She reacted angrily and started blaming me, accusing me of 'strolling' into the cabin and nearly causing her not to get a seat. (In the end, she took the first empty seat.) She said loudly I should take private transport then. I calmly explained to her why I moved from the first seat to the second one. I mentioned that if she really wanted a seat, I could even give up mine. She still insisted it was my fault. She added that I was selfish and would not be successful in life. She said this was to teach me a lesson.

I retaliated by telling her she was horrible and it didn't mean she said I wouldn't be successful would be true. Also, if she was so afraid of not getting a seat, she should be the one taking private transport. The way she glared at me, her tone, her loudness all signalled that she wanted to 'eat me up' right there. Meanwhile, other passengers all looked in our direction.

As the Government tries to promote a gracious society, I was appalled by how this woman reacted. From what she said, I gathered she expected me to rush for a seat once the train doors opened, disregarding alighting passengers. When she could not find anything to argue about, she started scolding me to intimidate me. (By the way, I am much younger than her.) All she wanted was to win the argument and prove she was right.

I thought about this unhappy incident and wondered if this is the kind of behaviour we want in our society? What is more, what will society be like when members of the younger generation learn from people like her? To think she had the cheek to say she wanted to teach me a lesson. There is nothing valuable in her I can learn from.

Christine Chua (Ms)