Does this bother you and why specifically? A black Jamaican woman got on the bus with her suitcase whilst talking on the phone. I followed with my mum, another woman and then a white male and his son. We all found seats in the remaining ones available. Jamaican woman though put her suitcase in the disabled area, whilst the white male and his son took the seat behind the barrier near where the suitcase was being kept (the wheelchair area). The Jamaican woman noticed this and commented on it to who ever she was on the phone to.
She dramatised it by saying "he jumped in her seat, that he may as well had sat in her lap" So the white male asked "did you want to sit here? I hadn't realised you wanted this seat!"
So she proceeded to rant "Well there were other seats why did you choose to sit there, of course I would have wanted to sit down".
They had a few more back and forths and the guy said "of you don't want the seat stop moaning, I offered it you declined already let's move on!"
She followed up with "Lord jesus let me stop, coz I'm fraid of you, you might punch me in my face, you people are so violent!"
Both my mum and I looked at each other in shock because this escalated stupidly.
And the rest of our journey the downstairs passengers were really quiet. Whilst she continue to mutter something to whoever was on the phone.
What do you make of this!?
This bothered me as a black woman myself.
The new London buses are like this.
Where as the older style are similar in colour to the design above but there are barriers like in this one
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Sounds like she was got what she deserved . She started an argument and played the race card with her “…you people are so violent”. comment. And if she set her case down in a seat designated for handicapped people,,she was inconsiderate in dumping her case where she did, and made an assumption the seats taken by the two males was for her. She should not have put her case where she did and if as you state, more seats, were open she should have taken one and there would have been no problem. And the phrase, “you people” is found quite offensive by many African-Americans here in the states. She turned something trivial Into a race matter. Foolish.
@soar2newhighs I don't think she got what she deserved. Neither person deserves to be spoken to in that way. You may disagree here. And say he was defending himself but the comment she made initially wasn't to him it was actually to whomever she was on the phone to so really he was being nosey and she was rude.
But you could view the situation from another perspective. On regular buses the ones we're used to it's not uncommon for people to use that space when a wheelchair or mother with a pram isn't using it. So people just stand, I even have been known to put my suitcase there, (noted I will stand) but the first row of seats are usually noted as priority seats. Consequently you either don't sit there or move when someone less able needs the seat. They got on after her so they saw her with the suitcase. When the man saw his son choosing that seat he could have preempted to sit elsewhere. Simply because she may have wanted to be close to her case.
But that in itself is about having consideration for a woman carrying a potentially heavy case.
I agree the comments that followed were unnecessary. It bothered me also. Because she said she didn't want the seat and it felt like both wanted to have the last word.
