'AITA for not helping a lady to get her luggage from the overhead compartment?'
"AITA for not helping a lady to get her luggage from the overhead compartment?"
Got on a flight early, cos I was there early. A lady in her 50s-60s cut the queue just right behind me. It was the moment where people started walking so no one bothered saying anything.
I settled into my seat next the the aisle (row C), minding my own business with my earphones in but slowly realised that the aisle traffic congested hard so I looked up. Turns out that lady just stood there like a statue, frozen and blocked the way of the passengers behind her.
I could tell because she didn't want to lift her stuff by herself. She wasn't big, but wasn't small either. I was about to pack my earphones away so I could help (I'm a Thai Aussie so like I'm double friendly). She saw me moving so she turned to me and do that finger clicking thing in my face to get my attention and said "You help?". I work hospitality and I f^#$%@& hate that.
But it was that moment of confusion, if you know what I mean, like I was gonna help anyway so might as well just help her, so people get to move on.
But I had the worst flight. She interrupts my movie so I could open her water bottle. She interrupts my game to unpack her snack. I was sleeping and she literally turned on the light on purpose to wake me up for some stupid shit that I had now started to ignore.
Also, whatever I did for her she never said thank you or smile, none. The plane landed and she did the same things to me again but now demanding me retrieving the luggage for her. I declined in the most polite way possible : "I think you should ask the staff to assist you..."
I thought I would feel good, but I could sense all eyes looking at me like, "Wow this dude heartless AF." Just ranting I guess. Mateship in Australia is a thing we live by but I don't know how to feel when people take this for granted.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
I would have been super turned off by the finger snap. That's like what a parent or teacher would do to a kid who was playing with their earphones in class. She probably felt in that moment like you were inattentive to the congestion going on and you should have been alert as a plane passenger teammate while everyone boarded.
She really should have instead tapped you on the shoulder and said "excuse, please assisting?" She might not have perfect english so we can assume she meant "can you help please." But that finger snap also really rubs me the wrong way and I'm assuming it transcends language barriers.
NTA - the finger snap would have put the brakes on me helping immediately. Honestly, she could not have been a worse seat-mate anyway, so you didn’t gain anything.
Was there actually a language barrier though, or did she assume there was because OP is Thai? The whole thing gave me entitled white lady vibes, but OP didn't really describe her at all so I could definitely be wrong there.
Nah the finger snap is what entitled people do to people who they see as beneath them.
yea......we witnessed a friends wife pull this at a country club for a wedding rehearsal dinner. she finished her plate first, turned over her shoulder, snapped her fingers and pointed at her plate. then she said "i'm done. you can take this. we want coffee now." i wanted to die right then and there.
NTA--- Who cares about how they are looking at you, more than likely you will never see any of these people ever again.