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Friday, December 26, 2008

Please Explain this to Me

Making up for lost time on posting here . . .

Someone PLEASE explain this to me.
Apparently there is a custom in this country that, despite almost 50 years spent in it, I don't quite understand.
So, here it is. WHY do people spit? In public? On sidewalks? Repeatedly?
I mean, if you get a bug in your mouth, I get it.
If you just threw up, I get it.
If you suddenly are overtaken by a horrible taste in your mouth, it's time to investigate your health and your diet, but I still get it.
But why, standing on the corner, waiting for a bus, or hanging around outside a store, or just strolling down the sidewalk do people spit? Do they think it's attractive? Cool? Sexy? Hip? They couldn't be more wrong. It's . . . well, disgusting. And this from a woman who is NOT easily offended by people.
So, please, if you do this or know someone who does, explain it to me. Perhaps there is a purpose in spitting I am completely unaware of. Perhaps it serves a function I have missed. Maybe I will find out the reasoning behind it and rush outside to spit and see how it works for me, who knows? Right now it just seems like something leftover from our neanderthal days of grunting and doing all bodily functions in public.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled surfing.

3 comments:

SabrinaT said...

If you spit here in public you get a ticket and then have to find a police station to pay it...

WritingGoddess said...

Oh Sabrina, there's a law I would actually campaign for.

poeticajasmine said...

People who smoke get a lot of phlegm buildup in their lungs and they hack it up routinely and most folks choose to spit it out vs. swallow it. This goes for cigarettes but even more for folks who smoke drugs, because the substance irritates your throat etc. Also, they might be people who use chewing tobacco and spit from that.

My clients spit all the time. Its totally gross but I've gotten used to it.