BATHROOMS

I’m a 26year old male and I still have not gotten used to the conditions of public restrooms. I used to try to convince myself that the horrid conditions were caused by a bunch of disgusting little kids who missed the toilet, forgot to flush or just up to no good, now I know the truth. The conditions in our bathrooms are caused by disgusting adults. Are we as men, that disgusting?

At work last week, two separate incidents really turned me off and forced me to take a closer look at not only my male co-workers but men in general. I walked in the bathroom on the fourth floor, the floor in which I work, as soon as I walked in the bathroom I was struck with a stench that almost knocked me down. At first I thought the cleaning people had come early and had an Ammonia party, but as I got closer to the urinal I realized that the smell was urine. Instincts told me to look down and there it was the floor was shinning with urine. The coating of urine created a shine on the floor as if someone had just mopped it, but the smell was anything but pine fresh. How does a grown man miss the urinal? The area in which we have to piss in is greater than the hole of the normal toilet. Not wanting to smell like piss all day, I decided to go into one of the stalls hoping to find a cleaner experience. Barely, someone forgot to flush and dispose of the tissue they used. After handling my business (I only have to pee) I flushed the toilet, which I do every time I leave the bathroom, washed and dried my hands and went about my business.

Later that same day I really had to use the bathroom and this could not wait until I got home. Even though I’m not the cleanest person in the world and definitely not a germ phobic, but it took along time before I would sit on anybodies toilet. It wasn’t until a whole week into living on campus in college before I could sit down on a toilet. And even then I washed the toilet with Clorox cleaner, bleach and three seat covers before I would sit down. On the third floor where the “suits” work, the bathroom is normally very clean. I mean it normally looks like no one has used the bathroom at all. This is where I go to handle my business. On this day I could tell someone had used it. “The animals from upstairs must have gotten free and ventured down here,” I thought as I looked at two stalls full of urine and my favorite stall was full of urine, feces, toilet tissue and seat covers. The sight of this nasty display of adulthood made me sick to my stomach. I thought for a second, “Can I hold this until I get home?” my stomach quickly answered that question and I quickly searched for the cleanest toilet available. Once again I flushed behind myself.

Is this how we treat and value others things? Do we piss on the feelings and innocent of others and expect the next person to either clean the mess up and flush our shit or reap the consequences, the smell of our actions? To find the answer to this question I only had to look within myself and the way I treat the nameless men that have been in my life. I’ve been with other people’s boyfriends and cared nothing more than my nut. I bust quickly, don’t kiss, don’t lick and no sucking, I just slide in and go. I’m not even concerned if my performance is good or not, I’m only concerned with my happy ending. Never am I concerned with the other person, good byes are not important and call backs are rarely had. I do it because these people are not my lovers and have not become my friends yet. Their feelings mean very little to me, because they are adults and know what their purpose is. I shit on these people and wait for the next man to deal with my mess. If they are lucky they can just flush my mess away and build on a new relationship. Unfortunately, most people are not lucky and have to deal with the shit that someone has left behind. Have to either deal with the smell or clean behind the next man.

It’s not clear if this barbaric mentality is something that we learn or born with, but I guess that debate can be argued as long as the argument of homosexuality being a product of nature or nurture. We can change, but it will definitely take a conscious effort. I can change, but it will take time and growth on my part.