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Hey, lady. What are you thinking? Okay, fine, we'll play your little game and climb over your legs like you're some kind of sourpuss jungle gym. But still. We're just curious. What are you thinking?
It's just that you've been there for the last eight stops, and the bus is so very crowded right now, and everyone around you is standing, and you've kept this extra spot reserved for -- what, exactly? Don't you think someone might like to sit down? Or do you think everyone's standing up for the thrill of it? Or do you just not care, you callous thing?
Eventually someone will be tired enough to want to sit, but still bold enough to push past your insolent knees. But why make yourself gatekeeper for that little square foot of seating? For Pete's sake. What are you thinking?
Like, seriously. Come on.
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Oh like you've never done the same thing. If not, try it. Drink in the power of making people work for the empty seat.
I love the smell of public humiliation in the morning.
No it's more simple than that. You don't really want to sit trapped against the window, and you know that most everyone in SF is too scared to ask you to sit in the seat, so you get the row to yourself. Even though you will politely either move over, or turn to allow the person to sit against the window.
Try something, grow some friggen balls and ask for the seat instead of passive aggressively taking a photo with your iPhone and posting it on some self righteously snarky website.
It's less annoying to me than anyone who stands in the rear door, especially on an un-crowded bus. Worse when they shoot you a look of death when you say, "excuse me" to try to exit.
Want to print stickers and put them over the doors that say "If you're standing there reading this while the door is open, you're an asshole."
edgehog!
I agree with Mushmouth. Just because the lady has a facial expression that resembles a cat's ass doesn't mean she wouldn't smile and allow you to sit in the window seat if you asked. Oh, San Francisco ... where are thy balls?
I like the window seat, and have no problem climbing over an inconsiderate ass like the one pictured above. And then, when it's time for my stop, I have no problem climbing back over them.
Of course, I also have no problem shouting at people who are trying to board while I'm trying to exit, and I'm a firm believer in throwing elbows.
Otherwise, I'd STILL be stuck on the bus.
Stand up for yourself, it's fun.
I already had a seat. If you'll read the post, you'll see that I was wondering what she was thinking.
@bluecanary... You're tough as nails on the internets, but meek as kitten on 22 fillmore. or 19 polk. But the bluster is kinda cute.
argh, you just have to say your AXCUUUUSE ME with a pre-caffeinated tone and it works better than if you were hungover. extravagant politeness gets under people's (ie-with nooo manners) skin rapidly, I tellya.
I prefer to stand on the bus because I'm an able-bodied person, but this woman would still annoy me for the sake of the less vocal or sackless individuals.
If one is too scared to ask for the seat - why not just stand with your back to her and give her a nice serving of an egg and cheese air biscuit as you exit the bus?
"sourpuss jungle gym"=A+
I see this every day on the bus (not the same woman, but someone always taking the outside seat for NO good reason). It's just annoying. Take the inside seat. You won't be squished or stuck there forever, and other people will be able to sit, too. This is almost as bad as riders keeping their enormous and most times heavy and overfilled backpacks on during rush hour, whacking everyone's heads/babies/marbles until the entire bus is unconscious.
at least she's not clipping her nails.
There really does seem to be more of this passive-aggressive cluelessness going on these days, and I don't think I'm imagining this--I've been riding MUNI for twenty years. I think the people who piss me off most, moreso even than the seat hogs or the door-blockers, are the able-bodied teens or twenty-somethings who sit in the seats up front meant for seniors and disabled people. It's fine to sit there if nobody else needs the seats, but when an 85 year old gets on with their walker and the able-bodied person stares at the floor to avoid eye-contact I get ragey. I saw this type of scenario play out almost every single day on my commute last week. It used to be a rarity to see someone that self-involved and selfish, but it's an every day occurence now.
"Being indignant about empty bus seats." Possible future blog entry at Stuff White People Like.
I hate it when people do this on the bus. I'm too big to squeeze through the 3 inch gap you left between your knees and the seat in front of you!
The right thing to do is slide over, and let the next person take the outer seat. It makes things much easier for everybody, and when you have to get off, the person on the edge seat should stand up to let you out.
I hate when people take the outer seat and then don't stand up to let you out too, only moving their legs to the side, as if that makes any difference...
Also, half the time when you ask people to let you sit when they're on the outer seat, they just ignore you or smile at you innocently while shifting their legs just an inch, expecting you to suddenly be able to make it through.
Still not as annoying as tons of people bunched up in the front, scared of the two black guys in the back, while there's like 5 seats free back there.
@periqueblend: "meek"? Now that is one word I've never heard used to describe me. I usually hear "Your mouth is going to get you shot one day."
I'm tall, with long legs and a bad knee (which isn't evident to a casual observer). I'm not disabled enough to need to take up a seat up front which should be reserved for those who truly need it. So I sit on an aisle seat near the back of the bus, with my leg a little straightened, to take pressure off my knee. I may look rude to you, but all you need to do is ask me if you can sit in the window seat, and I will smile, get up and allow you to pass by to sit there. I cannot comfortably sit in a window seat, however, since apparently most Muni seats were designed with a person of about 5'5" tall in mind. So perhaps you shouldn't make a judgment call about what is going on with a person unless you know the whole story.
