To refuse to move from fast food table

[curlymom]

So I ordered my food and sat down on a free table next to a plug as my phone needed charging. Fast food associate said he will bring my food right over.
five mins later an old lady said she was intending to sit there. I said it’s ok you can sit opposite on spare chair or on empty table next to me. She said no and told me to move. I said no as I am needing to charge my phone. Other random old woman interfered and told her i am selfish and she could sit on table next to me. To be honest if she asked nicely I would have moved but if there are spare tables why should I? AIBU to refuse??

Sounds like she wswas looking for an argument

I feel a bit bad to be honest because she was older. I mean, I would get up for her on a bus. But the table next to me was empty. I don’t think it was reasonable to ask me to move.

Old ladies who go to McDonalds, people who take their phone chargers out for the day, it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry. Or bollocks.

Was sorry. Sounds like really strange behaviour.
Would never dream of asking for seat.
Would find your experience weird, upsetting and unsettling.
Hope you are OK

Sounds like she wswas looking for an argument

The ones looking for an argument are the ones pulling up the OP for daring to mention that the other protagonist was "old". Anyone with two brain cells to rub together understands that it isn't a derogatory generalisation against the elderly.

Had you gone for the neutral "a woman" @curlymom, then many of your posts on this thread would have been you answering other posters asking the age of the woman. Try, if you can, to steer around posters trying to make you into some kind of a bigot.

No argument from me. Saying someone is older is not derogatory. My mum is old and so are many of my friends. They won’t get an argument from me.

The post implied that the unreasonable behaviour (and it was unreasonable) was because they were old. The OP might well not have meant to do that.

However it provoked a blatantly ageist post which was quite rightly swiftly deleted.

I missed it! Was making a cuppa 😂

If there is a charging point. Then obviously it's ok to use

The post implied that the unreasonable behaviour (and it was unreasonable) was because they were old

No, it really did not. That's the spin some chose to see on it.

No shes out of order youd ordered your food with the table number justbecause sh fancied a table doesnt mean she gets it

Your not psychic, how are you supposed to know she was intending to sit there. Unfortunately it’s first come first serve in places like that.... she has no more of a right than you to sit there. The fact you needed to charge your phone is irrelevant.. I hate self righteous people...

Idc, I was just letting you know that many other people would be along to derail the thread by fixating on that one detail.

Meh. Just tell her I was here first, there's another table over there.

What I really want to say, though, is you shouldn't use those public charging stations with plugs. They're a popular way for hackers to upload malware onto your phone & get access. I'm not sure how they do it exactly but it's a very real thing. Bring your own charger & use your own data (not public wifi).

Surely the point of mentioning age was more along the lines of ‘Should I have moved to respect my elders?’ (No anyway!) rather than ‘old people are dicks.’

Sounds like McDonald's. Tbh I hate table service because it does seem to make people hog tables more. And we have table booths with fixed benches that less abled people find difficult to use (compared to the tables with chairs that pull right out.)

You did nothing wrong imo.

Well yes but you know MN . People always trying to pick up on non existent issues. Anyway I can ignore them. Thanks

Sadly for you, they won't ignore you.
Try changing the word "old" for "black" or "disabled" or "gay".
Are you any nearer yet?
No. Didn't think so.

Try changing the word "old" for "black" or "disabled" or "gay".

That wouldn't make it a derogatory generalisation against black, disabled or gay people either.

Of course it was, some people are just looking to be offended.

YANBU

You were there first. You offered to share and there were other tables. She was rude.

You also mentioning age is neither here or there because it would have been several posters asking how old the person was before they made a judgement and judging by the 5%, they probably thought you should have moved because she was older even though that doesn’t mean she was elderly.

Sometimes someone's features are relevant aren't they. If you are sitting in the allocated seats for people living with disability/pregnancy/the elderly on the bus and someone with one of those features comes and asks you to move, it is clearly very relevant.

I think the OP was wondering whether the same rules should apply here because the women was elderly, even though it wasn't allocated seating for people with particular characteristics. I agree it wasn't entirely clear from her first post, and perhaps she could have expressed it better, but if that is what she was trying to ask then it is of course relevant to mention age.

Sorry x-post! Slow typer

Somebody once told my son to move on a reasonably quiet bus. The individual informed him that they liked that seat and that he had to go elsewhere. I was sat in the seat behind him, with his younger sibling, and told them to go elsewhere themselves. They were astounded to have been stood up to. There was glaring. I was impassive. They went and sat in another seat.

Fuck all of that entitlement.

(please note lack of sex or age descriptors related to protagonist. I ain’t got the energy for bunfighting at this time of the week.)