A Common Rule
It’s not always easy getting a seat on the subway – it’s a well known fact that sometimes you need to fight in order to get to sit down. This becomes more important the longer your trip on the subway is. Most people only take up a single seat for themselves, especially if it’s crowded.
Common Rule
A Lack of Kindness
A lot of people rely on public transportation as a mode of getting places, with many using the subway to get to and from work every day. With so many people uses these systems, it’s important for everyone to act kindly towards one another, but that is not always the case, unfortunately.
Lack Of Kindness
More Annoyed
It seems like many people become much more aggressive the moment they set foot on public transportation, even when nothing is actually happening. Most people will fight tooth and nail to get the seat they prefer, and many do not mind being angry, rude, and disrespectful in the process.
More Annoyed
Beyond Rude
The main issue of people being so rude while on public transportation is the fact that it is used by everyone, as the name implies. That means that anytime a group of strangers have to share a space, even though it would be best for everyone to respect one another, problems are bound to arise.
Beyond Rude
Disrespect
It wouldn’t be such a stretch to say that a big portion of commuters are pretty disrespectful. They do not take other passengers into consideration and care only about themselves. Whether it’s playing loud music, taking up space with their belongings, smoking in areas where they should not be, this all leads to other passengers feeling uncomfortable.
Disrespect
Selfish Passengers
These selfish passengers truly make the experience worse for everyone around them. Asking somebody to move their feet in order for you to sit is quite a nuisance. Passengers should not have to deal with these kinds of things, but that’s just the reality of public transportation.
Selfish Passengers
Keep the Peace
The other issue is that often, when people encounter other rude passengers, it becomes difficult for them to stay calm. Those who can remain peaceful help keep the environment manageable for all, but this is not the case for most wronged passengers. In fact, who amongst us has not encountered a very uncomfortable experience while on public transportation?
Keep The Peace
Looking for an Argument
Even if you do remain calm, sometimes there are passengers that are just looking to antagonize others in order to get into a fight. Sometimes, these fights can even become physical, which is really never the answer, and is certainly not worth it just for a seat on public transportation.
Looking To Argue
Viral Confrontations
There are so many of these uncomfortable kinds of events that take place on a regular basis, but with technology, a lot of public transportation arguments end up being filmed and are posted online. One viral confrontation received 130,000 likes within just 24 hours of being shared. What made this story so popular?
Viral Confrontations
Influencing People Through Social Media
Social media has changed the world, and it is well known that it has the power to change people and influence others. A lot of people left comments on this post and shared that it was extremely relatable, which is probably why it received so much engagement so quickly.
Influencing Others Through Social Media
The Witness
Isabel Kim documented this particular event and then shared it onto her Twitter page. She is well known for posting content that showcases better moments, which is probably why this one captured so much attention, since it was so different.
The Witness
An Average Day
It seemed like just another day on the subway until something caught Isabel’s attention. This is when she decided to start filming so that she could document whatever was coming next.
Just An Average Day
Just Like Everybody Else
Nobody ever thinks that their daily commute will end up as an interesting story, and that was the case on this day as well. This is why Isabel’s documentation became so widely viewed on social media.
Like Everyone Else
Taking Up Too Much Space
A young boy was lying across the subway bench while playing with his phone, taking up a lot of space that could have been used by others, even up to three other passengers. Since there were other people who wanted to sit down, he was being quite disrespectful.
Taking Up Space
The ‘Lay Downer’
For some reason, there always seems to be someone who decides to be the “lay downer” who stretches out over several seats in order to feel more comfortable while others have to remain standing. This term could be applied to the boy in question.
The Lay Downer
Self-Absorbed
People were giving him dirty looks, but the boy was so absorbed by whatever he was doing on his phone that he didn’t notice at all. People around him were not able to sit down, and they were getting pretty annoyed about it. What was done about this?
Self Absorbed
Commuters’ Requests
Of course, there is an etiquette to traveling on public transportation, and unspoken rules that dictate that able bodied passengers should get up for disabled passengers, pregnant women, as well as senior citizens. This is the respectful way of doing things, but this isn’t what ended up happening this time.
Commuter Requests
The Parents’ Fault
Three different passengers asked the boy kindly to move his legs so that they would be able to sit down. He completely dismissed them, and what made the situation worse was the fact that his mother was sitting there next to him without saying anything.
The Parents’ Fault
The Mother
The other passengers would quite shocked that the mother was not doing anything about what her son was doing. Couldn’t she see that he was being extremely disrespectful? People were really taken aback that she was not telling her son to be more courteous to others.
