How I Was Bullied By A Senior Citizen On The M72 Bus

[Teddy B 17,251]

Oh hell no, not for me anyway. I beat myself up when I was younger and I'm paying for it now. The orthopedic surgeon who operated on both my knee and shoulder explained to me that I have the level of arthritis in my joints as a 70 year old man. That was 10 years ago.

[Operator 1,925]

My doctor told my I had the testosterone level of man 20 years younger than me and the equipment of a man 45 years younger....I'm only 46.

[Teddy B 17,251]

My doctor told my I had the testosterone level of man 20 years younger than me and the equipment of a man 45 years younger....I'm only 46.

Can we call you Tiny?

[Operator 1,925]

If you must...

[decocker 7,198]

now the ermahgerd makes perfect sense.

[Curmudgeon 227]

Both people caused the conflict. Either the woman with the child felt she needed to give up her seat, or she did not, no point in having an argument about the rights and wrongs of it. The older woman, don't really know what was going on in her head, but she felt she needed a seat and felt, for whatever reason, that the child was taking up a seat unnecessarily. I don't much care for the journalism, period.

[unsmiley 111]

_{Actually I think the old bag had a point, but seemed too aggressive about it (very common in NYC). People, including children and transit employees, that do not pay a fare on public transit should have no right to a seat that a paying customer can occupy. Therefore, unless this kid paid a fare (which she didn't), she should stand or be in the parent's lap.}

_{If the mother did this from the beginning, there would have been no conflict.}

Edited October 9, 2014 by unsmiley

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

This happened to me once. There was this old dude standing next to me sitting in the bus and he just banged his cane down on the floor. That was pretty annoying. I eventually said, you should put a little rubber cap on that cane so it's not so loud when you bang it on the floor. To which he replied, I wish your dad had put a rubber cap on it, then I would have a seat now.

[unsmiley 111]

This happened to me once. There was this old dude standing next to me sitting in the bus and he just banged his cane down on the floor. That was pretty annoying. I eventually said, you should put a little rubber cap on that cane so it's not so loud when you bang it on the floor. To which he replied, I wish your dad had put a rubber cap on it, then I would have a seat now.

That's hilarious!

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

_{Actually I think the old bag had a point, but seemed too aggressive about it (very common in NYC). People, including children and transit employees, that do not pay a fare on public transit should have no right to a seat that a paying customer can occupy. Therefore, unless this kid paid a fare (which she didn't), she should stand or be in the parent's lap.}

_{If the mother did this from the beginning, there would have been no conflict.}

I disagree. I think that small children, the elderly, the infirm and pregnant people should get seats before anyone else--I say this as someone who spends over 130 dollars a month to get transit and someone who spends over two hours per day on transit. By your logic, seniors should get a seat only 80% of the time in my city and I should get it 100% of the time. It's a matter of safety that small children should be afforded seats. A small child, standing, does not have the strength and coordination to avoid being thrown around at sudden stops or even decelerations. I have seen four year olds who insisted on standing be thrown half the length of a subway car when the train stops.

It is also unsafe to put a child's face inches from the seat in front of you, which happens on busses if you are in the row seats. I've been flung face first into the handle on the back of the seat in front of me and I'm a grown adult. Do you think that a four year old has the core strength to avoid an even closer handle in the event of a sudden stop? Because I don't.

I have much more of a problem with people who bring a giant cadillac of a stroller onto the bus and have their child sit in that instead of a seat. It takes up enough space for five or six standing adults. Fold the stroller so it doesn't take up half that much space, put the child on the seat next to you. End of story.

[unsmiley 111]

I disagree. I think that small children, the elderly, the infirm and pregnant people should get seats before anyone else--I say this as someone who spends over 130 dollars a month to get transit and someone who spends over two hours per day on transit. By your logic, seniors should get a seat only 80% of the time in my city and I should get it 100% of the time. It's a matter of safety that small children should be afforded seats. A small child, standing, does not have the strength and coordination to avoid being thrown around at sudden stops or even decelerations. I have seen four year olds who insisted on standing be thrown half the length of a subway car when the train stops.

It is also unsafe to put a child's face inches from the seat in front of you, which happens on busses if you are in the row seats. I've been flung face first into the handle on the back of the seat in front of me and I'm a grown adult. Do you think that a four year old has the core strength to avoid an even closer handle in the event of a sudden stop? Because I don't.

