(no subject)

[waterspyder]

So I need to figure out another way to respond to asshats on the bus.

This morning I got on the bus and, as it was pretty full, I showed my Priority Seating Pass (which means both my doctor and OC Transpo agree it is difficult for me to remain standing while a bus is in motion), and asked if there was anyone able to give up their seat.

This can be like pulling teeth as there are many high school students involved, but it was a 40-year-old man who said "Why? Because you're fat."

I went off as this is a trigger issue, and I believe he vacated the seat more out of fear at that point than anything at that point.


So, I want to know how other people would handle this situation and preferably turn it into a positive one (i.e. not using the words "bigot" and "asshole" in the process; I've got that system down pat and I want to learn a new one).

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/greensleeves_/]

I might have gotten thrown off the bus for punching him if I had been there. That's my gut reaction too, so don't feel bad. Ugh. Funny how extreme rage sometimes makes you want to puke...

Maybe later when my outrage on your behalf has calmed down I will be able to give you something useful to work with.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

It makes my blood boil from the ignorance more than anything else.

Yelling "Well I'm sorry if I have two chronic illnesses and a problem with my lower back that prevents me from standing on a bus in motion as determined by my doctor and OC Transpo. I didn't ask to be ill."

Which was the high road compared to option number two which also crossed my mind:
"Do you need one because you're bald?"

[queenie-writes.livejournal.com]

I would have said the bald comment. It would have taken a lot out of me not too.

Humans annoy the fuck out of me sometimes.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Just wait until I get that seeing eye moose and it attacks idiots with it's laser eyes.

[evilbitchqueen.livejournal.com]

I would have gone with the bald comment too.

dirty dirty peoples...

[purplezart.livejournal.com]

you could try making people feel guilty. that sometimes works.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

I'm just not sure what the best way to do with with a bunch of strangers.

[spiritonparole.livejournal.com]

I'd have told him I hadn't realized the seat was reserved for bigoted, presumptuous assholes with a poor comprehension of physical disability. The one-two punch of truth and wit generally proves effective in situations like these.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Consider the option of telling the driver that you can't safely stand on a moving bus, so could he please wait until you can find a seat before leaving the stop. It won't take long for public opinion to turn against the non-seat-giver-upper, especially if you've asked an obviously able-bodied person politely and they've been a jerk in response.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

That's what the priority seating pass that I show him is supposed to indicate, and unfortunately in my experience, even when you ask for the bus driver to wait or help, fewer than 10% of drivers actually wait long enough for you to get a seat, even on an empty bus. In a couple of cases I injured myself (bounced my head off a pole, skinned my knee) at which point they become suddenly apologetic. Sometimes they don't, in fact I once had a fellow bus rider go apeshit on the bus driver because I had fallen down and he wouldn't stop the bus so I could get up. I've also been denied help from a bus driver to get a seat even with my pass (and a cane at the time) and a woman who was 8 month pregnant woman cleared out the front half of a packed accordian bus so that I could have a seat (she said she didn't need one as pregnancy treated her well).

There's a lot of ignorant people out there, especially when it comes to non-visible disabilities, unfortunately, they are also the bus drivers sometimes.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

I should perhaps have said that you should tell the driver loudly and clearly that you can't stand safely and that could he please wait until you're seated.

But no, there are no guarantees that any given tactic will work, given sufficient ignorami.