Commenters were quick to support an anonymous woman after she posted in a popular internet forum that she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a pregnant woman due to a personal disability.
The anonymous woman, known only as u/supportiswelcome, posted about her situation to Reddit's popular r/AmITheA**hole where it garnered nearly 9,000 upvotes and 1,300 comments, many from individuals with disabilities who have faced similar situations while on public transportation.
In the post, the woman, 18, explained that she was in an accident a few months ago when a speeding car hit her while she was crossing the street. She said her leg and right knee took most of the impact, leaving a broken bone in her leg and a "basically fractured" knee cap.
As long as she does not walk for a long time, she said her leg is fine but her knee still hurts, resulting in her using a cane to get around.
The woman explained that yesterday after school she got on the bus and took a seat, mentioning that her knee had been bothering her all day.
At one stop, a pregnant woman entered the bus and looked around for an empty seat, but there were none.
"I was one of the younger people (probably not the youngest though) on the bus and therefore she decided that I was the perfect candidate to give up my seat," the post read. "So she walked over and basically told me that I had to get up so she could sit down. She didn't ask me, she told me."
The young woman said she attempted to explain in a soft voice–not wanting to draw attention–that she has a knee injury and that it is difficult for her to keep balance while standing on the bus.
She claimed that the pregnant woman began yelling at her, saying she didn't believe her "excuses." In response, she lifted up her dress to show the woman the scars on her knee.
"I admit that my scars don't exactly look pretty or are nice healed or anything, but I had no interest in continuing this discussion," the post read.
She said the woman did not respond and kept "sulking" before eventually asking someone else to give up their seat.
"I thought that was that, but suddenly a person sitting behind me found it necessary to weigh in on the situation by saying that I was way out of line by showing her my scars and that I embarrassed the woman and that I could have easily stood up and just suck it up for the remainder of my route," the post read. "So, AITA?"
More than 1,500 users commented on the woman's post, many praising her for standing up for herself and many others calling out the person sitting behind her who also did not give up their seat.
"NTA, You're legitimately disabled and in need of a seat," one user commented. "If the person behind was so supportive of the pregnant woman's need to sit down, then they should have offered their seat instead of trying to bully you into doing so."
"Also, giving up seats for pregnant women is a voluntary courtesy, not something a pregnant woman simply gets to demand of whomever they choose," another user added.
"As another young cane user due to a broken bone, NTA," one user commented. "I've learned to just say 'I'm physically disabled, I cannot stand right now.' If that doesn't work, I just ignore them and let them embarrass themselves."
"So many with invisible disabilities have similar stories. We're never believed," another commenter wrote.
It is not the first time public transportation seating resulted in a public altercation between riders.
A pregnant Pennsylvania woman was punched in the face after refusing to give up her seat to a stranger.
A New York City woman was punched in the face after asking a man on the subway to move over. The woman said she was sitting on the subway when the man sat next to her and opened his legs, leaving him too close for comfort.
Back in 2014, the MTA released an "anti-manspreading" campaign reminding riders to be cautious about how much space they take up and encouraging common courtesy.
Newsweek reached out to u/supportiswelcome but did not receive comment in time for publication.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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