A man who admitted he refused to give up his bus seat to a pregnant woman has been slammed online, after trying to justify his behaviour.
The man, who posted about the topic on Reddit's "Am I the Asshole?" forum, explained that he works on his feet all day and has a walk home after getting off the bus so the time he spends in the bus is his only sitting time during the time.
For this reason, the man doesn't believe he should have to give up his seat to someone who's pregnant.
Saying his family "lost their minds about it", the man turned to the internet to ask for people's opinions on the topic.
"I take the bus to and from work (car got totaled [SIC] about a month ago, still waiting on insurance to reimburse me so I can get a new one), and right now on public transit you have to social distance. This means limited seating," he wrote.
"At my job, I'm literally on my feet all day, and I work 10 hour shifts. It sucks but the pay is good, so I can deal, but after a long day, my feet are sore AF. I genuinely cherish the time I spend sitting on the bus ride home, knowing I have to walk another 15-20 minutes to my house from the bus stop. Which means more time on my feet," he continued.
"So last night I'm on the bus, and a very heavily pregnant lady gets on. She looks around for a seat, only to find there are no available ones left. I'm the closest to her, so she starts giving me the imploring eyes. I had my headphones on and tried to pretend I couldn't see her, but once she started talking to me it became inevitable.
"I wasn't rude or anything, I just told her no, I've had a long day and my feet are sore. I don't want to give up my seat. She started crying about how she's a pregnant single mum, and I told her I'm sorry, but that was her personal choice and she can't expect other people to accommodate her life choices. We live in a state where birth control and abortions are free, so I don't know why this should be my problem. It's not my fault she decided to have a baby when she can't afford a car," he wrote.
Witnessing the exchange, another man on the bus offered his seat to the pregnant woman, calling the man a "worthless punk".
"As they were trading seats, the bus driver had to slam on the brakes for whatever reason, and the pregnant lady and the old man both fell. They started yelling at me, calling me all sorts of nasty names, but I just looked the other way and ignored it," he continued.
"I was tired and had a long day, and I don't know why we need to keep perpetuating the idea that breeding somehow means your [SIC] entitled to people's seats. I'm tired, too, we're all tired in this pandemic. AITA [Am I the asshole], though?"
Reddit users almost unanimously agreed that yes, the man who wrote the post was indeed the "asshole".
"Yeah, not only did he not give up his seat to a heavily pregnant woman, he also then let an elderly man stand during the commute. Society doesn't exist in a vacuum, consideration and empathy for fellow man is the hallmark of any decent community," one Reddit user commented.
"The way you talk about others is disgusting. Its also just general politeness/decency to give up your seat to someone who is pregnant," another person commented.
A few Reddit users suggested the man was in the wrong, not necessarily for not giving up his seat, but for his comments regarding the woman's choice to get pregnant.