I become and edge-hog on the 1 California mainly for shit & giggles.
On other lines I rather like riding by the windows because much like a dog, I enjoy the breeze hitting my face from an open window. That said, what really annoys me is when someone gets on the bus and takes it upon him or herself to start closing all the windows. I've gotten in plenty of arguments with people reaching in front of me to shut the window without asking first.
wow what a bitch! Maybe her invisible boyfriend was sitting there.
Hey, is that Monistat?
In NY, there is an even worse problem on the commuter rail lines that feed to the city.
Many of the trains have 3 seats a la airplanes. SO
people wind up in the inner or outer seats taking proactive measures to be sure no one tries to sit in the "dreaded middle seat"
The middle seat is horrible, just like on a plane but much worse on a train.
Link to an article about the middle seat:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/31/nyregion/31seat.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=middle%20seat&st=cse&oref=slogin
I'll generally move over, unless I'm getting off the bus in the next 1-3 stops.
I hate those people who stand next to the door on uncrowded buses/trains and then refuse to let you on /off without a dirty look too. It's like they think it's a big game of tag, and as long as you lean on something near the door, you're "safe" and don't have to move.
where are her pink shopping bags?
oops! did i say that out loud?
miumiu, OMG that is the worst!!!
To play the damsel in distress card, I have used this tactic to keep creepy guys and smelly people away from me, especially on the scary lines.
Annoying? Yes. Then again, I ended up buying a car because I was sick of having my ass grabbed and/or boobs "accidentally" brushed past.
However, I ALWAYS move for another female, pregnant women and the eldery. Will also move if scary people start to climb over me, and act as though the next stop is mine so as not to offend my would-be molesters.
Forget Good Vibes - just jump on a crowded line full of sketchy dudes and let the good times roll.
@sfx. hah. i was thinking the same.
really i think that if you get to a pair of seats first they are yours and you can pick which one you want. it's up to the rest of the city to grow the balls to ask for that window seat..
can someone tell me why people in sf insist on sitting right next to you in a spot like this when there are plenty of other open seats on the bus? cause that happens all the time too..
That's as bad as rush hour on BART and passengers in the car are blocking the doors and you are trying to get off the train.
i like to walk over to those types and fart.
@mindful_indulgence
If I had my ass grabbed or my boobs "accidently" brushed against I would ride MUNI more often :-(
It's a cultural thing.
This is common among recent immigrants from China, particularly women. It has to do with their experience with overly-crowded transit in their birth country -- where such behavior might be necessary to effectively get off of a packed bus/train at your stop.
A secondary behavior -- when the other passenger is sitting by the window -- is to need to get past you to the aisle well before the train comes to a stop.
It is often accompanied by what seems like sullen-ness. I think it's probably more of a language barrier than anything.
Have people forgotten that they have this thing called a voice?
If you want to sit down, don't stand there steaming in silence because someone won't offer you a seat. Take responsibility for yourself and have the courage, amazing that's required, to say "excuse me, I'd like to sit there."
If you can't manage that, WAYSA?
What really pisses me off are the knuckledraggers that insist on standing in front of the doors when there's no way they're exiting the bus for another 20 stops.
Oh I'm sorry, excuse me if I bash you with my bag or knock you down as I force my way past after I've politely asked you three times to let me pass.
motor wrote...Want to print stickers and put them over the doors that say "If you're standing there reading this while the door is open, you're an asshole."
Motor, you take one side of town I'll do the other. Seriously, I've already got them designed and read to print.
I used to deal with human turds liek this all the time on the grande 38. I really didn't feel bad about accidentally smacking them with my backpack on the way in/out.
wrote: ......but someone always taking the outside seat for NO good reason)
There's a very good reason for some people, like myself for example, that sit on the outside seat but are very willing to share the inside seat if someone asks because I am tall and wide shouldered man and my legs often don't fit between the cramped seats. So for everyone's comfort it makes more sense for me to sit on the aisle.
Like others, I'm not a mind reader and simply not going to spend my time commuting asking everyone that happens by if they want to sit down. I'm probably reading my book, paper, or catching up on work. If someone wants to sit down they can speak up or shine on.
Some people are just clowns on the bus. Other than this pet peeve, I hate the cell phone yackers. My typical joke I'd say... "stop talking about your itchy butt problem, we all know about it."
In some cases, some people are just plain stupid. In one instance, there was a single spot still available on the train back from AT&T park, and nobody took it. I snuck in, took the spot, and I see these people flabbergasted like I did something wrong. No I didn't, you are just too lazy to take the last spot on the train.
I can understand being tall and not wanting the window seat but this lady's feet are barely touching the ground. I would have to say that long legs is not her reason for taking the aisle seat.
