SINGAPORE: An MRT commuter was recently criticized on Reddit for refusing to give up the priority seat for a middle-aged woman.
In a post on r/SingaporeRaw, the commuter shared that he was sitting in a priority seat while watching Netflix when this aunty approached and stood so close to him that he could “feel her breathing down his neck.”
“She told me, ‘Okay boy, give aunty a seat, very old already.’ I kid you not, she was in her late 40s to early 50s, not carrying a walking stick or any bags. Just come and approach me, demanding me to give up the seat,” he stated.
However, rather than yielding the seat, he replied, “Aya aunty, don’t say it like that lah, you’re still very young, very pretty.’”
After this exchange, he ignored her and resumed watching Netflix. However, he noticed that the aunty became increasingly hostile, loudly repeating “hello, hello” and persistently bothering him.
“5 or 10 mins later she just walked to another part of the cabin & stood there. She alighted 3 stations later.”
He then asked other members in the online community, “Why did she get angry when I said she was pretty?”
“Be more gracious, you could be her next time when you have one or simply become older.”
In the comments section, many netizens criticized him for not giving up his seat to the aunty, saying she might have had an invisible disability.
They also pointed out that sitting in a priority seat means being ready to yield it when asked, regardless of the person’s age or appearance.
One netizen explained to him that the aunty became upset not because he called her pretty, but because he refused to give up the seat and responded in a somewhat sarcastic manner to deny her request.
“She said she’s old, but you rejected it simply by her appearance. Regardless of whether she actually needed it or not, she asked nicely and gently, so it’s low-key a**holic to respond in a way that can be interpreted as sarcastic.”
Another commented, “Ever heard of invisible disabilities? Be more gracious, you could be her next time when you have one or simply become older.”
Some netizens, who were around their 50s, also chimed in to the discussion and confirmed that reaching that age brings various physical discomforts, such as muscle or back pains and that standing for more than 10 minutes is already painful.
Still, there were a few who took the commuter’s side and said that the aunty seemed entitled.
One netizen said, “You want to talk about social courtesy? It’s also courtesy to accept it when your request is rejected. Getting hostile when people say no isn’t courtesy. It’s an entitlement.”
Another speculated, “He might have an unseen disability too.”
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