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As a born and bred New Yorker who had to ride the L train from Canarsie back in the day to all the trains I take today, I am in agreement with all of these annoyances. And I'm sorry but lately it seems transplants help add to some of the aggravation.
From my experiences over the last 30 some years:
1. To the people who block you from getting off the train (for me the worst is Queensboro Plaza and any main station in the Manhattan), I got to the point of literally barreling through people without so much as an excuse me. If you're going to block me, I'm going to shove you. Simple as that.
2. The pole leaners. I will twist and turn my knuckles into their backs until they realize no, you don't own the pole, it's not your personal leaning post.
3. People who don't give up for the elderly/injured/pregnant. I understand sometimes you don't know if a woman is preggo or just fat. Especially in winter with heavy coats on. But there is no excuse for the other 2 categories. There was a time I was on crutches on the F train every day. There were plenty of times I was on crutches or a cane and NO ONE gave me a seat the entire ride from between Manhattan to south Brooklyn.
Last week I had the pleasure of having one not mentioned here. I know the slow walker here was mentioned (and not for nothing, if I am on an escalator I am riding it, not walking) but I had a straight up stopper. We were coming up the stairs from the Bedford Ave L station which is a narrow stair. Jerk in front of me comes to a complete STOP halfway up the stairs to CHECK HIS CELL PHONE!!! There are people coming down the other side, so all of us behind him were trapped. I yelled at him "Seriously??!!" and he just stood there. Finally we were able to get around but he still was there blocking the path. Ugh makes me glad I just work in the area and don't live there.
Last week I had the pleasure of having one not mentioned here. I know the slow walker here was mentioned (and not for nothing, if I am on an escalator I am riding it, not walking) but I had a straight up stopper. We were coming up the stairs from the Bedford Ave L station which is a narrow stair. Jerk in front of me comes to a complete STOP halfway up the stairs to CHECK HIS CELL PHONE!!! There are people coming down the other side, so all of us behind him were trapped. I yelled at him "Seriously??!!" and he just stood there. Finally we were able to get around but he still was there blocking the path. Ugh makes me glad I just work in the area and don't live there.
In this case it is OK to shove the jerk out of the way, I doubt the hundreds of other people also stuck behind him would have a problem with that- heck, I think they'd help you.
Agreed! And not only does she get the seat but then she gets off the train at the NEXT STOP!
My latest peeve is people who verbally complain that they didn't get a seat. I had a woman tell me that she "deserved" a seat on a crowded D because she had been walking around all day and assumed I was getting off at 59th and she was going to 145th.
I proceeded to inform her that I was actually going to Kingsbridge to pick up my car, that I had also been on my feet all day and that because she did not look pregnant, was not elderly and was only getting off at 145th, she wouldn't be getting my seat. Moreover, I explained that if she wanted a seat so badly, she could cough up the money for a cab, or better yet a car.
This scenario has happened three times, twice a straphanger talking to me and another to another person.
Last but not least, people who pop and chew their gum like a cow eating grass. I can not begin to convey how annoying this is, I don't think the English language has the words to describe it. Luckily, headphones are a easy remedy.
In my 30+ years of riding with the MTA this has never happened to me and I feel sorry for the person the first time it does. I have arthritis in both knees, have had surgeries, and on rainy or overcast days my knees kill me. If some person starts demanding I get up for them, my Puerto Rican Brooklyn accent will come out (people always assume I'm white) and I will proceed to get ghetto if being snarky does not work first.
I'm sorry, no one told you to walk around all day and then expect a seat. That's your damn problem, not mine.
In my 30+ years of riding with the MTA this has never happened to me and I feel sorry for the person the first time it does. I have arthritis in both knees, have had surgeries, and on rainy or overcast days my knees kill me. If some person starts demanding I get up for them, my Puerto Rican Brooklyn accent will come out (people always assume I'm white) and I will proceed to get ghetto if being snarky does not work first.
I'm sorry, no one told you to walk around all day and then expect a seat. That's your damn problem, not mine.
Thank you! I almost couldn't believe what the woman was telling me!
On a happier note, if someone politely informed me that they did have a condition that was not visible (such as arthritis, surgeries etc) I would be more than happy to give my seat away.
I was on a train and this crazy guy was playing jibberish on his saxaphone non stop. At first it would start out as some song, and then he would go off on a tangent for the next minute or so. He wanted us to pay him to stop playing, i bet everyone was trying not to laugh...
Thank you! I almost couldn't believe what the woman was telling me!
On a happier note, if someone politely informed me that they did have a condition that was not visible (such as arthritis, surgeries etc) I would be more than happy to give my seat away.
I remember once I was on a bus and was exhausted after a long commute (it was the S79 bus in Brooklyn. The (R) train pulled out of 59th Street without waiting for the (N), and then when I finally got the S79, it sat at the stop for 10 minutes before moving)
So anyway, I'm exhausted and sitting in a corner seat, leaning my head against the window, when a middle-aged man comes up and demands that I give up the seat. He literally shouts out "Hey you, get up and give your seat to the elderly standing on the bus". I was shocked and my immediate reaction was to say no. We then got into an argument, and I lost it when he patted me on the head sarcastically, saying "It's alright". If there wasn't a woman sitting next to me, I would've beat him to a pulp (so he'd be injured and he'd get arrested for starting a fight with a minor)
Believe me, I have no problem giving up my seat to the elderly and/or disabled, but nobody is going to demand that I give up the seat. If he had said "Young man, there are people standing. Can you please give up your seat", I would've given it up. If one of the elderly people came and asked me, I would've given it up without hesitation.
