A woman was travelling by a train. She was travelling with her luggage. She got a seat and placed her bag on the seat next to hers. More people got into the train and some were pleading with her to place the bag on her lap. But she refused. Why the passenger refused to move her bag off her seat. With the passage of time, the situation went from bad to worse.
They Lost Patience
“If you put it down or on your lap, it will make room for others, at least two.” A passenger from behind yelled at her.
Jessica steeled herself. She was evidently irritated, looking at the woman with a mix of annoyance and anger? “What does the lady think of herself? She behaves in a way as if she is entitled to reserve another seat for her bag.”
“It’s my personal space”, she yelled back. “No, you are wrong”, another passenger screamed. The officer intervened. He was evidently running out of his patience.
She Had No Etiquette
It’s an unfortunate reality that not everyone follows the rules and regulations while travelling. If you are travelling in a public transport, it’s extremely important to make sure that your conduct does not cause any inconvenience to your co-passengers. A wave of crowds use trains to go to their workplaces and get back home.
Train passengers have to conform to certain rules, both written and unspoken.. When the woman disobeyed the rules, all passengers in the train united to teach her a lesson.
It Was RUSH-HOUR
Jessica Hutt was returning home from her office. As usual, it was a hectic day for her. It was rush hour and a large number of people were almost running so that they didn’t miss the train.
Jessica lives in New York City. The hustle-bustle in the city was not new to her. It seemed that the city was pulsating with the fleeting feet rushing in all directions to get back home.
The train was almost choke-bloke. She managed to smuggle herself along with her bag through the crowds and get into the train . She was lucky to find a seat. In fact, she found two vacant seats at the corner.
Oh, no! There was something on the seat.
Things Were Getting Worse
Train journey is undoubtedly comfortable. However, what if it is a crowded train? You will loathe the journey. It feels really uncomfortable while travelling in a packed train even if you get a seat. So, you can easily imagine the plight of those who have no way but to keep on standing throughout the journey.
People need to maintain courtesy while using public transport. The common rule is one person, one seat. But the woman flouted the rule. The rude passenger refused to move her bag.
Jessica Was Tired
Jessica was feeling tired after a day’s of hectic work. “Tsunami of crowd”, she thought. However, she hoped to find a seat and luckily got one. She almost nudged people on the aisle to catch the train.
She walked hurriedly through the carriages until she got a seat in the last carriage. It would be an hour-and-a-half-long journey and she badly needed some rest.
The seat was next to a young woman. “Why are so many people standing around? Why had none of them taken the seat?” Jessica wondered.
Jessica saw a bag resting on the seat next to the woman’s. Till then, everything was fine. She accosted the young woman and requested her to take off the bag so that others could sit there. Little did she expect what to come.
Rude Behaviour
When stuck in a tight space and constantly pushed by a pool of people, several times people lose their cool. In fact, such conditions, which are common during a train journey, bring the worst in people.
Some people play loud music, or talk loudly over their phones. These are completely nuisance. These people have no etiquette but only attitude. They are not sensitive to others’ inconvenience.
“May I Sit Here”
Jessica asked politely, pointing towards the seat where the woman’s bag was resting. It was a large Louis Vuitton bag sprawled across the seat. The bag took up two seats. In other words, if the bag is removed, two more passengers could sit down.
The woman pretended as if she had not heard anything. She was behaving in a way that she was above all the rules.
Tension Rising
The woman ignored Jessica, with earphones plugged into her ears. She was looking at her phone. Her behaviour was pretty irritating.
Fortunately, the train had stopped at a platform and a security officer got into the carriage. Jessica got the wind of tension building up in the train. She looked around and immediately knew people around her got angry with the lady.
Jessica realized that before her, others asked for the seat and the woman refused outright. The officer was definitely informed about the incident and he entered to talk to the rowdy lady.
Jessica stepped back. She wanted to see the drama unfolding. The officer went past her and came face to face with the young woman.
“Don’t Touch My Bag!”
The officer walked over to her bag and told her to take it off. “Don’t touch it”, the lady screamed, holding the bag tightly.
The officer repeated his words for the second time. But the lady was arrogant and recalcitrant. Fed up, he issued a warning, “If you don’t budge, I will get you and your bag off the train right now.”
