I see you on a full bus, sitting in the aisle seat while the inside seat is empty. You might as well tape a sign to the seat next to you that reads, “My Comfort Is More Important Than Anyone Else’s.”
Sometimes people have lots of stuff that takes up a seat on a crowded bus, and that’s the unfortunate reality of life. But you? This? This is different.
You make it impossible and awkward for someone to sit next to you. You hog the row and break the code of public transit.
And I get it. We’ve all been on a crowded bus with free rows dwindling and 18 tech bros boarding the bus, crossing our fingers that nobody takes the empty seat next to us. But the difference between you and the rest of us is that we are sitting by the window, making it possible for someone else to sit down no matter how badly we wish they wouldn’t.
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“You make it impossible and awkward for someone to sit next to you.”
Impossible?
Awkward?
For fucks sake, how ‘impossibly awkward’ is it to ask someone to move over or let you by to take a seat???
As for sitting on the aisle: yes, it’s likely a tactic to make asking for access to that available seat a bit awkward [if so, mission accomplished]… but they may also want easier access to the aisle since their stop is coming up, or have ‘issues’ with being ‘boxed in’ against the window.
This conundrum has no clear answer, imo. Should the hogger change their ways and be more considerate? Yes. Should a person needing the seat work on having enough assertiveness to at least ask for the person to scooch or to stand up and allow passage to the window seat? Yes.
Might one or both people have social anxiety that makes the interaction more difficult? Maybe also yes.
Might the asker have some history that makes confrontation extra scary? Also maybe yes!
But either way folks in general need to get better about thinking of others AND also improving their tolerance of imperfect social interactions. Both traits are life skills. If either of those traits is exceedingly hard for you to improve, get some professional help (and that is NOT an insult, btw).
Anyhoo…B-grade. A classic topic but not written in a particularly interesting way.
So you’re saying if a techbro wanted to sit there, taking up two seats would be reasonable, but since you’re not a techbro, you should be given the seat without having to ask?
Maybe the person is neurodivergent and having someone sit next to them would cause them irreparable emotional harm. Why are you being so ableist in assuming that they’re being an asshole as opposed to trying to care for themselves?
This asshole probably reclines his airplane seat too.
Before 2020 I would’ve endorsed this rant wholeheartedly. That behavior annoyed me as well and I always thought it should be included on “rider etiquette” signs. But nowadays, if the person blocking a seat is wearing a medical mask, I’d say leave them alone unless you really want that particular seat (don’t ask them to move over just to shame them). And ask more politely than you otherwise might. They may be trying to discourage seatmates solely in an effort to maintain social distancing.
@5 … after taking up two seats in the boarding area by putting their bag in the seat next to them.
“And the omnibus portal opened, and lo, my eyes beheld a duodeviginti of techbros.”
seattle, you need an outlet for your aggression
@4 If someone sitting next to you on the bus causes “irreparable emotional harm” then you shouldn’t be taking the bus.