(Source:  Wall Street Journal Blog  – The Juggle)

I just had the fourth day in a row where I stood much of the way on my 40-minute subway ride. I’m 6.5 months pregnant–and it’s obvious–and not a single person offered me a seat. What’s more, sometimes I have had people literally push past me (I’m not as speedy as I used to be) to get the last seat on the train.

It’s not just me. Recently, a woman with a cast from foot-to-knee got on about 15 minutes into my ride. Nobody offered the casted woman a seat. So I did–it was a rare day that I’d snagged an empty seat. She refused because I am pregnant. I took the opportunity to shame my fellow passengers by saying, “It’s pretty bad when the pregnant lady is the only one offering someone with a cast a seat.” Nobody budged.

As a courtesy, I have always offered a seat to pregnant women, older people and anyone who was disabled, on crutches, or the like. It just seems like the human thing to do. (On some Japanese trains, a uniformed “manners squad” patrols cars to make sure that the elderly, disabled and pregnant have seats.)

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