Spitting – Ignorance Or Rudeness?

Young men spitting in public is something I’ve noticed more and more. I question whether it is ignorance or rudeness that causes this behavior. Friday night at Downtown Alive we walked past a small group of young men and young ladies when one of the young men stopped in mid-sentence and calmly spit and resumed the conversation.

I didn’t hear one person comment. Nobody told this guy how rude his behavior was. I wonder whether they were all too polite to comment or if all of them were that ignorant. Don’t parents teach their children manners anymore? Don’t schools teach some basic hygiene?

This incident didn’t occur out in some barnyard. This was in the middle of a concrete sidewalk near people sitting on the sidewalk and nearby grass. How gross! These young people were old enough to be young married couples and I question whether young women have lowered their standards so much that the don’t care about a date, fiancé or husbands’ behavior. I was hoping one young woman would have gently nudged the guy and said “gross”. Will young women put up with any rude behavior to avoid loneliness on date night?

Growing up in the 50′s and 60′s we were told about germs being spread by coughing, sneezing and spitting. If you cough or sneeze you cover your mouth. If you have a need to remove something from your mouth by spitting you walk off and find a proper receptacle. Doesn’t anybody teach this anymore? If you can’t get across basic rules of hygiene to young people how will you teach them to function as adults? No wonder the world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket!

To paraphrase Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings “Mamas don’t let your baby’s grow up to be rude boys”.