Outraged Dad Says Kind Elderly Woman Is the Only One To Give Up Seat for Child with Broken Leg
In this fast-paced world where everyone slumps from place to place while staring at the technology in their hands, it can be easy to overlook the needs of others.
This is especially true in high-density areas, where the cities never sleep and the rush of people never seems to slow down. Despite the break-neck speed at which life goes on in these places, though, you’d think there would still be some shreds of kindness.
Mark Beggs is from Dublin, Ireland. Like many there, he uses public transportation often, as the Dublin Area Rapid Transit is one of the most effective ways of moving from place to place.
It’s so popular, though, that there’s usually barely room to stand. That’s not a huge problem for most people, but it is currently an issue for his daughter, Joanna.
Joanna, who is 16 years old, has recently had an accident. A gymnastics enthusiast, she has paid the sport its price in the form of shattering her left leg below the knee, according to Dublin Live.
“She has a bar through her knee to the ankle and has about 40 stitches in her knee,” Beggs said.
Obviously, her condition is very painful, and recent too — the injury occurred on May 25. As a result, it’s difficult for her to get around and she’s now sporting a bulky brace.
“They said she would need crutches for three months but she is now in a big boot to the knee and only needs to use the crutches some times,” Mark explained.
The family uses DART often, and despite their repeated presence and Joanna’s obvious injury, no one seems interested in offering her a more comfortable perch.
“It’s impossible not to see she has a broken leg and is in pain,” Mark said. “It’s the same people getting the train every day of the week so it’s the same people who are refusing to let her sit down.”
“Joanna had asked another person for their seat before that because she is in constant pain but they moaned about giving it up,” he continued.
“I’m not sure what Irish Rail can do when people choose to keep looking at their phones in order to avoid giving up their seats.”
Each train ride is a new opportunity for a kind soul to step forward — but so far, only one person has reportedly made an effort to help her out.
This is my daughter with a broken leg on Dart this morning and no one gave her a seat. And this has happened every day this week @joeliveline @JOEdotie what does say to us as a nation pic.twitter.com/Q3LD4rGGob
— Mark Beggs (@mannix11) June 18, 2019
“She was getting the train down last Wednesday too with her sister and the only person to offer her a seat was an elderly lady,” Mark said. “She didn’t want to accept it because of the woman’s age but the kind lady insisted.”
Meanwhile, plenty of other able-bodied adults stared hard at their handheld devices and ignored the girl seated on the floor. Mark took a video of their commute one day and posted it on Twitter to illustrate how callous people had become.
Some viewers have suggested that because Joanna is young and was adjusting her brace in the video, people might have assumed she preferred to sit in the aisle, but Mark denies that possibility.
“It’s just a lack of manners,” he replied. “Any decent person, in good health, would give up their seat for someone in need.”
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