A teenager has recounted an uncomfortable train journey in which a tall stranger repeatedly tried to invade their leg space, only to alight just two stops later.
The person, who was 19 at the time, described the incident in a Reddit post, saying it happened during a commute home from their 9-5 job in 2019. They boarded a fairly crowded train and secured a window seat on a three-seater, with a stranger on the aisle seat.
Passenger pushes leg against teenager
One stop later, a tall man got on and sat between the teenager and the other passenger. Moments after taking his seat, the man tried to push his left leg against the teenager's right leg.
The teenager wrote: "I ignore his looks but as soon as I noticed him trying to push my leg, I stand firm and keep my leg in place. Seconds later he taps me on the shoulder and says 'Can you move your leg?'"
They added: "I look down and see that my leg is perfectly within the borders of my respective seat and not protruding at all onto his seat (I already knew it wasn't since I myself hate when people take up more leg room than they should). If anything, he was beginning to go onto my seat from when he was trying to push my leg just a second ago."
Man gets off after two stops
After the encounter, the teenager ignored the man by listening to their headphones. He then asked whether they could move their bag into the space above, and continued to push his leg into the teenager before deciding to get off the train.
They added: "I guess he thought if he was annoying enough, I would move my foot/leg in a bit. I just ignored it because I just thought 'what an idiot'. He did all of that just to only be on the train for 2 stops. After he got off, the woman opposite me gave me a look that said 'What an a**hat'."
Since the post was shared, many agreed the man was being unreasonable. One said: "You were completely entitled to yell STOP TOUCHING ME!" Another added: "Good for you by standing your ground." While a third admitted: "I hate manspreaders."
