Singapore Expats

I was on the MRT today and there was a very pregnant women (looked like she was ready to deliver any time!) and there was a lady (50s) sitting in the priority seat asleep, then a few seats of other ladies plus her kids, then a 30s male. So i went to ask the male if he would mind letting the pregnant lady sit down. Well he did, then he tells me in a rather unfriendly voice that i could have asked the lady sitting in the priority seat and that she is not elderly.

Ok she is not elderly but she is old-ish and asleep! So i just said "she is asleep and plus you are a guy!"

He of course was not happy but didn't say anything else. The people on the other side heard us and the child sprung up and moved away, so i said to this guy, there you go, there's a free seat for you, in which he didn't respond and just made a 'i dont care' gesture.

The pregnant lady after a few stops gets off, thanks me and he sits down on that seat again.

Did i do something wrong?

No, there are just some ignorant people. My hubby is one of those that champions pregnant/ elderly / disabled people on trains. He is always shaming people out of their seats even when they pretend to be so into their iphone game they don't notice. Everyone will always be one day in the position of need. You may may not necessarily ever be pregnant but that big lady standing may be carrying the person that will one day be giving up the seat when you are old or be wiping your butt when you are in a nursing home. Curtesy doesn't cost much. Well done I say.

I've lost track of how many people i've asked to give up their seats for pregnant or elderly people, and everyone has done so without making such a remark as the guy today, which really got me puzzled.... did he think i was being sexist as he is male and i expected him to stand up? Really scratching my head to figure out why he is so upset.

It's absolutely hilarious how sleepy people get whenever a pregnant woman gets on the train/bus! I remember one time we got on at the Expo and I was pretty heavily pregnant and there were no seats already, so my husband asked one guy who was snoozing in the priority seat to give it up for me. They had about a 60 second stare down before the guy got up to move. I guess this is what the locals call a death stare? He continued glaring at us until we got to about Tanjong Pagar when a seat freed up next to me and my husband congenially (although we had been laughing at his tenacity in holding a grudge) offered him the seat, which he of course refused, before moving away down the train. I'm still not sure if I missed something or he was just the biggest jerk ever.

Poor guy was probably shuffling between his multiple shifts at pittance wages because of ang moh FT showing up making things more expensive and stealing the jobs he should have by birth right! And then, you're pregnant, trying to upset the racial balance so that eventually his kin might lose that birth right!

(just kidding :p)

Venting: They're a rude bunch on the MRT. We gave up a seat this morning for an older lady on her way to work and she never acknowledge or thanked my husband for giving up his seat (it wasn't a reserved seat for the less mobile). Most of the locals lack common courtesy. The buggers also don't give way to pedestrians. Grr.

Agree in general... but what's this crap about the 'guy' somehow having more reason/responsibility to give up a seat? Either we have gender equality or we don't. Get your young asses up off the seats ladies, and let the pregnant and elderly sit, just like you'd expect us guys to do.

Funny story.

My friend got her share of death stare from a very fat lady on MRT.

Why?

Long story short, she mistook that woman to be pregnant, tried to offer her seat. The woman got offended and declined her but for the next few minutes before one of them got off, my friend was subjected to bitch talk and death stare.

Can't blame either one.

Strong Eagle wrote:Agree in general... but what's this crap about the 'guy' somehow having more reason/responsibility to give up a seat? Either we have gender equality or we don't. Get your young asses up off the seats ladies, and let the pregnant and elderly sit, just like you'd expect us guys to do.

In principle I fully agree but as far as I understood the circumstances it was a good strategy.

the lynx wrote:Funny story.

My friend got her share of death stare from a very fat lady on MRT.

Why?

Long story short, she mistook that woman to be pregnant, tried to offer her seat. The woman got offended and declined her but for the next few minutes before one of them got off, my friend was subjected to bitch talk and death stare.

Can't blame either one.

This happened to me on a train up to London, offered my seat to a lady I presumed was mid pregnancy and she started to laugh and said, "I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat!"

The number of people who suffer from Narcolepsy in Singapore is amazing. The sight of a pregnant lady or an elderly person simply triggers it!

Saint wrote: This happened to me on a train up to London, offered my seat to a lady I presumed was mid pregnancy and she started to laugh and said, "I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat!"

After living in NYC both my wife and I had bellies on us. Back in SG she was on occasion offered seats on the train, being SGn she gladly accepted.

Strong Eagle wrote:Agree in general... but what's this crap about the 'guy' somehow having more reason/responsibility to give up a seat? Either we have gender equality or we don't. Get your young asses up off the seats ladies, and let the pregnant and elderly sit, just like you'd expect us guys to do.

To be honest I still stand when a lady gets on the train no matter what her ages is and whichever seat I am in! When I ask folk to move for pregnant or old folk on trains, I always ask young guys, cause if there is an altercation I can deal with it much better, an altercation with a woman is somewhat embarrassing and would probably end up on Stomp.

It's not only the MRT, the buses are just as bad. My wife is almost 5 months pregnant and quite clearly showing now, yet in the morning she says all the people pretend to sleep when she gets on. I've told her to wake their asses up but she's too polite, if I got the same bus as her I'd probably end up in a scrap every morning

nutnut wrote:

Strong Eagle wrote:Agree in general... but what's this crap about the 'guy' somehow having more reason/responsibility to give up a seat? Either we have gender equality or we don't. Get your young asses up off the seats ladies, and let the pregnant and elderly sit, just like you'd expect us guys to do.

To be honest I still stand when a lady gets on the train no matter what her ages is and whichever seat I am in! When I ask folk to move for pregnant or old folk on trains, I always ask young guys, cause if there is an altercation I can deal with it much better, an altercation with a woman is somewhat embarrassing and would probably end up on Stomp.

That, I have to agree.