The Experiment
7 October 2005, 07:34
I catch the tram every day. This week I’ve had a rather good strike rate with people offering me a seat during morning peak-hour, so I thought I’d conduct a little ol’ social experiment…
It’s a sad fact that not many commuters are particularly courteous when it comes to giving up their seat for the elderly, pregnant women or the handicapped. Particularly shitful are the schoolkids that stubbornly refuse to budge, even though they pay concession and good manners would have dictated that they move their agile arses from the vinyl. Some will grudgingly move if you ask them, but my child (can you tell I’m going to be unbearable?) is gonna be leaving skidmarks getting off that seat if in sniffing distance of someone who needs it (that includes most adults, actually).
This week, so far two people have offered me their seat in the mornings (there’s usually a seat available in the evenings). It then occurred to me that there seem to be two schools of “Offerers” – the Passive Offerer and the Decisive Offerer.
The Passive Offerer will not actually get up, but will tug you on the sleeve and ask “Would you like a seat?” Probably the normal response if you’re nearly 6 months preggo would be to say “Yes, thanks, very kind” but my pride responds for me and I reply “No, that’s OK”. I always kick myself after though, thinking “Geez, I really wanted that seat.” There’s always that awkward moment where the Offerer probably feels guilty that you are still standing and you feel a bit like a chump.
The Decisive Offerer, such as the gentleman who offered yesterday, will jump up off their seat and say, “Please. Sit”. To which you have no choice but to sit with a thankful “Cheers, thanks”. I like the Decisive Offerer. No awkwardness, no having to make any freaking decisions first thing in the morning, and, most importantly, a seat to rest weary ankles and swollen belly.
So from now until my last day at work (December 16 – bring it on) I’m gonna see how many people offer me a seat (if one isn’t available), what gender they are, what age-bracket they are in and what kind of Offerers they are.
This will be very interesting…
Permanent Link | - i completely agree with you that kidlets should give up their seats for anyone paying a full fare.
We used to cop so much grief at school if we DIDN’T vacate our bus/train seats. And then there were the ex-students who would write to the principal to complain that they were disgusted to see LADIES from XYZ school with no manners.
Sometimes I can’t resist glaring at kidlets seeing how long it takes them to move so that older people around them can sit down :P
— nicole Oct 7, 01:22 PM # - i see this sort of thing on the NYC subway everyday. plenty of grown men, too, who do not give up their seats for pregnant women! one day i saw a five hessidic men take up the last five seats in a car and let four women and one pregnant woman stand!! ugh, annoying as all get out.
train your children well. as far as i’m concerned, i don’t give up my seat to little kids. i don’t care how “tired” they are (when really they’ve been outside playing all day and all the adults in the car have been working all day.) i once heard a little kid whine for five stops as to why she couldn’t sit down in a packed rush-hour commute car! i wanted to smack the mother.
— gleek Oct 8, 01:43 AM # - My two stories from the Tokyo transit system:
First, a couple of weeks ago I was standing on a lunchtime train going from Shimbashi to Fujisawa (down past Yokohama) and watched a mother with a baby in one of those front holder things stand in front of the priority seats for the full 45 minute journey without one of the 20-something salarymen offering their seat, the lazy ****’s.
Second, earlier this year on a subway train with my then 8 month pregnant wife, a little girl of about 5 years old gets on with her mother, walks up to my wife (who was sitting down) and starts tapping her on the knee and gesturing that she would like to sit down and so can my wife move to accommodate her by standing up and moving elsewhere – the little madam!
I ended up asking very loudly in English if someone didn’t mind standing up for my wife, and then pointing at her and the priority seat sign. Worked a treat.
My son, however, will not be allowed to sit down on a train or subway until he is 18 years old ;)
— bogue Oct 10, 12:32 AM #