I don't mind asking for the window seat if someone is in the aisle seat, but what I hate is when people don't stand up to let you in. There is barely any room and now I have to squeeze in like a retard. That is just plain rude. That's when I "accidentally" hit the person with my large purse.
megang, understood.
But the point is there are many reasons people maintain the aisle seat or don't move in a way you would prefer.
Another example, is when people are preparing too late to get off the bus and try to excuse themself through the crowd while the bus is still moving. Well we all know that the moment you let loose of your handhold, the bus driver is going to perform a brake test and send you flying and likely injuring yourself or others in the process. Keep in mind we're only considering fully able bodied folks here and not all non-able-bodied folks are obvious. If people can't prepare ahead of time then I ain't moving until the bus stops - too bad.
Same thing goes for getting up to let people in the seat. I'm not going to risk getting hurt just to be polite, so the person can either squeeze past, wait or sit somewhere else.
Wow! Are people in SF really that passive aggressive? If you really need to sit down then why can't you just ask the person? Also, if you already had a seat then why did you care? It's very rude of you to take her picture and post it on the internet when she wasn't doing anything wrong. Maybe she's from New York where people just say what's on their mind and don't get their feelings hurt.
I don't really get the point of this picture. Call me picky, but I don't like having to sit in a chair that someone has recently gotten up from. Knowing that the typical bus ride in San Francisco can take a good 30 minutes, there is a good chance the seat you'll sit in will be "hot", which I find some what nasty. If you want to sit in the inner seat, why not just ask? I've taken MUNI for the past ten years and that is usually how it goes down...
San Franciscans do like to get close to each other ... that's fo sho. My favorite experience (snark) is in the movie theatre when people will reorganize others' seating before they would consider sitting in the seats on the "floor" level. There are some folks with balls in San Francisco ...
Back to Muni ... I'm a big guy, and if folks are blocking the doors for me to exit at Powell Street (almost always), I like to cannonball right out of that train. I know ... I can be an asshole too sometimes.
I still remember the most hated seat on the old retired buses (the regular sized buses with the set of back doors, and has the ability to open one door than both) was the ones behind the disabled wheelchair section. There was barely any legroom, and I was upset when I was sitting at the window seat, and I was to exit, the person just twisted their body.
that's how you do it!! who wants to be pinned to the window by some 300 pound stinkbomb or any of the other stereotypical MUNI offenders? heck no, i'm sitting in the aisle.
The kind of attitude displayed in this post is what turned me off reading this site regularly...
No shizzle Eclipse...
Lets see instead of politely saying "excuse me, may I please have that seat", the majority of these posts bitch about a foul look on the woman's face (wonder why she doesn't feel the love from her fellow muni riders, who appear to want to go out of their way to be rude). some sort of "cultural thing", I think we have heard about these cultural differences before, with Jews, blacks, Irish, etc. Sounds to me like the cultural thing is white hipsters expect all those around them to pay attention to them and read their f***king minds. Who knows why the guy was standing there in the doorway, likely he chose to, as some people prefer to stand. And yeah, asking people to move over one seat and actually sit next to a stranger in a movie theater so you don't end up with a back problem, that is called common courtesy.
You guys should think for a second, try to be part of the solution, rather than being the entire problem.
I like your post Mushmouth! It is ok to ask for a seat. Not everyone will bite you. Yes, it's rude on a crowded bus to block the window seat, but not everyone "gets" it. Just like it's rude for dudes who are able to take up only one seat but who feel the need to spread their legs wide open to take up two. I usually just say excuse me as I plant my ass down, and they generally close their legs. My pref is the outer seat if the bus is empty, but when I see it filling up I move my ass over and just deal with it. I know that at my stop I will have to ask the person next to me to excuse me so I can pass. We do have to learn to get along with each other in crowded city and if you approach people with an decent attitude, even if they are taking up more space than it seems like they need, I find that it's usually not that big of a deal. But not all the time. I've been riding Muni for 15 years and despite my neighborly approach have had plenty of bullshit experiences. Treat people how you want to be treated. If they treat you poorly, protect or defend yourself and know they're jerks and their lives are miserable-too bad for them.
I've always felt that the problem with public transportation is that it is, in fact, public, and have found myself yearning on occasion for a first class bart train that you have to pay extra for so you don't have to sit next to someone whose culture doesn't believe in showering or deodorant or the bums that smell like urine and feces.
Judging by the callous, hardened look on her face, I'd have to guess that most other areas of her life are out of her control and by blocking access to the seat, she is exerting the only control that she can, which, sadly, is limited to the empty seat on a crowded bus. Either that or her dog just died...
I think that the egg salad sandwich fart idea mentioned by dolomite43 above would be extremely juvenile, yet effective idea. As a bonus everyone on the bus could learn more asian language related to flatulus.
toodles,
-SFPhotos
@SFPhotos
I'm a kung-fu loving pimp, not a mineral. But yes... Juvenile is correct. I think everyone should be allowed one childish act a week.
Don't fart, be BART smart. MUNI just needs a slogan so that their riders will know the rules.