Public transport comes with its ups and downs. On the one hand, it’s an affordable way to get around and skip the hassle of owning a car; on the other, you never know who you’re going to get when it comes to your fellow passengers.
One woman’s day went bad after a “Karen” on her bus ride demanded she give up her seat, despite the bus not even being half full. When she refused, the entitled woman had the audacity to call her a “stupid cow.” She went online to share her experience.
More info: Reddit
Public transport has its perks, but also its pitfalls, as this woman found out the hard way
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Her bus ride was rudely interrupted when a woman demanded she give up her seat, despite the bus being less than half full
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
When she refused, the entitled woman got the bus driver to intervene, but as she stood up, she was bodychecked by the rude passenger
Image credits: aapsky / Freepik (not the actual photo)
When she pushed the problematic passenger back, the woman verbally assaulted her, calling her a “stupid cow”
Image credits: Personal-Freedom-615
Before sharing her experience online, the woman called bus services, who confirmed that nobody has the right to remove a passenger from their seat if there are enough other seats
OP begins her story by telling the community that she was sitting on a bus that was only about a quarter full. She adds that she was alone at the front on a four-seater bench, which are designated dedicated disabled passenger seats. She goes on to say that a fit “Karen” in her mid-sixties got on the bus and demanded that OP give her her seat, despite three other seats being free right next to her.
Apparently, the woman said she had a bad shoulder, then proceeded to get the bus driver to ask the original poster to move. At the same time, another passenger offered the Karen his own seat, but she refused to budge, insisting she get OP’s seat instead. When she finally stood up, the rude woman bodychecked her, forcing her to push back.
That’s when the Karen flipped out and called OP a “stupid cow” before explaining to the guy who offered her his seat that she couldn’t sit anywhere else because she’d just had shoulder surgery. OP says the look on the guy’s face was priceless, a blend of disgusted and totally annoyed, with a side of speechless eye-rolling.
In an edit to her original post, OP tells the readers that she ended up calling bus services, who confirmed to her that nobody has the right to remove another passenger from their seat if there are enough alternative seats available. Take that, Karen.
From what OP tells us in her post, she was dealing with a dyed-in-the-wool entitled person. If you’ve ever had to deal with someone who thinks the world owes them something, you can probably relate. So, what’s the best way to deal with people who believe they deserve special treatment for nothing in return? We went looking for answers.
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
According to WebMD, entitlement is a narcissistic personality trait. Simply put, people with a sense of entitlement think the rules don’t apply to them and go through life with a “you owe me” attitude. Someone with an entitlement mentality also often sees themselves as superior to others.
On the Quick and Dirty Tips website, Dr. Monica Johnson writes that the first step in dealing with entitled people is recognizing the signs of entitlement.
Some of the most common include expecting others to meet their needs without considering the needs of others, feeling resentful or angry when things don’t go their way, and acting as if they are always right and others are wrong.
Johnson goes on to suggest some practical ways to cope with entitled people, including practicing assertiveness, setting boundaries, avoiding power struggles and reinforcing entitlement, validating the entitled person's emotions, being consistent, and practicing empathy.
It would seem that OP’s “Bus Karen” is obviously a heavyweight among her entitled peers, especially considering she was happy to throw her literal weight around. Too bad for her, her fellow passengers were having none of it.
What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think the pushy Karen got what she deserved? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
In the comments, some readers wondered if the incident was a blatant case of racism, since the Karen is a white woman and the original poster is a person of color
