As the train drove into the station, the young man noticed the elderly scouring the cabins of the moving train that's slowing down as it passed him by as if he's looking for something.
When the train stopped, the elderly man walked quickly from the door he was at, to the one the young man was waiting.
It quickly became clear what the elderly was looking for.
He was looking for an empty seat.
Inside this cabin, there were two empty seats even though there were people standing. A reserved seat for elderly, pregnant lady, injured and children.
The young man has witnessed an incident where this elderly asked a student in an impolite way to give up the reserved seat to him a few days ago.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through the young man's mind.
"What if he took the reserved seat?"
Since there were two empty seats available, it shouldn't be an issue as there's an empty seat for the elderly.
Of course, the reserved seat is meant for elderly and so rightfully the young man should have taken the other seat. But he's just interested in how might the elderly and commuters react by his action.
Sure enough, before he could sit down, he heard the elderly.
"Excuse me!" said the elderly in a raised and rather rude and agitated tone.
The young man can sensed the elderly hostility in his tone. It's as if he's saying why are you taking this reserved seat? Don't you know it's wrong? What are you trying to do fighting for this seat with me? Why can't you take the other seat? Don't you have respect for elderly?
The young man let the seat to the elderly and moved to occupy the other empty seat.
Instead of getting offended by the elderly, the man found it quite amusing.
Why did the elderly insisted on sitting on this reserved seat? Why can't he take the other empty seat? Does reserved seats means that you're entitled to it? Is he allergic to or has a phobia of sitting between two persons? Why can't he ask in a more polite manner? Why was he so hostile and easily agitated early in the morning? Is he feeling unjustly treated in the train? Does he feel that he is entitled to the reserved seat that he can be rude? What if he meets someone who refused to give up the seat because of his rudeness? Is he going to pick a quarrel? If the reserved seats are taken by people in need, will he asks those in unreserved seats to give up their seats to him as though he's entitled to it?
My friend had a rather similar encounter in Taiwan.
It was her first trip there and she was tired after walking the whole day. When inside the train, she plonked herself on one of the reserved seat. At the next station, an elderly man came in and asked her to give up her seat. Being unaware of their culture, she had a little argument with this man. Her complaint was that there were many other empty seats in the cabin, why must he insisted on her giving up her seat.
Of course, if you understand Taiwan's culture well, nobody seats on the reserved seats even when all the other seats are occupied and the train is crowded. It's their culture and their way of showing respect for others in need. Just like in Japan, nobody makes phone call or talk loudly in the train.
Sometimes back, while I was queuing to pay my bill at a restaurant, there was a guest making a din.
He had redeemed a 1-for-1 dining voucher from his telco reward program. It seemed the offer is valid for the number of persons based on the number of vouchers you have. This guest had two vouchers but there were six persons at his table. This means that only two persons are entitled to the promotion and two gets to dine for free. The other two will have to pay the full price.
From what I could make out from the vouchers, the terms and conditions were clearly stated in big bold font on the . However, he insisted that he called the telco hotline and was told by the staff that there's no limit on the number of guests. He even demanded that the cashier better extend the offer to him by insinuating that she was holding up the queue. Was there really miscommunication? Couldn't he read? Was it selective reading and listening? Self-denial? Refusal to admit own mistake? Customer is always right and so is entitled to behave in this way mentality?