I have a non-visible disability that doesn’t allow me to stand for very long. I even have a certificate that proves I am disabled.
It was the afternoon and the bus was quite full. I was sitting in an aisle seat, cramped between a school kid and a man with a massive backpack, when a pregnant woman (not heavily pregnant from what I could see) stepped onto the bus.
She took one look around, made a beeline for me, and told me she needed my seat. No polite question, no “please,” no “hello”—just the demand to give up my seat.
I explained to her that I had a disability, that standing was difficult for me, and that I would rather not be in pain. I froze when, suddenly, that woman began calling me rude and accusing me of trying to harm her and her baby by refusing to get up.
Another woman eventually offered her seat, but for the rest of the ride I could feel that pregnant woman glaring at me. When I got up at my stop, she made a snide remark about how I was surely faking it and that I could walk just fine.
I hate when some people feel like the world has to bend to their will just because they’re pregnant—especially when they’re so rude about the whole situation. I would’ve given up my seat without a problem if I wasn’t disabled.
