A pregnant woman has spoken out and asked the internet for advice after getting accused of being “lazy” for refusing to give up her seat.
Recalling her recent confrontation with a fellow commuter, the young lady revealed how she was scolded and called names after refusing to stand up and give her seat to an elderly woman.
As the 26-year-old pregnant woman went on to explain, she didn’t sit in priority seats but in the row behind them. She also insisted she only sat close to the door because she didn’t want to walk up the stairs while 18 weeks pregnant and carrying heavy bags.
“So I got on the bus after an eight hour day in work. Now I get on at very first stop on the bus route and get off at the very last stop the whole journey takes about two hours,” she explained.
“When I got on the bus it was quite busy on the bottom deck, with only one double seat left available. Usually, I would go upstairs when it’s this busy but this time I had about 4-5 slightly heavy bags with me and didn’t feel safe trying to get up the stairs with them especially since I’m 18 weeks pregnant, so I sat on the seat downstairs.”
While there were no issues with her ride in the beginning, the mom-to-be was in for a major confrontation when an elderly woman walked into the bus and demanded she gives up her seat.
“About halfway through the journey, an older lady with a stick got on the bus and she asked me to move. She wasn’t even polite when she asked and honestly I thought she meant move over so she could sit next to me,” she added.
“So I moved my bags and started to scoot over, when she [said] ‘No, No I meant can you find another seat, this seat is reserved for disabled people. You are clearly not disabled. There are plenty of seats upstairs.’
“These seats were not priority seats for disabled people the ones in front of me were (which had an empty seat) but these ones were not. So I replied, ‘Sorry, I really don’t feel safe going up the stairs with all these bags, I don’t mind you sitting next to me though, we both have our masks on.’”
Her reply, however, only further infuriated the senior woman who allegedly went on to order the mom-to-be to “move your lazy fat behind” and give up her seat.
“I hate confrontation and I absolutely hate people who use their pregnancy as an excuse, which means I hate what I said next,” the 26-year-old added.
“‘Lady I am pregnant, I am not going up those stairs with these bags and risking a fall. If you really want a seat to yourself ask someone else to move.’”
While a man sitting nearby eventually gave up his seat, he allegedly didn’t do so without giving the pregnant woman “dirty looks.”
“The lady spent the next 10-15 minutes talking with the other oldies on the bus about how the kids these days have no respect for their elders or people with disabilities, or how they would have never have spoken to someone like in their day,” the woman revealed.
While her family appeared to have backed her up after the incident, the mom-to-be admitted feeling guilty after the confrontation as she asked the internet if she was in the wrong and if she “acted like an entitled brat” when she refused to give up her seat.
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