One of my pet peeves is reading articles, blogs, whatever, about how men in D.C. don't offer their seats on the Metro to the elderly, physically handicapped people, pregnant women, etc. It annoys me, because I constantly see guys offer to give up their seats. Sometimes a little too aggressively. Like this guy I've written about before, who used to ride my bus and who would literally offer his seat to every woman who boarded. Even to the point where he'd get up, walk the length of the bus, and tap a woman on the shoulder to let her know a seat is available. Seeing the earnestness with which he did this, I don't even think he was trying to get laid or anything. I think it was just a behavior programmed into him when he was a kid, that he can't shake as an adult. Kind of like how my parents were so goddamn insistent I say, "Excuse me," when I belched as a kid, that I reflexively do so now, even if there's no one else in the room.
If I'm on the Metro, I'll give up my seat to a pregnant woman or anyone handicapped, no questions asked. Aside from being the right thing to do, I know if I don't, everyone else on the train or bus will be silently judging me the whole time. When it comes to old people, though, I use what I like to think of as The Golden Girls Scale:
If someone looks to be Sophia's age, I'll offer him/her my seat.
If someone looks to be Rose's age, I'll probably offer him/her my seat.
If someone looks to be Dorothy's age, I might offer him/her my seat, depending on my mood or how much further I have to go, but probably not.
If someone looks to be Blanche's age, I ain't moving.
But like I said, pregnant women are pretty much a no-brainer, so when one got on the train a couple of nights ago, I immediately felt an urge to offer her my seat before I remembered that I was already standing up. I glanced over at the people sitting down, and was surprised to see that they were all women, except for one guy next to the window who seemed to be asleep. The pregnant woman wandered over in their direction, and reached up and grabbed onto one of the handrails. It's not like these women were engrossed in magazines or their iPods or whatever, either, so I figured it was only a matter of of moments before one of them offered her a seat.
Not one of them did. And when I got off three stops later, she was still standing. The moral of the story: Women can be dicks, too.
Now, according to movie science, it's only a matter of time until men can get pregnant. And you better believe, if I'm in my second trimester and I see a woman not offering me her seat on the Metro, I will kick her ass out of it. Obviously, I shouldn't have to. It should be offered. Solidarity in sisterhood, and all that. But after this experience? Who knows?
If I'm on the Metro, I'll give up my seat to a pregnant woman or anyone handicapped, no questions asked. Aside from being the right thing to do, I know if I don't, everyone else on the train or bus will be silently judging me the whole time. When it comes to old people, though, I use what I like to think of as The Golden Girls Scale:
If someone looks to be Sophia's age, I'll offer him/her my seat.
If someone looks to be Rose's age, I'll probably offer him/her my seat.
If someone looks to be Dorothy's age, I might offer him/her my seat, depending on my mood or how much further I have to go, but probably not.
If someone looks to be Blanche's age, I ain't moving.
But like I said, pregnant women are pretty much a no-brainer, so when one got on the train a couple of nights ago, I immediately felt an urge to offer her my seat before I remembered that I was already standing up. I glanced over at the people sitting down, and was surprised to see that they were all women, except for one guy next to the window who seemed to be asleep. The pregnant woman wandered over in their direction, and reached up and grabbed onto one of the handrails. It's not like these women were engrossed in magazines or their iPods or whatever, either, so I figured it was only a matter of of moments before one of them offered her a seat.
Not one of them did. And when I got off three stops later, she was still standing. The moral of the story: Women can be dicks, too.
Now, according to movie science, it's only a matter of time until men can get pregnant. And you better believe, if I'm in my second trimester and I see a woman not offering me her seat on the Metro, I will kick her ass out of it. Obviously, I shouldn't have to. It should be offered. Solidarity in sisterhood, and all that. But after this experience? Who knows?
3 comments:
Why don't pregnant women and elderly people just ask for seats when they require them? I've been asked several times for my seat, and I'm always happy to oblige. Typically when I have a seat, I'm engrossed in the newspaper or my kindle. I'm not constantly surveing the car looking for pregant women to give my seat to. That'd be kind of weird, actually. My experience in the morning is that life is 100 times easier when you have a seat. You don't constantly have to dive out of the way every time there's a mass exodus and entrance at the busy station stops. The only drawback is if you have the window seat and an obese person slops in next to you. That really ruins the commute.
Oy, this is so annoying. Sure, Dellis is right - people could just ASK for a seat. But why don't others just OFFER? Common courtesy.
(I love your Golden Girls scale.)
Sorry but I'm not going to get up for a pregnant woman. If that makes me a bitch, so be it. They shouldn't get special treatment because they're having a baby.
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