It Was Impossible to Convince Her
The officer reached out his hand to take her bag away from her. “Stay clear of my stuff”, the lady screamed in a shrill voice. By that time, she had removed her earphones.
The officer retreated. She requested the lady to take off the bag and make room for others but the passenger refused to move her bag. “No”, prompt came the one-word answer. “There are more seats to sit on. I won’t like anyone sitting next to me.”
The man lost his cool. He stopped her midway and said, “The train is already late and you must not cause it to get delayed further.”
The woman threw a withering look. She was most reluctant to obey his order. Other passengers in the train grew impatient.
Their irritation reached a boiling point when they shouted out at the lady unanimously. “It’s not your private property. You cannot occupy the seat this way.”
They were sure the lady was denying others this seat.
Face the Music
The man was on the verge of losing his patience. He reminded the lady that she would have to face the music for her behaviour. “I have been tolerating your attitude of entitlement for a while now.”
“Please remove your stuff so that others can sit.” Another passenger shouted. Things were turning worse with every minute gone.
Insulting Passengers
The woman looked up to the passenger and said in a harsh tone as if to mock the person, “You’re neither handicapped nor pregnant. I don’t like you sitting beside me. I hate your smell.”
Jessica could not believe what he had heard. The woman had no manners. She definitely thought herself superior to other passengers. Jessica felt annoyed.
“This is my personal space!” the woman carried on. “You’re wrong”, another passenger replied. The arguments and stalemate were jarring on the officer’s nerves.
“I don’t care if I’m obese or slim. I won’t give space to anyone”, nothing seemed to dissuade her from bad mouthing.
Meanwhile, the officer thought about taking action against the woman.
Time for Action
“I want to get her off the train.” He was clearly angry. He motioned to his fellow men to get her off. The lady looked shocked. She did not expect that someone could say it to her.
“Go outside and find your personal space,” the officer shouted. A loud applause was heard as the passengers were happy to see the woman’s ego come crashing down.
Stalemate
The woman could not believe it. She never expected that someone would dare to call out her rough behaviour. But she showed no sign of backing down.
The woman refused point blank to comply. The train was 25 minutes late due to the stalemate caused just because of her non-compliance.
She was not ashamed of her behaviour. Other officers arrived and strived towards her. She was staring at them in disbelief. “How dare they do it to me”? She might be thinking.
She was forced to leave the train. Jessica was stunned to see the woman’s attitude even when police officers were escorting the ladyout.
The Video Went Viral
A fellow passenger made a video of how the passenger refused to move her bag and what followed next. She then posted it on the internet. The viewers were no less irritated after watching the video.
“The lady feels entitled,” “selfish”, “arrogant”, “showing attitude” – a triade of comments followed. In fact, people were floundering for suitable words to describe the lady and her cruel behaviour.
“Thank God, someone recorded the incident. I hope it will give her many more sleepless nights,” one YouTuber responded.
“Why don’t you buy a car or a helicopter? It will be all yours. This way, you don’t have to share space with the so-called “disgusting” (in your word) passengers,” another wrote.
The most befitting reply read, “Many people walk around us with non-visible disabilities. A vile woman she definitely is.”
NJ TRANSIT Breaks Silence
Responding to the now-viral video, a NJ Transit spokesperson said: “We encourage our passengers to place their bags on their laps in order to make every seat available. They can use overhead luggage racks. Everyone should conform to the rules..”
The woman, who uploaded the video, assured the authority that no passengers were upset at NJ Transit. They were angry at the woman for her audacity and delaying the train.
Everyone Was Happy
After the young woman was forced to leave, the train resumed its journey. A passenger gestured to Jessica to take the seat.
The passenger was so gentle and amicable, just opposite to the querulous woman, that Jessica could not help but feel moved. “There are good and evil people everywhere,” she said to herself.
Jessica never faced anyone like the selfish woman on the train or any public transport. She still boards the train at the same time but has never seen such a character since that day.
“There are several advantages of living in a city but sometimes; you have to pay a price for these. But then, this is our life. We encounter good and bad people everywhere. Just because of this rude lady, it won’t be right to lose hope in humanity.”
Summary: A woman refused to move her bag on the train. Everyone requested her but she did not budge. Why was she behaving that way? What happened to her? To know, you have to read the post till the end.
