Rude woman on the bus, WWYD?

[DontReinMeIn]

Last night I got on the bus like normal, there was a guy watching the news out loud without headphones on. It was annoying but it is what it is, you can’t force someone to put headphones on, so I put my AirPods in and that was that.

a couple of stops later an older woman (probably 50-ish?), got on and goes straight up to the man, starts jabbing him and shouting at him to turn it off, because the news was now about Trump and a speech he made and the woman “can’t bear to listen to it”. The man said no and turned back to his phone. She started screaming hysterically about the fact she can’t stand Trump, shouldn’t be subjected to listening to him in a public place, and demanding that the bus driver remove him from the bus.

The driver refused and told her that she needed to sit down or get off, as he couldn’t continue his route with her being disruptive. She sat down, but was crying loudly and told every single person that got on about what had happened, how she was so much better than that man and criticising everyone else on the bus for not “speaking up” about him listening to it.

AIBU to think I should’ve just told her to shut up? Looking back I regret it because as much as I dislike Trump (and people not using headphones on public transport), the man wasn’t actually doing anything wrong and shouldn’t have been attacked like he was.

Fml, this all sounds grim.

I just think she was totally overreacting and incredibly rude. People listening to things out loud is part of public transport and you just have to get on with it

Nobody is saying otherwise.

But she clearly has other issues going on so intervening wouldn’t have been a good idea.

She was unreasonable in that some people (inexplicably to me) like Trump.

But she was not unreasonable to object to a selfish person imposing their choice of listening material on everyone else, and if she’d phrased her objection differently you and the other passengers should have supported her.

If a man got on the bus screaming in people's faces and jabbing and poking people would you say he wasn't harming anyone?

I just don’t think it’s that big a deal. Part of travelling on public transport is accepting that this type of thing happens, and you mitigate it by taking headphones with you

Well it shouldn't be something you just have to put up with, though her reaction was disproportionate.

The only person in the wrong here was the man listening to something (anything) so loudly that other people could hear. Where on earth do people live that this is acceptable? As usual in this crazy country, the wrong person (the woman) is the one being vilified.

You think physically assaulting someone and screaming in their face is a normal reaction to someone listening to something out loud?

But we do 🤷🏼‍♀️ it is what it is, it would be nice if it didn’t happen but it does, so just carry on. Don’t assault people and scream at them!

I think it shouldn't have to be something you mitigate by wearing headphones. I've asked someone before to stop doing it on public transport.

Nobody has a right to put their hands on another person. Regardless of sex you don't jab and poke complete strangers in public. You wouldn't tolerate a man doing it.

I must have missed the part in the OP where it said he was assaulted. If he was so fearful, he could always have just done the right thing and turned it off or the volume down.

I didn't say it was OK to scream at people and assault them. I think it's fine to ask people not to do it.

They were both behaving like twats. This is why I wear headphones everywhere. So many inconsiderate and nutty people around.

Yeah you did. Go and read it again.

Is a woman in her 50s an old lady?!

Yeah I'd have told him to turn it fucking down too, or put earphones in

In fact- have done so. People look surprised when you point out you have no wish to hear whatever shite they're listening to, and I don't give a shit if they get offended. My ears are offended.

People are selfish cunts. Use earphones.

Sorry I find this a bit amusing take cover

Well, she was partly right

The bloke was an absolute arse for listening to his phone without headphones in public. You were far too dismissive of that

Trump is also a very emotional subject for lots of people and having him thrust into your face everywhere can cause a lot of emotions to burst out

Exactly. If people behaved in a civil matter in the first place, the woman wouldn't have had to retaliate.

But he was dping something wrong, he was absolutely being anti social. He should have headphones, if he didn't bring them / his battery battery went dead thrn he should wait till he's home. It is not acceptable at all. So rude. Pity the woman didnt have more people to stand up with her. How you dont see that he did something wrong is beyond me

It shouldn't be part of using public transport and you should have told him to shut up not her

The poor behaviour was coming from the man playing his device with the sound up. How has he somehow become the victim?

People put up with so much bad behaviour these days (I'm talking about the man here) that it stands out when someone pulls them up on it.