Today a young woman (20s or 30s) asked me (also a woman) to relinquish my “priority seat” on a crowded bart train for her without any explanation. She did not look pregnant at all. Yet I complied giving her the benefit of doubt. I’m suffering from a foot injury and would have preferred to sit. Should it be ok to just ask people to get up? What would you have done in my place?
She and anyone for that matter can ask, but you also can say NO
My pregnant wife (~8 months) had a similar experience from a woman who asked for the seat. As my wife tells it, the woman wasn’t very friendly. She said no and kept her seat.
Kill them with kindness. The other option was the risk of calling them out and them shaming you with some nonsense or real situation that you couldn't have noticed. Don't let people ruin your day, brighten theirs with your uninvited kindness.
Real talk some people have health conditions that are not visible but cause standing to be strenuous eg heart conditions and others
Yup! Or rheumatoid conditions.
Politely tell them you have foot injury and if they can request someone else.
Maybe she had a foot injury too? If someone asks you for the seat, there might be a reason to do so in their head. So you give the seat to them, then you ask someone else for the seat. In this case you get up and give the seat to her, and then you go ask people sitting at other seat to give you their seat cause your leg is hurt.
If you have an injury then I might have said no.
If I didn’t have a foot injury, i would have vacated just to not bother with the person. You dont want this to turn ugly in case she is actually pregnant or something. In your case, i would have said that i have a foot injury and i am not planning to vacate.
Not all injuries are visible. Should have just asked her if you can stay seated since your dong doesn’t work
No harm in asking, looks like it worked on a simpleton.