Economists always say that the person requesting the favor could offer to pay the requestee. Would it change anyone’s view if the ultra-Orthodox man offered to pay the people who would have to switch seats? If so, how much would someone have to pay you to get you to switch?
Relatedly, would you switch to a middle seat from an aisle on a cross-country flight if someone offered you, say, $250 in cash? Or would you think the person was even more of an arrogant jerk? What if they mentioned, say, health problems that made a middle seat uncomfortable?
Has anyone ever offered you cash to switch seats, or grant any other similar favor in public accommodations?
There’s a lot of talk about requested seat switches on flyer talk and it always seems to be that the person requesting the change wants the better deal from the poor sap/victim that is being asked. Want to change seats to be near your girlfriend/mother/musical instrument? I will gladly take your business class seat so you can have mine.
The only way I’d be sympathetic is if a family was flying together and got bumped or the airline changed planes and switched everyone’s previously assigned seat around. It’s rare, but it happens.
I understand that some have very strong religious beliefs that dictate behavior.
Secular folk can have equally strong beliefs that are not any less valid.
I’m plenty tolerant in many cases, it’s something I’ve developed over a lifetime of living in mostly urban areas.
But I’m not getting anything out of moving out of my carefully selected seat.
This isn’t the first occasion that I’ve heard of religious folk to be less than tolerant.
I agree disruptive people should be managed appropriately, to reduce the disruption to everyone else who is ready to go.
Sorry…but on lots of airlines, you actually pay extra for priority boarding or certain seats. When I choose a seat, or pay for priority boarding, I do NOT expect someone else to trump my wishes…for any reason.
Buy two seats. Then the one next to you can be empty.
“Well, this is a genuinely held religious proscription – that men and women can’t sit next to each other because of the possibility that they accidentally touch each other. I guess I understand it, but I don’t know what I’d do”
You could tell the guy you’re actually a man in drag.
The bus lady is selfish, and manipulative. She has learned that causing a fuss or being stubborn will let her get her way. I might be the type of person to who would print out most of the applicable comments from this thread, place them in an envelope, and ask the bus driver to give it to her to read at her convenience. The rest of the passengers on the bus don’t begrudge her religion, and they want to be accomodating, but they also want the truly handicapped passengers to be accomodated too. And since most of the time this isn’t a problem, most of the time nobody really cares - they are glad she is an otherwise very nice passenger.
Maybe the rest of the passengers should decide one day to all wear the full attire she wears. I am betting that she simply doesn’t want to sit near anyone period, and is using her religion as an excuse, the way she used her skin color.
i too think the bus lady is being manipulative. If I was the driver, I’d request my supervisor come along and explain the real reasons for handicapped seating.
If I book my preferred aisle seating for a long trip, no way would i switch to a middle seat. I DESPISE middle seats. Move me to another aisle, even a few rows back, or first class, but otherwise, no way. A free flight? perhaps. IRL, people just want me to move to be with their spouse, and they booked 2 days ago, and my seat would be in rear of plane, sorry…
You often hear the phrase " ugly American", regarding travelers from the USA, who expect the same amenities as at home, and they are not going to adjust their behavior just because they are visiting another culture.
We all profess that the whole point of traveling is to learn from your surroundings.
We also give people the benefit of the doubt most of the time, when immigrants are slow to adapt to * our* lifestyle, but they came * here*, and sometimes they need reminding.
zoosermom , your bus neighbor would really make me mad if I was on that bus. How dare she impose her beliefs and try to deny any other rider a seat ? It would not be tolerated if an atheist pulled that card. That just isn’t right…she should drive herself or take a cab IMO
If I travel solo and someone wants to switch seats with me, I would say yes because I really don’t care where I am seated. If I was on a long flight with my husband, I would say no though…I tend to fall asleep on his shoulder and wouldn’t want to form a drool pool on a stranger
As someone who rejected all mainstream religions, am I allowed to create my own, and be an ardent follower of it, and expect everyone to accommodate my desires like these men or the woman on the bus?
There is a thread going on for those of us with shoulder pain. I fly pretty regularly and always get an aisle seat where the RFU shoulder is on the aisle, not next to someone. That makes it easier for me to adjust my shoulder and arm and get as comfortable as possible without disturbing someone in the middle seat. I don’t want to ask someone to please not use the armrest because I really need it for my own arm! These men could plan ahead and either buy additional seats or maybe just ask the airline to please only seat them next to men. I do not believe I would leave my aisle seat if they asked me to do so. They are going to have to work around me somehow.
At this point, I might just offer to hold your infant or toddler myself (in the good arm) rather than give up the shoulder friendly seat.
Just Sunday, I got on a flight and had seat 12F. I mistakenly sat down in 12A. The “real” 12A - also traveling solo - came in and I realized what happened and since 12B and 12C were seated I asked - do you mind just taking 12F? Of course he didn’t mind - that’s normal behavior and that’s what you do on airplanes (excepting a situation like alh’s shoulder pain). Nothing wrong with asking others to switch. Plenty wrong when you don’t accept their answer graciously.
I was on a flight that was very full. A young, stylish woman came on and was yakking away about how she just couldn’t set in a middle seat all the way back. She said she would just go berserk if she had to sit in a seat like that. She was trying to intimidate someone into giving up a better seat to her. She was so obnoxious, most people had their heads down to not get involved. Then this young, black steward came up to her, with one hand on his hip, and one finger wiggling at her, “Listen, honey, if we don’t have a seat to your liking, you can just get off this plane. We are going to take off with or without you. You just tell me what you want to do. You can sit down or we can just walk back down to where you came from.” This woman was so flabbergasted, she sat right down at her assigned seat." No one was going to out sas this guy. I had to put a magazine to my face so she wouldn’t see me laughing.
Yes, but I just want to point out that in the actual book The Ugly American the man who was called that was the exact reverse of that stereotype. He was a humanitarian who lived with and aided people of other cultures in a very humble way. To quote Wikipedia:
“The “Ugly American” of the book title fundamentally refers to the plain-looking engineer Atkins, who lives with the local people, who comes to understand their needs, and who offers genuinely useful assistance with small-scale projects, such as the development of a simple bicycle-powered water pump.”
This always drives me crazy. I realize that most people have not read the book and don’t realize the error.
