Man Backed for Calling Out Stranger Over 'Weird' Seat Choice in Empty Train

Internet commenters were quick to defend one man who confronted a stranger for sitting next to him in an empty train car.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/Unlikely-Strategy596 (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said he struck gold when he found a vacant streetcar but was quickly disappointed when another passenger felt it necessary to keep him company.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for telling a stranger 'it's weird you chose to sit right next to me when there's so many other seats available' on the public transit?" the post has received nearly 9,000 upvotes and 1,200 comments in the last 10 hours.

"I took the transit today, and the street car was totally open and available," OP began. "It's really nice because there were about 30 different seats available, and I was alone."

Continuing to explain that they sat down in a window seat, the original poster said they weren't alone long before a stranger entered the car.

The original poster also said the stranger sat right next to him, despite the plethora of empty seats all around them.

"I said to him, 'why did you sit next to me? There's so many other seats everywhere on the street car it's just a little strange,'" OP wrote. "He said, 'well do you own this seat? Is this your seat? I can sit wherever I want, you're being unreasonable here.'

"I said, 'correct, I don't own this spot I just don't understand why you chose to sit right next to me'" OP continued. "He responded [with] the same thing.

"I ended up getting up and moving because the situation was perplexing," OP added. "It's like an unwritten rule that if there are an abundance of available seats you sit alone!"

Public transportation is a major part of life around the world.

In 2009, National Geographic's Greendex report revealed that 25 percent of people living in major nations utilize public transit on a daily basis. For commuters using public transit at least once a week, that number jumps to 41 percent.

The 2009 Greendex report also revealed that the United States is largely averse to public transportation.

However, even in a country where 61 percent of the population never uses public transportation, the American Public Transportation Association reports that people living in the U.S. board a train or bus 34 million times per weekday.

With such a large number of people relying on public transportation, an agreed upon but unwritten code of ethics has been adopted internationally, especially as it pertains to how to behave in an empty, or nearly empty, train car.

Across numerous online platforms, including Facebook, Reddit and Quora, commuters have debated empty-car etiquette and come to a conclusion similar to the original poster's: if there are empty seats everywhere, sit in one, and not directly next to someone else.

Throughout the comment section of the viral Reddit post, Redditors echoed that sentiment and called out the man who prompted OP to switch seats in a train car with just two passengers.

"[Not the a**hole]," Redditor u/Mysterious_Friend_52 wrote in the post's top comment, which has received nearly 13,000 upvotes. "That's intrinsically a super weird thing to do.

"Breaks all normal conventions of public transport," they added. "No way he didn't do that just to screw with you."

Redditor u/andreaak88, whose comment has received more than 3,500 upvotes, offered a similar response.

"This is 100 [percent] not proper train etiquette," they assured. "And the only reason why this guy got pissed off is because you called him out on his creepy f**king behaviour.

"You absolutely did the right thing," they added. "[Not the a**hole]."

"This has using the urinal next to someone when all of the other are open vibes," Redditor u/bricekrispy_ chimed in, receiving nearly 2,000 upvotes.

Newsweek reached out to u/Unlikely-Strategy596 for comment.