Some pregnant women not daring to ask for seat in public transport so they take grab. They also expect other commuters to be aware that they are preggo and expect them to give them their seat without asking.
As a regular public transport commuter, how are we supposed to judge whether a woman is indeed pregnant or just has a fat belly in order to give them the seat? I mean like if I ask someone who has a big belly if they’re pregnant and they’re actually not, wouldn’t that be a rude question..
Some pregnant ladies also don’t have big belly at the earlier stages so how are we supposed to know..? Do they expect us to have superman x-ray vision and check if the lady’s belly has a foetus? I don’t like to play guessing game leh.
I understand if they have like social anxiety issues but like… are you just going to silently torture yourself and your unborn baby + spend more money instead of asking someone for a seat politely? It wouldn’t hurt to ask politely and there’s nothing wrong with asking.
I personally have severe social anxiety issues but once, (when covid period started) I suddenly felt like fainting and had blurry vision in the mrt so I went up to a young lady (Thai/Filipino) and asked her (politely) if I could have her seat cos I felt like fainting. She immediately got up and went the extra mile to ask how I was feeling and even touched my forehead to see whether I got fever anot. I also apologized for taking her seat and she said it’s ok and she damn kind sia bless that woman.
Talking abt entitlement, once I was travelling to school early in the morning and sat on a non-priority seat in the mrt. I was tired so I closed my eyes/looked down. After reaching my destination and about to get off the train, I looked up and noticed one lady (who looks to be around my age) standing in front of me and glaring at me.
Only then when I looked up at her, I realized that there was an elderly man beside her, standing right in front of me. The elderly man didn’t ask me for the seat and the young lady didn’t help him ask for the seat when I was sitting down anyway, and I genuinely didn’t see him until I looked up, so I don’t think it was my fault, right?
And I also realize most elderly ppl like to stand in front of young ppl like me in an effort to get me to give up my seat… and I honestly wouldn’t give up the seat if I was genuinely unwell/tired and if they shouted at me for sitting.
You can ask “Hi, I’m pregnant. May I have your seat? Thank you.” What’s so difficult?
Or for unwell people “Hi, I am unwell. May I have your seat? Thank you.”
Or u can even type down the question and show it to the person you’re asking instead of opening ur mouth. Like “Hi, I’m unwell. May I have this seat please? No worries if you don’t want to”.
If they say no, don’t get all mad or frustrated or glare at them. Tbh they probably need the seat too. Just move on and ask another person. Asking for something doesn’t mean u will get it, it’s okay to be rejected and don’t take it to heart. Just be like “I understand, it’s alright!” with a smile and move on.
If you need a seat, just ask politely and state ur issue. Don’t need scared one. If one says no (because they probably have invisible issues), don’t take it to heart, move on and ask another person. Don’t make people guess.