I mean, on the other side of Staten Island, there are always people standing, and sometimes the bus is so crowded that the elderly people can't even get on, let alone get a seat.
The only instance when I would accept being forced to give up my seat is if the elderly person themselves came up to me. I wouldn't appreciate being forced to give it up, but I'd do it. For instance, once on the M15 +SBS+, an old woman got on and I instinctively got up as she was asking. But as she took the seat, she felt the need to say "You're too young to be sitting down" (I felt the need to say "and you look too rich to be riding a bus", because she looked like a typical upper-class old lady), but since she was an old lady, I just let it slide because I didn't want to start a scene (but I kept on muttering to my brother about "Was that really ****in' necessary?")
I remember once I was on a bus and was exhausted after a long commute (it was the S79 bus in Brooklyn. The (R) train pulled out of 59th Street without waiting for the (N), and then when I finally got the S79, it sat at the stop for 10 minutes before moving)
So anyway, I'm exhausted and sitting in a corner seat, leaning my head against the window, when a middle-aged man comes up and demands that I give up the seat. He literally shouts out "Hey you, get up and give your seat to the elderly standing on the bus". I was shocked and my immediate reaction was to say no. We then got into an argument, and I lost it when he patted me on the head sarcastically, saying "It's alright". If there wasn't a woman sitting next to me, I would've beat him to a pulp (so he'd be injured and he'd get arrested for starting a fight with a minor)
Believe me, I have no problem giving up my seat to the elderly and/or disabled, but nobody is going to demand that I give up the seat. If he had said "Young man, there are people standing. Can you please give up your seat", I would've given it up. If one of the elderly people came and asked me, I would've given it up without hesitation.
I mean, on the other side of Staten Island, there are always people standing, and sometimes the bus is so crowded that the elderly people can't even get on, let alone get a seat.
The only instance when I would accept being forced to give up my seat is if the elderly person themselves came up to me. I wouldn't appreciate being forced to give it up, but I'd do it. For instance, once on the M15 +SBS+, an old woman got on and I instinctively got up as she was asking. But as she took the seat, she felt the need to say "You're too young to be sitting down" (I felt the need to say "and you look too rich to be riding a bus", because she looked like a typical upper-class old lady), but since she was an old lady, I just let it slide because I didn't want to start a scene (but I kept on muttering to my brother about "Was that really ****in' necessary?")
I know what you mean on the whole you have to give your seat up to someone because of there age or other thing going on .My girlfriend is one who can not sit down on the subway because of getting car sick if she is sitting down because of beening 5 months pregnant.So i sit or stand next to her for those just in case moments with a inflight bag i take from the planes i been on .
We where on the subway going downtown to her doctor for a follow up vist when i was told by a person to get up and give her the seat that when she told that if she sits down she gets car sick .
The person was like sure and kept giving me the socalled evil eye intill we got off at our stop and i was smiling the whole time at the person .I allmost let the her sit down next to him and let her get sick on him then maybe that would teach him to keep his mouth shut when riding the subway and she goes you know your a litle evil at times when we where walking up the stairs to go to her doctors office
For instance, once on the M15 +SBS+, an old woman got on and I instinctively got up as she was asking. But as she took the seat, she felt the need to say "You're too young to be sitting down" (I felt the need to say "and you look too rich to be riding a bus", because she looked like a typical upper-class old lady), but since she was an old lady, I just let it slide because I didn't want to start a scene (but I kept on muttering to my brother about "Was that really ****in' necessary?")
That is so completely condescending. Just because you're young doesn't mean diddly squat. I've had arthritis in both knees since I was 19 years old. Age has nothing to do with it.
It's funny. My boyfriend keeps telling me I should take my cane with me every day to and from work and conduct a test to see how many people actually offer a seat. (There are some days I legitimately need to use it, some not). But if I'm having a good day, I don't feel like taking advantage.
Last month I was on a B82 going from Kings Highway towards Bensonhurst. It was probably the funniest ride ever. It was raining, the bus was getting crowded, and some elderly got on the bus. There were women with bags taking up 2 seats. The bus driver got on the PA system and announced for them to please give their seats to the elderly and refused to move until they did. She also had to keep yelling at people to move in to make room. This went on for a while on the ride.
Then we get to Coney Island Ave. There were trucks double parked. She pulled in first, but realized the back door would have been blocked. So she closed the doors again to pull up further so the passengers could get off safely. A girl waiting at the bus stop yelled and called her the B word. (She clearly had no idea what was going on.) So when she pulled in to a safe spot, they got into it. The bus driver said "did you just call me a B****?" The girl tried to say no. The bus driver told her, "Yes you did, I heard you and well since you want to call me names, and be disrespectful, you can wait for the next bus in the rain" and refused to let her on and pulled away. I actually burst out laughing.
That is so completely condescending. Just because you're young doesn't mean diddly squat. I've had arthritis in both knees since I was 19 years old. Age has nothing to do with it.
Very true. Not all medical conditions are visible (in fact, I think I'm developing a condition that makes me uncomfortable, though sitting down doesn't really alleviate the discomfort. Obviously, I'm not going to blab out the specific condition on the Internet for all to see, but it further proves your point about medical conditions developing regardless of age.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by henry1
The person was like sure and kept giving me the socalled evil eye intill we got off at our stop and i was smiling the whole time at the person .I allmost let the her sit down next to him and let her get sick on him then maybe that would teach him to keep his mouth shut when riding the subway and she goes you know your a litle evil at times when we where walking up the stairs to go to her doctors office
LOL! That'd definitely show him. I mean, if your girlfriend is standing right there and isn't disagreeing with your comment about her getting motion sickness, what's so unbelievable about it.
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