Recently, on a train, I stood near a mother and her son. I
think he was about 6 or 7, he was getting cranky, the train was crowded and
warm. I was getting cranky too. A woman,
seated, motioned to his mother that she’ll get up for the child. The boy sat
down, didn’t thank the woman, and the mother didn’t tell him to thank her. The
mother mumbled something. I wouldn’t have given him my seat. The woman who did
was sitting next to a guy who didn’t budge.
I see men
and teenage boys watch women, the physically challenged, and the elderly stand
all the time. Those are the brave ones, the real punks lose themselves in their
apps, music or the filth of the subway floor.
It bothers
me to see caregivers, usually women of color stand up while the children they
“nanny” sit down. She should sit and put the child on her lap. I live on the
Upper East Side where the children in my neighborhood are in a state of mass
confusion. They are used to seeing black women take care of the young or the
elderly. Nope, you are not getting my seat, I don’t work for you, and I’m not
interested in encouraging your sense of entitlement.
There are
exceptions. A mother overloaded with a sleeping baby and bags; I’d give her a
seat. A child who looks like he/she is about to faint, I would offer my seat,
and roll my eyes at the guy nearby who didn’t.
I’m also not so fast to get up for a younger person because I’m a little
more than five feet away from the floor, they, maybe two or three. Their lower
center of gravity will come in handy. Mine is a crap shoot that I don’t want to
know about.
- Yvonne
- Yvonne
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