They: "Hey, can you move your bag? I'd like to sit there."
Passenger: "Sure, no problem"
Or, in my case..
They: Stand still and give the smallest glance in my direction
Me: Put my bag on my lap in record time, glance up, smile awkwardly :)
Seriously, I'm guilty as hell of putting my bag next to me in the train. Mainly because I'm not putting it on the floor together with who knows what kind dirt is lying down there. And It's awkward to keep it on my lap if it's not necessary. Of course it's different when it's a busy train.
I mean, I straight up put the bag there so people don’t sit next to me, but if I notice that the place is getting busy enough that someone’s gonna need the seat I’ll move it.
You should do the exact opposite if you don’t want anyone to sit next to you though. Keep your bag on your lap and pat the seat next to you invitingly while maintaining eye contact at all time. :)
And It's awkward to keep it on my lap if it's not necessary.
I'd like to challenge you on that. Who is it awkward to? Do you look at someone on the train holding their bag and think negatively of them? Are people in your life judging you for how you sit on the train?
Not trying to suggest you need to change, but it's not awkward to hold ones belongings.
It would be awkward if you were gripping it tightly and straining to hold on, sure, but are you doing that?
I see what you're trying to say here. I usually take the train when commuting to work, and my work bag contains my laptop, power brick, notebook, etc. It's a quite a weight to carry around. So when I have to put it on my lap, it can be physically awkward because I'm limited in how I can place my legs while balancing this weight.
What I was trying to say with awkward, is a physical awkwardness. Though I guess when I look back at it, inconvenient or uncomfortable might have been a better choice of words. English is not my first language and I sometimes choose the wrong words :)
Anyway, I don't really care about what people think of me if I have my bag on my lap.
If it's awkward enough between you and your backpack to not wanting it to sit on top of you something is seriously wrong with your relationship. Do you allow other people to hold your backpack on their lap or do you only touch it when it's on your back?
In some cultures, people will never ask because they estimate the cost of interacting is higher than standing up, so if the train is packed, they'll just silently think you're an asshole.
If people leave there bag to block a seat as they see people are having to stand they are an asshole. I'm not going to engage with an asshole on my commute for a minor annoyance.
There's nothing wrong with this if there are a bunch of empty seats open. If it's crowded then it's a dick move, but if there's plenty of seats available then there's zero issue.
For sure, people do this in airports everywhere I've been. Some of the most crowded terminals with hundreds of people standing around because people are just blindly taking up 3 seats for 1 person...so selfish.
I'll move it if there aren't any seats left. If it's practically empty tho, I'd rather not put my shit on the floor. I also would prefer you to sit elsewhere and leave me alone.
They: "Hey, can you move your bag? I'd like to sit there."
Passenger: "Sure, no problem"
Or, in my case..
They: Stand still and give the smallest glance in my direction
Me: Put my bag on my lap in record time, glance up, smile awkwardly :)
Seriously, I'm guilty as hell of putting my bag next to me in the train. Mainly because I'm not putting it on the floor together with who knows what kind dirt is lying down there. And It's awkward to keep it on my lap if it's not necessary. Of course it's different when it's a busy train.
I mean, I straight up put the bag there so people don’t sit next to me, but if I notice that the place is getting busy enough that someone’s gonna need the seat I’ll move it.
You should do the exact opposite if you don’t want anyone to sit next to you though. Keep your bag on your lap and pat the seat next to you invitingly while maintaining eye contact at all time. :)
I'd be concerned about what kind of person would accept the invite when it eventually happens
I duct tape it to my face.
god I love the internet
Just to add to your concerns, my classmate has witnessed some drunk dude pulling down his pants and pissing in city bus...
I'd like to challenge you on that. Who is it awkward to? Do you look at someone on the train holding their bag and think negatively of them? Are people in your life judging you for how you sit on the train?
Not trying to suggest you need to change, but it's not awkward to hold ones belongings.
It would be awkward if you were gripping it tightly and straining to hold on, sure, but are you doing that?
I see what you're trying to say here. I usually take the train when commuting to work, and my work bag contains my laptop, power brick, notebook, etc. It's a quite a weight to carry around. So when I have to put it on my lap, it can be physically awkward because I'm limited in how I can place my legs while balancing this weight.
What I was trying to say with awkward, is a physical awkwardness. Though I guess when I look back at it, inconvenient or uncomfortable might have been a better choice of words. English is not my first language and I sometimes choose the wrong words :)
Anyway, I don't really care about what people think of me if I have my bag on my lap.
If it's awkward enough between you and your backpack to not wanting it to sit on top of you something is seriously wrong with your relationship. Do you allow other people to hold your backpack on their lap or do you only touch it when it's on your back?
i mean have you tried politely asking people to move their bags? i'm not gonna sit there with the bag in my lap if there's a spare seat next to me.
In some cultures, people will never ask because they estimate the cost of interacting is higher than standing up, so if the train is packed, they'll just silently think you're an asshole.
Ah, a fellow Brit.
I was thinking about Japanese actually, but that works too!
If people leave there bag to block a seat as they see people are having to stand they are an asshole. I'm not going to engage with an asshole on my commute for a minor annoyance.
"I'm not gonna move my bag from this seat unless someone asks me to move it" -them
god forbid you ask a question that's an entire 6 words long
You can easily shorten that to a single word:
"heeemmmmwwww" (nods toward seat)
Lol, I'll be honest I do this if there are mostly free seats around, the second they start filling up the bag goes between my legs on the floor.
There's nothing wrong with this if there are a bunch of empty seats open. If it's crowded then it's a dick move, but if there's plenty of seats available then there's zero issue.
For sure, people do this in airports everywhere I've been. Some of the most crowded terminals with hundreds of people standing around because people are just blindly taking up 3 seats for 1 person...so selfish.
I put my bag on the seats next to me all the time. Decency is knowing when you need to pick it up and put it on your lap.
The fifth slide of that meme pic should have been the guy putting the bag on the floor next to him, so that his partner could give into bed.
I'll move it if there aren't any seats left. If it's practically empty tho, I'd rather not put my shit on the floor. I also would prefer you to sit elsewhere and leave me alone.
Not even kidding, I have done 3/4 of those.
Which of you is the big spoon?
How did you know?
You've never taken your bag to the cinema?
Just irreconcilable tastes :(
talk about being selfish: not buying a drink for your backpack
I don't put my backpack next to me. It sits on my lap and I hug it. Because I love it. We are one.
I guess you're assuming the bag feels the same way about you?
Otherwise that would be a bit cringy.
I do the third (bottom left) one rather often if I'm at a food court.
It gives the illusion of not being alone.
Need to print these out and hand them out when someone is doing this on a busy bus ride.
Credit: Anton Gudim: Some of my 4-frames comics on Behance
Well last time i did this with my daki out in the open i got weird looks so of course i gotta put it into my backpack smh
I hug my bag
Personal space bubble
The bus and airport terminals are the two places I do this. Bonus points if you sit the bag down just as someone is coming up to sit in the chair.
I have had this happen a few times on the bus or subway, like "I don't want people sitting next to me."
I was under impression that people did that intentionally to reserve the seat for someone. Now reading the comments made me twice as angry
Yeah how dare some people rather not go through the public transit equivalent of meeting that guy who singles out the urinal right next to you!