Reddit Blasts Woman for Taking up Two Seats on a Bus: "Incredibly Rude and Selfish"
May 18 2023, Published 4:46 p.m. ET
After putting in a hard day's work, there's nothing better than kicking back and mindlessly scrolling through the "Am I the A--hole" subreddit. Every day, multiple people take to AITA to explain their real-world interpersonal conflicts and receive judgment (or support) from fellow Redditors.
On May 16, 2023, a woman took to the popular subreddit to share her recent experience riding the bus. The original poster, who goes by the handle u/throwaway5848387, said she took up two seats — and let's just say the comments weren't pretty. Read on for more details.
AITA? This Reddit user said she took up two seats on a bus.
The woman began by providing context, stating that she's a 19-year-old U.S. resident who rides the bus because she can't afford "a car, insurance, gas, etc." She then went into the story.
The OP said she boarded an almost empty bus with heavy bags from a shopping trip; they "hardly fit" in front of her legs, so she placed them on the seat next to her. Although it wasn't initially crowded, more and more people hopped on as the ride went on. This led to some having to stand rather than sit on the bus.
The woman said she never moved her bag and didn't offer the seat next to her to anyone because, in her experience, "most people don't want to sit next to strangers anyway, and a lot of the time, people will end up standing instead of sitting in an empty seat next to someone they don't know."
At the last stop, someone approached the OP and said something along the lines of, "You could have moved your bag and not been inconsiderate and rude. Everyone wants to sit, not just you."
The OP said she didn't respond because she didn't know what to say. She further noted that this person never asked her to move her bags, but if they did, she "probably would have." Yeah, sure.
Reddit users were enraged and didn't hold back in the comments.
As expected, Reddit deemed the OP an a--hole. The top comment, which earned 39, 200 upvotes, reads, "YTA; if there is no seat, [move your] f--king bag lol. How can u write [this] and think u aren't [the a--hole]?"
"Wow — I really thought it would be another one where some creep made her move her bags when there were empty seats because he wanted to sit next to the young girl," another Redditor commented. "Nope — as soon as the bus fills up, you move your stuff. YOU might rather stand, but many people would way rather sit."
Many agreed the OP was selfish: "OP is so selfish; it's just gross," one Redditor said, while a second person wrote that not moving the bags for someone to take a seat was "incredibly rude and selfish."
"YTA. Once the bus started getting more crowded to the point where people were standing, you should have moved your bags. You shouldn't need to be asked to do so; it's just common courtesy," a fellow Redditor explained.
Another user didn't hold back, writing, "YTA. You saw the bus was full and didn't move your bags. That's exactly what rude a--holes do."
"I rode the bus from when I was 18 until I was 35, including buying groceries for two people, so yeah, I'd use an empty seat next to me for my bags, but once the bus is really filling up, you put your s--t on your lap," a third penned.
Where do you stand? Should she have moved her bags?
