This morning, I chastised a fellow bus passenger (who also happens to work in the same agency I do)… now I’m wondering if I just should have kept my mouth shut.
A bit of background: I normally ride public transit every day, as do many others in my agency, including the person I chastised. Previously (about a year or two ago), I had observed her removing her sandals and placing her barefeet upon the bus seats…this made me uneasy because to me, that’s just unsanitary–I mean, it’s something a kid would do, not a grown adult–you’re on public transit, for god;'s sake, not home in your easy chair! I didn’t say anything that time, but thought to myself tha if I ever saw her do it again, I would.
Welll, this morning we were both on the same bus. It’s not a hot or humid morning either, very pleasant. I’m sitting in one of the side facing seatss and she takes a seat facing front directly next to my seat. Then proceeds to slip her feet out of her sandals and prop them up on the edge of my seat. Uh oh … my moment of truth has arrived… do I say something or stay silent again? Ok, I spoke up this time, “Excuse me, but could you please not do that? It’s unsanitary. Please take your feet off the seat and put them back in you sandals.”
She looked at me like I was crazy but she did remove her feet from the seat. She did not, however, slip them back into her sandals. I don’t know what to think of this person. I defintely don’t want to sit next to her on the bus again though. I probably won’t ever say anything to her again either, but … geesh,!
I’d just like to add here that overhead florescent lighting in combination with glare, poor eyesight in general and font sizes still too small, are the cause of many of my typos.
Heh…Trunk, your mind seems to go down a …shall we say different path fthan what I meant or intended to mean. The person had propped her feet up on the edge of my (side-facing) seat, i.e., she was using it like a hassock. If the bus had taken a sharp corner and I had to hold onto something, that’s what I would have grabbed ahold of.
I don’t know what got into me that I did actually say something to her; it’s not normally my nature to speak up about things like that, but it bothered me that her barefeet were … well, they were invading my space! I don’t know where her feet have been, or what germs they might have. I’m actually laughing at myself now; in reading this, it’s sounding like I’m a bit kookie about germs. But still, to be honest, I wouldn’t let my kids do something like that–why should a supposedly adult individual get away with that sort of behavior in a public place?And yes, I realize it could be something -much- worse than barefeet on the seat.
Mostly agree. This is much more a personal space issue than a sanitation issue (unless this person’s hygiene is obviously absent).
However, some people really can’t handle seeing or being around bare feet. So for people with that hang-up (not meant pejoratively), this particular brand of personal space invasion is made all the worse.
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Trunk, if I understand the OP correctly, the OP’s knees were facing (say) north. The offender’s feet were placed on either the east or west edge of his seat. Decidely declassé, IMHO, if not outright gross.
If you wanted to really drive her nuts, you could have pulled out a set of nailclippers and started trimming her toenails. She probably wouldn’t even get on the same bus with you ever again.
Wow, I think you were a bit too nice, if you ask me. You obviously did not accompany your request with The Glare Of Death ™. Otherwise she wouldn’t even have put her feet back up.
Also, I’d personally find her shoes more gross than her feet, unless her feet are all fungus-infested and nasty. I mean, her shoes are what actually walk around in the street, not her bare feet. Just a thought.
I think you have every right to ask someone not to put their feet, bare or otherwise, on your seat. However, I think telling her that her feet are unsanitary and that she should put them back in her sandals is weird. I would have looked at you like you were crazy, had I been on the bus.
Also, maybe your public transit is a lot nicer than all the public transit I’ve ever used, but I would imagine that bare feet are far from the grossest thing to come into contact with those seats…
I wear sandals or heels, and I always slip my shoes off when I’m sitting down. I usually sit cross-legged and barefoot, even in restaurants. My feet are always clean since I’m not walking around barefoot, and my toenails are also nicely pedicured. No fungus or anything gross.
I’d tell you to get bent for telling me to put my shoes back on, but then again, I wouldn’t be rude enough to put them on your seat in the first place.
What’s any different about feet touching a seat (not your seat, but a seat that the person whom the feet belong to is sitting in), as opposed to someone’s sweaty-ass thighs and crotch sweat when they sit down in shorts?
(Though I do realize some people have an issue with feet in general. That’s why I always sit cross-legged, so you can’t really see them.)
Count me in the “what’s the big deal” camp. If I’m reading the OP properly, she put her feet on the seat facing her. Was this your seat? If not, then I think she was being polite for taking her shoes off first. It would be more “unsanitary” if she put her grubby shoes on the seat. Due to a low back injury, I am much more comfortable with my feet up. I can’t imagine why you were compelled to ask her to remove her feet. Am I missing something?
