In the subway, a young mother was attempting to feed her infant, when a woman seated beside her began hurling insults: yet an observant young man eventually intervened and responded in an unpredicted manner…
Not long ago, while traveling on the subway, I observed an inci:dent that has kept vivid in my memory.
A mother entered the carriage with a stroller. Initially, her baby slept quietly, but soon awoke and began crying loudly. The woman, visibly embarrassed, apologized to the passengers and explained softly:
– Forgive me, he’s simply hungry.
Without delay, she took out a diaper cloth and started nursing the child directly in the carriage. Most passengers reacted with discretion: some turned toward the windows, while others acted as though they noticed nothing. It appeared the matter was being handled calmly.
However, an older woman seated next to her reacted sharply. She turned and said in a raised voice:
– What are you doing? There are men present! Have you no shame?
– But my baby is hungry, – the young mother replied gently. – This is natural.
– Natural? In our day, expectant women never showed themselves in public. We felt shame, but your generation has lost all sense of decency! It is disgraceful!
– You don’t need to watch, – the mother answered quietly. – No one else is.
– How insolent! You youngsters have no respect for elders anymore.
Although she tried to remain calm, the mother faced relentless criticism as the elderly woman gestured dramatically, paying the attention of the entire carriage. The atmosphere was becoming tense.
At that moment, a young man who had been standing nearby intervened, and what he did astonished everyone present. He removed his jacket, stepped forward, and draped it carefully over the mother and her baby.
– This should help, – he remarked to the elderly woman.
– Now perhaps you’ll be silent. I cannot listen to your ‘in our day’ stories anymore. Times have changed.
– It is none of your concern, – the woman retorted angrily.
– Either stop or move away, or there will be consequences.
– Are you threatening me? – she shouted.
– Yes, – the young man responded evenly. – Enough of this. You are a woman yourself, yet instead of offering support, you choose to create conflict.
The carriage fell silent. The older woman grumbled under her breath but refrained from continuing. At the next station, she left, pretending nothing had occurred.
Meanwhile, the young mother, sheltered under the jacket, was finally able to finish feeding her child in peace.
