Reddit User Asks If They Were Wrong To Refuse Giving Up Their Bus Seat To A Pregnant Woman

In fact, there are many people who feel that the "rules" people have are pretty bogus. Recently, one Reddit user wrote in to the website's popular subreddit, r/AmItheAsshole, asking if they were wrong for, "... not giving up their seat on the bus to a pregnant woman."

"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," they said.

"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. 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," they continued.

"She looks around for a seat, only to find there are no available ones left. 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," they said.

"I’ve had a long day and my feet are sore. I don’t want to give up my seat. 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," they said.

"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 started ranting and raving about the 'damn millennials' and I just looked the other way and pretended I didn’t hear it," they said.

"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," the user added.

"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 [sic] entitled to people’s seats. I’m tired, too, we’re all tired in this pandemic," they said.

The Reddit user asked the community if they were an "asshole" for how they reacted on the bus.

"Did you know that being heavily pregnant really alters your balance, let alone the tired thing? 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 selfish, grumpy, bugger a heavily pregnant person and an old person fell over," one person said.

"You didn't show common courtesy by giving up your seat to someone who needs it much more. As in, if you fall during transit you might get a bruise, if she fell during transit, she might lose her child. Not to mention that no matter now tired you are she's more likely to have an accident while standing during transit than you," they said.

"In Australia we have designated seats for people who might struggle to stand for whatever reason (pregnant, disability, age, e.g.). Anyone can sit there, but if someone who needs a seat gets on the bus your ass had better be out of it quick smart. You'll also get some dirty looks if you don't actively offer your seat to any person who even looks like they could be hitting retirement," one person said.

"The whole giving up seats for the pregnant and the elderly thing isn't because they're pregnant/elderly, it's because these particular groups are more likely to fall and suffer serious injuries when they do.

OP, being tired sucks, but being tired and sore doesn't make you more vulnerable to bad falls, being pregnant does. That's why you're supposed to give up your seat," they said.

"Sorry folks, but I'm gonna go NTA [not the asshole]. And while [original poster's] word choices were poor, to say the least, the point stands that just because she is pregnant, doesn't mean she's entitled to his seat. Buses have lots of seats and I am dead sure that she could [have] found a different one by walking a few more steps," one user said. They also added that we don't know what the original poster does as a career, and they could be equally deserving of the seat.

Many people pointed out that the pregnant woman needed the seat more for safety reasons, and called the OP out for causing her and an elderly man to fall when the bus stopped suddenly.

What do you think? Who's in the wrong here?