AITA for not moving back at a parade?

A Reddit user shares their experience at a crowded Christmas parade, where they stood early to secure a good spot but were confronted by another attendee with a stroller demanding they move. Despite standing their ground politely, the interaction left them questioning their actions. Read the full story below.

‘ AITA for not moving back at a parade?’

The town I live in put on a Christmas parade this past weekend. It was advertised everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE with a start time of 6 pm. I like to be early to things, especially living in a pretty big city. I figured good seats would go quickly and ended up arriving at about 4:45 pm to see that I was right. Still, my party of 3 people (including a child) managed to find front row availability. We stood there and waited for the parade to start.

As it got closer to 6, more and more people showed up and started to crowd around everyone who had front row- even going so far as to push us as if that would get them closer to the parade route. Right as the parade was starting this lady with a stroller started pushing her way through and eventually, literally bumped into me.

When I turned to look at her she said, Excuse me, we are trying to get through to see the parade,” she pointed down to her child who was maybe a year old in the stroller. I politely pointed out that we were all here to see the parade and that there was no room up here as we were all literally shoulder to shoulder from being crowded. She said she was with a child and that I being an adult should step back so that she could let her child see.

I refused again politely (even apologized for refusing) but me and my party had been in the spot for over an hour so that we could ensure we had a good view. In response she kept pushing the stroller into my leg repeatedly while huffing really loud and telling the child rather loudly that she was sorry there were so many rude and careless adults in the world. I hate that I’m still thinking about this – but am I the a**hole here for not moving from the spot we found by being early?

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

missdeb99912 −  NTA. I would have called over a cop and told them that she keeps banging her stroller into your leg. There is something wrong with that woman.

myshellly −  NTA at all. At the popular parades here, people bring chairs and zip tie their group’s chairs together in a row so no one can push up through them.

Crazyandiloveit −  NTA. I don’t care if it’s a stroller or you’re in a wheelchair, if I am there 1 or 2 hours before the start to get a good spot, so can you. And if not you’ll have to live with what’s leftover. Playing the child or victim card makes you a selfish AH. And I mention the wheelchair because that’s exactly what happened to us at an event.

Waited for over an hour, than 5 minutes before the start a young woman in a wheelchair (and of course her 5 friends who were not in a wheelchair) tried to get our spot because “boo hoo I am in a wheelchair”. I don’t care. You can arrive early like anyone else if you want a good spot. She too kept bumping into our legs, lol. I started “accidentally” swishing around my bag to get her to back off me, since it was nicely at her head hight. Obviously this doesn’t work for plans since the poor child is innocent. Sadly it often ruins the event either way.

LowJeansHighHopes −  NTA. I’m not saying that we should keep babies in blank rooms and never let them see anything… But babies are entertained by literally everything around them. A baby does not need to see a parade over an adult.

MaleficentProgram997 −  “I’m with a child too, and we got here an hour ago. “People with strollers are so damn entitled. And I say this as someone with a kid who used to go to things with strollers and I did NOT bump into people to wiggle our way to the front of anything.

Fartin_Scorsese −  NTA – early bird gets the worm and all that.

ExistenceRaisin −  NTA. You were there first. She tried to rudely shove her way to the front, and then had the nerve to complain that YOU were being rude.

KateIrwin −  NTA. If she wanted a good view she should have come earlier as you did, you have just as much right to be there as anyone whether you’re an adult or child and she should’ve taken no for answer the first time. She was just trying to guilt and humiliate you into giving in by saying that stuff and good for you for standing your ground!

Traditional-Bag-4508 −  NTA. The entitlement is so real and so infuriating. She’s now teaching her kid, get anywhere late, it’s ok, we’ll shove others away. We’ve been doing the parade thing where I live for years… have twins… all grown now, however, never in a million years would we have been this rude.

This year at the Halloween parade, we set up our chairs… early. Perfect spot. An entire family arrived with about 6 kids, two sat ON my feet! I politely told them to get up. The mother, just gasped at me… how dare you tell my kids to get up. I asked her if she thought them sitting ON my feet was ok? She just looked at me. No apology.

sjw_7 −  NTA.She is weaponising having a kid to try to get a better view. The 1 year old wont care about the parade and she is just using the child as an excuse to get to the front.