One evening I was riding on the 6 train on my way to Hunter for my late biology class. I got on at Grand Central, and since the train was pretty empty, I took a seat. As the train made its stops, more and more people got on, since it was rush hour. At the 51st Street stop, this man got on and sat next to me in the two-seat area. On the next stop, 59th Street Lexington Avenue, this very pregnant woman got on and stood right in front of me. Automatically, my response was to get up and offer her my seat. The man next to me didn’t even budge seeing her. To my offer this woman responded “Oh no thank you, sweeties, go ahead and sit down” and proceeded to tap the man next to me on the shoulder and ask, “Excuse me, sir, would you mind getting up so that I may sit down?” I was completely dumbfounded. Never had I seen an elderly person or a pregnant woman directly ask for a seat. It was great, though, because offering a pregnant woman one’s seat is a very basic form of manners. The fact that this man did not do that wasn’t shocking because many like him choose to turn a blind eye when an elderly person or a pregnant woman get on. What was shocking was how forward the lady was, and more should follow her example.
