Be a better person
November 29, 2007We all know that people miraculously fall asleep or concentrate very hard on their newspapers in the train when a pregnant woman, an old folk & someone with toddler walks in.
Yesterday, my encounter takes the cake.
A very pregnant woman walked in. A young man was seated next to the door. He looked at her but didn’t do anything (he was ’sleeping’ or reading. Eyes wide open, looked at her). I asked the woman if she would like to sit. She just smiled. So, I asked the young man, if he would be kind enough to give up his seat to the woman. He looked at me, squarely in the eye, and said “Why should I?” I was flabbergasted. A lady seated next to the young man, looked up from her newspaper, quickly stood up to offer her seat. He sat through the journey, nonchalant of his ungracious behaviour. I was sooo tempted to kick those useless balls of his.
C’mon man, that pregnant woman is someone’s wife, mother, sister, daughter! Will it kill him to stand the rest of the way? Be a man, be a better person!
November 29, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Should have taken his photo and glorify him on STOMP.
November 29, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Alamak! Why didn’t I think of that!
*palm to forehead*
This is what happens when I am just focussed on being angry.
Goondu!
November 30, 2007 at 1:33 pm
If I were you I’d have retorted along these lines:
“You should, because you are a MAN, aren’t you?”
Or to put it more crudely:
“Why, your L**C*** very big deal isssit?”
You know me mah, vely the dilect
Hope your arm is ok now.
November 30, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Oh another one from me, just to rub salt in the wound:
“You are not a gentleman apparently. No wonder today’s chow ah lians go for ang moh bengs precisely because of this.”
And then see the face turned black. Hurray, some potential fight in the brewing.
November 30, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Letter B, I wouldn’t dare!
December 2, 2007 at 5:05 pm
When I was taking public transport I’d always give up my seat for the pregnant and the elderly but at the same time I’d been tormented by crazy aunties with mad kids and the rude elderly as well.
Now that I think back, will those pregnant ladies later on in life being a mother with kids ever think about the kindness and graciousness given to them when they were pregnant? Or is it a given during the pregnancy stage and they can jolly well carry on with life with the regular ungracious programming?
Well food for thought.
December 4, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Good question Edwin. I guess we can only take one step at a time.
Singapore may be economically up there with the big boys, but in terms of social growth we lag behind. But I like to think that we will eventually grow into ‘graciousness’. The question is when? In our current lifetime? Probably not.