pregnant woman seat aita
When it comes to comfort in public spaces, there is often a challenging issue of priority. Who deserves a seat more: a person with physical discomfort or a pregnant woman?
The age-old custom of giving up a seat to someone in need is a sign of courtesy and respect. It can be difficult to call when two people have legitimate reasons to need a seat.
A recent discussion of Reddit’s “r/AmItheA–hole,” a subreddit dedicated to people asking others if they acted correctly in a given situation sums up this dilemma. A Reddit user who goes by the username Constant_Tune4461 refused to give up his chair to a pregnant woman due to his own health issues.
He told a pregnant woman he had “bad feet and knees” after she asked for his seat.
He arrived early to his cousin’s graduation, hoping to secure a front row seat. Equipped with his folding camping chair and headphones, he prepared to wait in line.
“About 40 minutes before the school was supposed to let us in, a pregnant woman pulled up next to me since someone let her in the line,” he wrote. He assumed the “someone” was her husband.
After a few minutes, she asked if she could borrow his chair, explaining that she would struggle to wait. He politely declined, citing his bad feet and knees as the reason.
Despite declining her request, the woman asked him again after a short time. Again, he refused. Dissatisfied with his response, the woman urged her partner to talk to him. Her husband did so politely, but again, the man stood his ground.
“(I) suggested she could wait in their car or just sit on the floor,” he wrote. This suggestion did not sit well with the couple. “At that point, the man immediately called me an asshole, but left me alone,” he wrote.
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Many people commented on the thread supporting the poster, claiming that the pregnant woman acted lawfully.
Some claimed the pregnant woman acted “entitled,” with one person calling her out for refusing to take “no” for an answer.
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“You repeatedly told her no. And then she has to tell her husband the same. The guts of those entitled people,” they wrote.
“Some people’s right is insane,” added another. “She and her partner know she’s pregnant and can’t stand for long, so they should have prepared better.”
However, many of those who sided with the man also sympathized with the pregnant woman.
“You refused to give up the chair you brought because you needed it because of your own health problems. I feel sorry for the woman, but she and her partner should have brought their own chairs,” one person replied.
husband refuses to give up seat to pregnant wife
Photo: Reddit
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Some countered that people should always stick to the idea of relinquishing their seat to someone who is pregnant.
“She is pregnant. The rule is that if you are sitting and a pregnant person, a disabled person (who seems to have difficulty standing) or an elderly person is standing, you offer your seat. It’s basic courtesy,” one person wrote.
However, someone pointed out that it was the man’s “personal chair” and that he had his own reasons for not being able to stand for long. The subreddit gave the post the official “Not the A–hole” badge, stating that it acted correctly.
According to a Study from 2011 published in the National Library of Medicine, as many as 90% of pregnant women are found to have back pain. It is recommended that expectant mothers should avoid “walking or standing for prolonged periods”.
So for people without health problems it is always nice to offer a seat.
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Ethan Cotler is a writer and regular contributor to YourTango and lives in Boston. His writing includes entertainment, news and human interest stories.
This article originally appeared on YourTango