The Mother
Not Just the Boy
What made matters worse, was when the other passengers asked her to help out, she either ignored them or just flat out responded “no.” It turns out that the phrase “like mother like son” really did apply in this situation, as she was just as distracted by her phone as her son was.
Not Just Him
Frustration
After realizing that the mother and son duo were not going to act with other passengers in mind, the others became more annoyed and upset by the situation. After all of the commotion, the boy began to feel the tension in the air created by his carelessness.
Frustration
Saving the Day
After getting fed up with the pair, the other passengers were reaching their wits end. They had asked politely, and what more could they do without getting into a fight? That’s when yet another passenger stepped in and saved the day.
Saving The Day
The Mysterious Man
Although the boy was still concentrated on his phone, a man began to stare directly at him. The mystery man in question wore interesting sunglasses and resembled a young Elton John, with some other passengers even getting confused, thinking that he was indeed the famous singer.
Mysterious Man
A Popular Character
While he was definitely not Elton John, he still commanded a lot of attention. His funky style made him stand out, and soon he would become even more popular on this train.
A Popular Character
Elton John’s Twin
The Elton John look alike didn’t draw attention at first, but once he got involved with the annoying kid who wouldn’t move, people began to notice him. It also helped that he began to get angry the more the child ignored people’s requests to move.
Elton John’s Twin
Matters into His Own Hands
The man didn’t want to tolerate the kid’s behavior anymore and decided that he needed to do something about it himself. This was especially the case since the kid’s mother was clearly not going to do anything about it. So what did he do?
Matters into His Own Hands
Courage
While many people, including the Elton John twin, asked the boy politely to move, he kept refusing, so people’s patience had run away. The mystery man then decided to do something quite unexpected: he sat down on the boys legs! This caused an unpredictable reaction.
Courage
A Remarkable Moment
Since Isabel Kim had recorded the entire situation, people were able to see just how it all had unfolded. Her documentation was perfectly timed, as she captured the man sitting down on the kid’s legs.
Remarkable Moment
He Had the Right
Since the boy was taking up more space than he should have been, then the mystery man had the right to sit directly on his legs. It was not about just the seat, but also about teaching the boy a lesson in manners, which his mother had clearly failed to do.
He Had Rights
The Blame Game
Crazily enough, the mother didn’t even realize that the man had sat on her son’s legs! She was so distracted by her phone, she didn’t realize what was going on. However, once the man got up off the boy’s legs, she did realize that they had missed their stop, and she blamed this on her son.
Blame Game
A Crazy Experience
While the boy was being rude, it wasn’t his fault that he and his mother had missed their stop. She had been so distracted by her own phone that she didn’t realize they didn’t get off where they needed to. She had even missed the man sitting on her son’s legs! As the situation continued to unfold, Isabel continued filming it all.
The Crazy Experience
Making a Scene
The boy’s mother began making a huge scene, which made the rest of the passengers uncomfortable once again. Not only did they have to deal with the boy’s behavior, now they had to sit through his mother screaming at them for missing their stop.
Making A Scene
That’s Not the End
However, that wasn’t all. To add to the cacophony, the boy decided that he wanted to curse out the man that had sat on his legs. Now, these two were making a racket, showing that they absolutely don’t care about anyone else’s comfort.
Not The End
Making it Known
Isabel Kim posted the video on social media, where it quickly gained traction. Hilariously, she even made t-shirts out of the screen shots taken from the video and sold them on her website, with the proceeds being given as a donation.
Making It Known
Tales from the Subway
Next time you’re on a subway, you might look out to see if anyone is stretched out across multiple seats. If so, you can look out for a man that looks like Elton John that isn’t afraid to teach rude kids a lesson. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with any of this at all.
Subway Tales
The Opinions
While a lot of people came to the man’s defense, saying that the boy had been rude, others felt that he was not in the right. However, we’re sure that the boy is unlikely to act this way again.
The Opinions
Getting Out of Control
Some even went as as far as wondering whether what the man had done could be considered assault. Still, most people did seem to support him and his dramatic lesson. It is undeniable that this was his intention all along.
Out Of Control
Actions Have Consequences
It’s important for young people to learn that their actions have consequences. It’s sad that sometimes the people in charge of teaching kids basic manners don’t seem to have any themselves, which continues the cycle.
Actions Have Consequences
Etiquette
Clearly, the boy was not taking others into consideration while traveling on public transportation. Sadly, he’s not the only one, and there are plenty of photos and videos of people acting selfishly and unkindly while on public transportation, making it uncomfortable for everyone around.
Etiquette
Things to Remember
If you’re ever traveling on public transportation, it’s always good to keep in mind that there are others there with you. That means sometimes taking up less space than you’d ideally want. That also sometimes means standing up for what it right, like the man did.
Something To Remember
