Tuesday, July 26, 2005
re: observations
I was inspired to write this post from The Princess' observations entry. And in a sense, this is also an extension of yesterday's ranting about obligations.
So when was the last time you gave up your seat in a train/ bus to "someone who needs it more than you"? I shan't digress into the omnipresent propaganda in our lives. I shan't.
But really. I mean, why should people pass moral judgment on those who don't jump out of their seats at the sight of a pregnant lady or elderly folks?
Everyone pays (more or less) the same fare for said public transport. A teenager thus has the same right to a seat as a pregnant lady. A simple matter of equality, isn't it?
Sure, it's a nice gesture to offer your seat to someone else. But shouldn't such moves be purely voluntary?
In the first place, who is to say that a pregnant lady or elder needs the seat more than say, a young man or teenager? It is a generalisation to assume so.
What if the pregnant lady has been resting at home all day (or all six months) while the young man has been working his ass off? Who would know if said young man has had all of four hours of sleep everyday for the past two weeks? Who would know if said young man again is in the service line and stands on his feet for eight hours at a go? Who would know if said young man is ill? Or if he is suffering from an ankle injury?
No one.
It's so easy to pass judgment on other people - that man is young and strong he should stand, otherwise he's just a selfish bastard. But what happened to giving other people the benefit of the doubt?
I once read a contribution to ST Forum by a married woman. She related an incident where a pregnant lady literally demanded that she forsake her seat. Based on what, I ask?
There are even times when these "needy" (as propaganda will tell you) will refuse an offered seat out of sheer pride. When I was still a schoolgirl, I was once berated by an old Chinese man who felt slighted that I even thought that he needed a seat more than I did. The whole incident was so bloody embarrassing - he yelled at me and told me he didn't need pity.
So you see, who is to say who "needs" a seat more than whom?
Why must we be morally obliged to sacrifice a paid seat to someone else?
// posted by the commentator @ 11:24 am 
Comments:
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For me, to solve this problem, I simply stand when taking the public transport even when there are empty seats around. I now find it amusing when seeing how people scramble for the seats.
For me, I will always give up my seat (if I am seated) to pregnant ladies or the elderly. I was brought up with the principle of giving something up to someone who may (and this is a very big "may") need it more than I do. Anyway, with the way some of the bus drivers are driving their vehicles and how people push their way through in buses or train cabins, I fear more for the pregnant women than anything else. At the end of the day, the child inside of her is innocent, no matter how rotten the foetus' mother may be. Just my two cents'. - D W
For me, I will always give up my seat (if I am seated) to pregnant ladies or the elderly. I was brought up with the principle of giving something up to someone who may (and this is a very big "may") need it more than I do. Anyway, with the way some of the bus drivers are driving their vehicles and how people push their way through in buses or train cabins, I fear more for the pregnant women than anything else. At the end of the day, the child inside of her is innocent, no matter how rotten the foetus' mother may be. Just my two cents'. - D W
# posted by 
: 2:30 pm
: 2:30 pm
I respect your opinions. And of course it is the 'nice' thing to offer your seat to pregnant women, and I do it too.
But what I take issue against is how often people pass fleeting moral judgment on those who don't. Sure there are assholes amongst us - people who pretend to be blind infront of a pregnant woman trying to keep her balance on a moving train - but then there are also those who at certain times need that seat more than (or as much as) a pregnant woman may.
In a larger sense, I say that no one has the moral authority to proclaim another as "selfish" just because the latter did not make a gesture that society deems appropriate in a particular situation.
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But what I take issue against is how often people pass fleeting moral judgment on those who don't. Sure there are assholes amongst us - people who pretend to be blind infront of a pregnant woman trying to keep her balance on a moving train - but then there are also those who at certain times need that seat more than (or as much as) a pregnant woman may.
In a larger sense, I say that no one has the moral authority to proclaim another as "selfish" just because the latter did not make a gesture that society deems appropriate in a particular situation.
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