Today, a stranger in New York shamed me for refusing to give up my train seat to a child. And I can’t figure out if this is a cultural difference – if Australians just have different seat etiquette rules– or whether I’ve inadvertently been acting like a jerk on public transport my entire life.
Here’s how the seat-shaming incident began. I was sitting on the subway, reading a book in a minding-my-own-business-like manner, when commuters started packing in as we approached Times Square.
I looked up and noticed a blonde woman in her mid-30s giving me some serious side-eye.
I glanced around to make sure I wasn’t doing anything offensive. My bag was surreptitiously tucked under my feet, so I wasn’t taking up more than my fair share of space. I also wasn’t clipping my nails, sporting some funky BO, or blasting music from a set of portable speakers (although God knows enough people do all three on the New York subway.)
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Not where I come from, just the opposite. There were, until fairly recently, signs posted on buses saying that children, who pay half fare, were to give their seats to adults. They were blunt to the point of rudeness and the drivers enforced it.
surely it's a common sense approach? If a 6 year old was quite sturdy and strong looking, and was holding on without any probs I'd leave them standing. If I saw the child was struggling to stay on their feet I might offer them my seat. Can't get too excited about it really.