Many people believe it’s common courtesy to give a pregnant woman a seat. But are there exceptions? The original poster (OP) is 8 months pregnant and gets tired when she stands or walks for too long. One afternoon she was craving ice cream, so she drove to a nearby shopping center to buy some. The place was crowded at the time, and the seating area around the ice cream shop was full. Since she couldn’t find a seat, OP decided to sit on one of the two massage chairs near the shop and eat her ice cream.
Shortly after, a couple approached her and asked OP to get off the chair since she wasn’t using it for a massage because they wanted to get massages simultaneously. OP refused to move and said she would leave once she finished her ice cream. She also said she would leave if they could find her an alternative seat somewhere.
The girl who had approached her to move was upset and told OP that she wasn’t sick and that the world didn’t revolve around her just because she was pregnant. She continued to say that she had no right to sit there since she wasn’t paying for a massage. She then asked her partner to go and get a security guard.
The Security Guard and Her Sisters Weigh In
When the security guard arrived, he sided with OP and asked the couple to take turns using the second massage chair or wait for OP to finish eating. The girl was angry and accused OP of being selfish and preventing the owner of the massage chairs from earning money. She then left with her partner.
When OP told her younger sister the story, her sister told her she should have gone to the ice cream store when it was less crowded if she knew she couldn’t stand long. But OP’s older sister told her she had a right to sit on the massage chair if all the other spots were taken, and the couple that approached her was unreasonable.
Due to conflicting opinions, OP needs clarification on whether she is in the wrong.
Readers Give Their Opinions
“So, let me put this situation in another context. The massage chairs are a business. Someone installed those with the goal of making money from people paying to use the massage function. Would you take your ice cream from one store and go sit at the tables of another restaurant and refuse to vacate when someone else wants to use that table to eat at that restaurant? That’s what you did here.”
“The purpose of the massage chairs is for people to get massages, not to provide extra seating to patrons for another business. It was fine to use the chairs while they were not being used, but as soon as someone wanted to use the chairs for their intended purpose, you should have gotten up.”
Some readers pointed out that the chairs are private property and not designed for food consumption.
“Plus she is the reason they (massage chairs) get icky. Don’t eat in them.”
“I was thinking this the whole time.”
“those chairs are expensive. They sold similar things when I lived in South Korea for 2000-5000. And that was almost ten years ago so I can’t imagine what they cost now. For someone to sully it with sticky food is really rude.”
Should She Have Not Gotten the Ice Cream?
“If she was to the point that she couldn’t walk, I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say she probably shouldn’t have gone to get ice cream. Or go to a drive through or have it delivered.”
“She maybe shouldn’t have got ice cream if the place was too busy to be seated.”
Do you think a pregnant woman without a seat should be allowed to sit in a massage chair until she’s done? Should the couple have found her alternative seating as she asked them to?
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This post originally appeared on Reddit.
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