I have much more of a problem with people who bring a giant cadillac of a stroller onto the bus and have their child sit in that instead of a seat. It takes up enough space for five or six standing adults. Fold the stroller so it doesn't take up half that much space, put the child on the seat next to you. End of story.

I certainly agree with you about strollers and the like, but if you have a child and you have the concerns you stated and refuse to put the kid on your lap, a fair solution is that the parent can stand and the child can sit. It is very simple and fair: No fare = no seat.

Edited October 10, 2014 by unsmiley

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I certainly agree with you about strollers and the like, but if you have a child and you have the concerns you stated and refuse to put the kid on your lap, a fair solution is that the parent can stand and the child can sit. No fare = no seat.

That's how it works when you fly with a child up to 2 years of age. You can either buy a ticket which will get the child a seat, or you can take the child along free of charge which means the child travels in your lap. It's a fair enough concept.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

I certainly agree with you about strollers and the like, but if you have a child and you have the concerns you stated and refuse to put the kid on your lap, a fair solution is that the parent can stand and the child can sit. It is very simple and fair: No fare = no seat.

I've seen so many times that a parent has done this and ended up, on a crowded bus, having to literally fight to avoid being shoved away from their child as the bus fills and the driver's telling people to move back. I've also seen cases where the child screams the entire trip. On a crowded bus. I would MUCH rather that the child get a 'free' seat than scream for my forty minute bus ride first thing in the morning. It's a single seat. It's not that big of a deal. My comfort is increased by not listening to a screaming four year old. Though it does bear noting that, in my city, a four year old would be paying a fare. Children ages two to twelve pay a reduced fare. Children who are toddler sized and can't be trusted to sit nicely on their own, I definitely agree should be in their parents' laps. But I also think that the parent should be given priority seating in an area of the bus that does not have the seats in rows so as to avoid smashing the child's face on the handles and bars on the backs of seats. In the seating position the woman in the article describes, it is unsafe for the child to be on a parent's lap. It is also unsafe for a four year old child to be held in a parent's lap while on the bus, given that you are then elevating a thirty pound weight up higher than your centre of gravity and holding it on an unstable surface. You're not going to be able to safely hold the child.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

That's how it works when you fly with a child up to 2 years of age. You can either buy a ticket which will get the child a seat, or you can take the child along free of charge which means the child travels in your lap. It's a fair enough concept.

I'm actually firmly against 'lap babies' in airplanes due to safety issues involved in turbulence. The child becomes a projectile. Children should be restrained in carseats. Parents should pay for the ticket.

There's also a very large difference between a seat I pay at most three dollars for (or, okay, an express bus in NYC is 6 dollars) and a seat I pay a bare minimum of four hundred dollars for.

[unsmiley 111]

I've seen so many times that a parent has done this and ended up, on a crowded bus, having to literally fight to avoid being shoved away from their child as the bus fills and the driver's telling people to move back. I've also seen cases where the child screams the entire trip. On a crowded bus. I would MUCH rather that the child get a 'free' seat than scream for my forty minute bus ride first thing in the morning. It's a single seat. It's not that big of a deal. My comfort is increased by not listening to a screaming four year old. Though it does bear noting that, in my city, a four year old would be paying a fare. Children ages two to twelve pay a reduced fare. Children who are toddler sized and can't be trusted to sit nicely on their own, I definitely agree should be in their parents' laps. But I also think that the parent should be given priority seating in an area of the bus that does not have the seats in rows so as to avoid smashing the child's face on the handles and bars on the backs of seats. In the seating position the woman in the article describes, it is unsafe for the child to be on a parent's lap. It is also unsafe for a four year old child to be held in a parent's lap while on the bus, given that you are then elevating a thirty pound weight up higher than your centre of gravity and holding it on an unstable surface. You're not going to be able to safely hold the child.

I understand your point of view. But I think you are forgetting that this is public transportation we are talking about. And if you have paid a fare - even a reduced one (and are therefore supporting the system) - you deserve priority for a seat. If one doesn't agree with this premise, or wants more space or (questionably) safety, one can take a cab. Or else we should change the rules and not exempt anyone from paying a fare, regardless of age.

Edited October 10, 2014 by unsmiley