MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you give up a £50 train seat for a pregnant woman?

englishmac

twentypenceoff wrote: »

sighty off topic but similar, i remeber seeing a very angry letter printed in a local newspaper some time ago, from the fater of a woman who was pregnant who had been taken ill on a train (vomiting) and nobody had stopped to help.

I don't know if she had a seat or not.

but would you have stopped to help, i am presuming she didn't ask for help.

I knwo i have felt ill myself while out and never asked for hep, i would much rather get home as soon as possible, and not draw attention to myself.

No, wouldn't have helped. Would have been too busy joining her in vomiting - an automatic physical reaction to someone vomiting I'm afraid!

englishmac

bartok wrote: »

I agree completely - and I'm a bloke, but unlike some others on this forum (who I would like to believe are replying "tongue in cheek" but I don't think they are, unfortunately) I am not so obsessed with penny-pinching or pound-pinching that I could ever be such a completely heartless, selfish ba****d. You guys are so up yourselves in your perfectly organised "ooh look at me, I'm so clever that I've got everything worked out" little thoughtboxes that you can't see that if a woman is pregnant she might have more to think about than booking online - get a life!

And others who aren't pregnant don't have more to think about than booking online? A pregnancy would seem long enough to organise yourself. And if it isn't, you have a serious problem. Note: I am one of the 'would give up my seat's.

hundredk

bartok wrote: »

I agree completely - and I'm a bloke, but unlike some others on this forum (who I would like to believe are replying "tongue in cheek" but I don't think they are, unfortunately) I am not so obsessed with penny-pinching or pound-pinching that I could ever be such a completely heartless, selfish ba****d.

Its not about penny pinching..the ppl in the seats dont make a saving if they give the seat up. Many tougue in cheek comments appear to be made when posters get abusive and forget this is a hypothetical situation and start adding different scenarios.

bartok wrote: »

You guys are so up yourselves in your perfectly organised "ooh look at me, I'm so clever that I've got everything worked out" little thoughtboxes

Or so mentally drained after all that planning they just need to take a seat and recover.

bartok wrote: »

you can't see that if a woman is pregnant she might have more to think about than booking online - get a life!

More to think about than the welfare of her unborn child?

At what stage do strangers stop being morally responsible ..should they assist with onward journey, perhaps paying for a taxi or refreshments so as not to be assumed to be tight, selfish etc.

Bogof_Babe

I've skipped about six pages of this thread but have been thinking all along that, as the above poster says, it's not about the money. It is about personal discomfort, and although pregnant women are clearly vulnerable to this, so are others for all sorts of reasons.

I am 57 and recently had to stand on a packed commuter train for about half an hour, by which time the jolting around and trying to hang on to a tiny bit of a handrail nearly exhausted me. I was so grateful when a seat became available, just before my back gave out and I had to sit on the floor - not very dignified for a 57-year-old, and even assuming there was any spare floor to sit on.

The £50 is a bit of a red herring in this discussion. You are paying for transportation not for a seat per se. If the ticket was free the same situation might still arise. As has been pointed out, you don't pay extra for a seat when booking in advance, it comes as part of the package.

I hope I am never confronted with this dilemma because I would have a real battle of conscience whether to "do the decent thing" and submit myself to intense discomfort, or whether to sit tight and hope that someone perhaps younger and fitter moves instead.

Tiger_greeneyes

hundredk wrote: »

Its not about penny pinching..the ppl in the seats dont make a saving if they give the seat up. Many tougue in cheek comments appear to be made when posters get abusive and forget this is a hypothetical situation and start adding different scenarios.



Or so mentally drained after all that planning they just need to take a seat and recover.



More to think about than the welfare of her unborn child?

At what stage do strangers stop being morally responsible ..should they assist with onward journey, perhaps paying for a taxi or refreshments so as not to be assumed to be tight, selfish etc.

Excellent points there. It does seem that the catastrophisers feel the woman is exempt from taking any responsibility for herself or that of her unborn child. It appears to be down to everyone else to patronise the woman because she's clearly in no fit state to sort herself out and far from sound of mind as she's got on the train despite being better off in hospital with all her life-threatening conditions and prognoses.

She must be the unluckiest person on the planet. I think I'd actually give her my seat and I'd wait for the next train. I wouldn't want to be on the same train as her, it's bound to be derailed or something :rotfl:

hundredk

Tiger_greeneyes wrote: »

It does seem that the catastrophisers feel the woman is exempt from taking any responsibility for herself or that of her unborn child. It appears to be down to everyone else to patronise the woman because she's clearly in no fit state to sort herself out and far from sound of mind as she's got on the train despite being better off in hospital with all her life-threatening conditions and prognoses.

OMG what about the next bank holiday, if mother and baby somehow survive all these hazards after taking no responsibility, she'll have many more things to think about then like buggys, feeds, nappies etc. Maybe that's when she takes responsiblity for her actions?

Tiger_greeneyes

hundredk wrote: »

OMG what about the next bank holiday, if mother and baby somehow survive all these hazards after taking no responsibility, she'll have many more things to think about then like buggys, feeds, nappies etc. Maybe that's when she takes responsiblity for her actions?

It's a long shot tbh, I hope they have better luck during childbirth. She'll probably leave the poor little mite in hospital to find his/her own way home.

That would make a fantastic feature movie. Sort of like the Road Runner meets Mowgli. He'll get brought up by foxes while his mum gets lost on British Rail networks being fed tidbits by kind commuters and dressing in lost property. One day, by a pure twist of fate, her train will have stopped between stations and she'll have looked out of the window and inadvertantly fallen out. Fox-boy tracks her down by smell and they're reunited. Or would that be too lucky? :rotfl:

Tiger_greeneyes

bartok wrote: »

You're the one who is making it complicated - it's a no-brainer - any real human being who can stand for a few hours would offer to give up their seat - dilemma?what dilemma? You're still going to reach your destination cos you're on the bloody train - not as if anyone's asking you to get off and walk, is it?

You seriously believe this is a real scenario, don't you? :rolleyes:

hundredk

Tiger_greeneyes wrote: »

It's a long shot tbh, I hope they have better luck during childbirth. She'll probably leave the poor little mite in hospital to find his/her own way home.

The kid will be fine - don't forget there will be a train full of stangers morally obliged to assist in labour and aftercare while mum goes for a brain scan to check for signs of activity.

Tiger_greeneyes wrote: »

That would make a fantastic feature movie. Sort of like the Road Runner meets Mowgli. He'll get brought up by foxes while his mum gets lost on British Rail networks being fed tidbits by kind commuters and dressing in lost property. One day, by a pure twist of fate, her train will have stopped between stations and she'll have looked out of the window and inadvertantly fallen out. Fox-boy tracks her down by smell and they're reunited. Or would that be too lucky? :rotfl:

I'd just change the ending to reunited with the stranger who gave up that seat and is now responsible for all the consequences.

ThinkingOfLinking

Tiger_greeneyes wrote: »

I've had people step over me when I've been laying on the ground with a broken arm, wrist and shoulder. I'd be the first to have stopped and helped any of them in the same circumstances

I was attacked on a London bus and this spilt out onto the street and nobody did anything to help. When I saw a woman being pickpocketed on a bus, I challenged the thief and got her purse back. I'm not a complete ogre because I can't give up my seat, besides which, if the train is that full that every seat is taken, there's plenty of other people who are there potentially able to help.;)