this city, a lot of people worry about the reaction they’ll get for asking.
And then there’s the matter of deciding who you should offer your seat to. Obviously to the disabled and elderly. I was nearly slapped by a woman for offering her my seat; I guess she saw it as sexist.
I prefer to stand on crowded buses.

By: jeff

jeff — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:58:41 +0000

agreed. knowing the whole story before taking sides is a moral we should all adopt. that, and “fighting” on behalf of those who don’t need it or ask for it only because it makes us feel better is really a show of self-righteousness. the fact that the old guy in your story never said a word in itself speaks volumes.

By: troymccluresf

troymccluresf — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:40:06 +0000

Something a bit similar happened on the J a month ago (though this was much less interesting). There was an older guy standing at the front or a slightly crowded car. Someone asked if he wanted a seat and he smiled and declined.

Next stop, some lady gets on and then starts trying to shame the people sitting for not giving him their seats. Everyone just kinda smirked at her. I told her “they already did, he doesn’t want to sit” but at that point she just started getting louder. I think the guy standing finally told her to shut up.

It’s one thing to offer a seat to someone yourself, but it’s really just insulting to start berating people in the name of someone else. I’d be pretty pissed if someone decided to go on a mini Muni crusade on my behalf.