Photo of an Elderly Lady Standing on the Train While Youngsters Glued to Their Phones Remain Seated Causes Outrage
We all know that not everything we see on social media is real. Some people actively create fake news to spread hatred while some fall victim to misunderstanding a situation.
Something similar happened recently after a photo from Sydney was shared.
The photo was of an old lady standing on a train while young people sat on with earphones plugged in and seemingly ignored the frail woman. She was seen hunched over holding on to the pole in the train while people around her were sitting comfortably.
A photo of an elderly woman standing hunched over on a Sydney train as three commuters sit down with their headphones in is dividing the internet.
The picture, which emerged on Facebook, has caught the attention of many people who were unimpressed the other travellers, who appear younger than the standing woman, failed to offer their seats to her.
It is not clear when the photo was taken, but it re-emerged on Facebook and Reddit over the weekend.
Many on social media slammed the commuters for not giving up their seats to the elderly woman, including one on Reddit who wrote: ‘Heartless souls. Some say they are called the Millennial generation.’
The internet restored faith in humanity by coming to her aid and showing outrage over the incident.
People denounced the young people for not helping the woman. The photo was shared on the Facebook group Aussie Aussie Aussie Aussie with the caption “No respect”. However, it has since been taken down. It was shared more than 22,000 times and received thousands of comments, reported Daily Mail.
“Heartless souls. Some say they are called the Millennial generation,” said one user on Reddit, where the photo re-emerged, while another said, “They need slapping, the lot of em, obviously they have no respect or manners!” Many of the people said they would have definitely offered the seat to the elderly woman. One of them said, “I would have offered my seat as soon as she jumped on the train, I’ve done it before for an old lady.”
Another wrote: ‘They need slapping, the lot of em, obviously they have no respect or manners!’
There were many who said they would have given their seat for elderly woman, including a 16-year-old who wrote: ‘I would have offered my seat as soon as she jumped on the train, I’ve done it before for an old lady.’
Another wrote: ‘I’m 20 and I can’t believe this. None of them would’ve heard if she’d even asked politely for the seat – all three seated with their earphones in or headphones on! Where’s the human connection?’
Meanwhile someone else offered another explanation, saying: ‘Not defending them but… someone may have offered, but the elderly said ‘No It’s ok I’m getting off soon or at next stop.’
Another suggested: ‘It might be too hard for her to sit and stand back up. I’d like to think the kid with the hat offered. The other 3 are worthless.’
Everyone jumped to the wrong conclusion after seeing the photo.
However, not everyone was convinced that everyone got the story right. Many raised doubts about what might have happened that day. Some said that people must have offered but she could have refused. Another person said, “It might be too hard for her to sit and stand back up. I’d like to think the kid with the hat offered. The other 3 are worthless.”
In a statement Sydney Trains told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Sydney Trains encourages all of its passengers to observe appropriate transport etiquette including respecting elderly, disabled or pregnant customers by offering up their seats.’
However, a number of other comments took aim at the person taking the photo.
One wrote: ‘Typical person today. Take a photo and complain on Facebook but don’t have the balls to say something in real life.’
‘Why not man up and say something to them instead of taking a pic to get likes,’ another added.
Sydney Trains CEO Howard Collins said pictures “can be deceiving”. “This is an opportunity … to remind people that while we’re in our world of texts and headphones, we should just be looking up and checking, is there’s someone who could do with your seat?” Collins said.
And finally, the woman’s grandson set the record straight.
He wrote to Ben Fordham’s 2GB radio show, according to News.au.com to explain what happened. “The mature age lady was preparing to disembark at the next station — she’s my nanna,” the man wrote. He said that people were too quick to judge and she was about to get down at the next stop, which is why she was standing.
Source:
her.womenworking.com, dailymail.co.uk, news.com.a
