SINGAPORE: An MRT commuter recently ranted on social media about the allegedly “worsening behaviour” of senior passengers aboard the train.
Posting on the r/SMRTRabak forum, he wrote that he encountered two “entitled” elderly passengers on Saturday (Feb 21).
“I was sitting on the MRT (not on a reserved seat), and it was a Saturday during CNY, so it was quite crowded,” he wrote. “And these two aunties started to stand unreasonably close to me and started talking about me.”
Although he had headphones on and was scrolling through TikTok, he said he could still hear parts of their conversation.
“They were saying how young people like me nowadays won’t give up their seats willingly to old people like them who are aged 70+, even saying like they can’t ask people to give up their seats for them because whoever they ask will get upset at them.”
“HELLO? So you would rather stand unreasonably close to me and talk bad about me and essentially bully me into giving up my non-reserved seat to you rather than just ask for a seat?”
He said he tolerated the comments for a while but eventually had enough. After removing his headphones, he claimed the two aunties immediately fell silent and avoided eye contact, as though nothing had happened.
When his stop arrived, he stood up and told them in Mandarin to take the seat.
“Why don’t you go ask the non-deserving people in the reserved seat to give up their seats for you? Is it because I’m young that they think it’s ok to bully me because they know I won’t speak up?”
“They want young people to respect them, but they don’t respect young people.”
Before the post was deleted from the forum, many Singaporean Redditors chimed in on the discussion. Several reiterated that giving up seats to elderly passengers is a basic courtesy, regardless of whether the seat is reserved.
One told him, “Just have manners and give up your seat, can? What’s so hard?! Entitled is sitting on a seat and grumbling. You don’t know what other people may be going through.”
Another wrote, “Just stand up and give them the seat. If you are younger than 40, you should just give anyone 65+ a seat automatically. It’s never a question. I know I’m going to get downvoted for this, but you also sound entitled.”
A third shared, “I don’t know about you, but the old people I meet on trains are all very nice and would often reject the seat I offer them or accept with lots of thanks. Where do you guys keep meeting these entitled old people?”
Others, however, sided with the young commuter and said that while offering seats is generally the right thing to do, it should not come with public shaming.
One said, “Bravo. Stand your ground. Never give up your seat unless they look like they really, really need it.”
Another remarked, “Some old people can be like that; they want young people to respect them, but they don’t respect young people.”
A third added, “I don’t disagree that the younger and able-bodied ones should offer their seats to the elderly, but more often than not these kinds of elderly are the ones who are magically capable enough of standing in long queues for things they care enough for, barge through crowds, or chiong into trains without queuing.”
In other news, a 32-year-old man shared on social media that his siblings make him feel guilty whenever he skips the second day of their annual Chinese New Year family reunion.
On the r/askSingapore forum, he explained that as an “introverted person who gets overstimulated and tired easily,” these CNY gatherings have always been stressful for him.
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