Privacy is something many of us wish for ourselves. It can be one of the worst things to have your privacy invaded, but it’s strange when some people seem to not give two hoots about their own. Especially when it involves them doing things that should never leave the confines of their home. This was the case for young Melanie Scholfield who was traveling by plane recently and the passenger next to her was watching pornography, of all things, on his phone. Leaving her feeling unsafe.
These days, a lot of flights have small screens in front of you to provide some entertainment during the flight. This was obviously of no interest to the man who sat next to Melanie, who was 19 at the time.
There is a Time and Place for Everything
Melanie interviewed with The Independent after she made a post about her experience on TikTok. Of course, her post went viral – who watches porn on a plane?
According to Melanie, she found her seat after the older man had already sat down and settled. “I got on the plane and found my seat. It was the window seat and there were only two seats in each row,” she recalled, “An old man was sitting in the aisle seat of my row. I politely asked him to move so that I could sit in my seat. We both sat down and immediately he took up as much space as possible.”
Melanie felt uncomfortable from the moment she sat down. She told the reporters in the interview that she felt like he was trying t make her touch him by taking up so much space. “He used both armrests so that I didn’t have one and forced me to be squished against the side of the plane. I began to feel unsafe and scared, so I started analyzing him,” said Scholfield.
This 19-year old named Melanie was not one to be messed around with! She had a suspicion of this man next to her and she decided to keep an eye on him. It didn’t take long before he was searching the web for porn on his phone. Melanie described it as follows; “Within five seconds of looking at him, I notice he is typing on his phone ‘sex on a plane’. And he begins watching pornography of people having sex on a plane.”
Read: Singer Hospitalized Because She Wouldn’t Fart In Front Of Partner
Reporting the Incident
Melanie had been convinced at the time that this man was making her uncomfortable on purpose like he intended for her to see him watching videos of people having sex on a plane as if that was his intention for her. She said, “Which I know, which I know, had something to do with the fact that I was sitting next to him, because I’m a young, attractive female, and he’s a creep,”
This was a terrifying realization for her because this man was a lot older and much bigger than her. She made the very brave decision to report the man and his inappropriate actions. Something that a lot of people would not be able to do so confidently. Fear is a weird emotion, it can be quite controlling sometimes.
Luckily, Melanie did not let it prevent her from speaking up and protecting herself. After a bit of deliberation amongst the flight attendants ( you can’t blame them because this is not your average drama experienced mid-flight), she was rewarded with being bumped up to a first-class seat.
Her Story Went Viral!
Most teenagers of this day record every experience of theirs on social media. So, naturally, Melanie made a post about it on TikTok, which was viewed about 529,000 times. She said that she wasn’t sure how the man had been dealt with but had guessed that it was swept under the rug. No matter, because she had the support of her viewers.
Someone said; “I’m so sorry, I hope you are okay and safe.” Another comment read; “Proud of you for speaking up. That’s traumatic.”
But, as it goes with all posts on social media, she was, unfortunately, victim-blamed by a lot of other commenters. Something that is shocking to think is still happening in 2022. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!
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