The first thing I’ll be told is that not all or most people are like this in England, and that I should not make sweeping generalisations. So, I’ll agree with that before I’m told so. Look, I’ve been carrying out an anthropological study of the natives of this country. Is there a problem with that?! See also Nastiness in a first world country and my comment on bitching about baths.
Here’s my problem arising from the photo (left): I don’t know what percentage of people in England are like this. All I know is that I see this sort of thing regularly nearly every time I use public transport. So – to my mind there is a good chance that people are putting their stink feet in shoes, on seats in public transport (such as trains, buses etc). Okay – it’s hardly ever seen on planes, in case you wanna get pedantic about it.
Based on the evidence of my own observations over the years, I have to conclude that there is a reasonable chance that the seats on buses and trains have had nasty shoes or feet rubbed on them.
I know that the base of shoes usually touch the ground and that the ground is usually a place where there is dirt, dust, filth and germs. I know all that because I’ve seen dog crap (poo if you’re English) smeared on streets. I’ve seen vomit, snot and other bodily fluids on streets – and I’ve seen that far more commonly than feet (in shoes) on seats.
I know I do not wish to have ‘the contents of the street’ – which may be invisible to my eyes – on my clothes or furniture. I also know that if I sit on a seats in public transport, then it’s reasonably foreseeable that I will get ‘the street stuff’ on my trousers. I also know that if the said trousers (as is) comes into contact with my bedding or furniture then I transfer some fraction of ‘the street stuff’ there. I know that germs are not usually visible to the naked eye and that dog poo and other gunge on the street is full of millions of harmful germs (aka bugs).
You’re probably going, “Yeah..yeah.. I know all this, why all the detail?” And I’m thinking surely there are many people like you who know all this above. So here’s the thing, if you come to any lodgings owned and controlled by me and I come to know that you’ve just come off a train or a bus, you’ll not be offended if I tell you politely – yes ‘tell you’ – not to sit on my furniture, unless you have a change of clothing to something that doesn’t bring ‘the street’ or similar into potential contact with me. And you’ll know that it’s nothing to do with me having OCD. Why? Because nothing of the facts and reasoning above is based on fiction. Paying attention to detail does not mean OCD. If I pay attention to the detail of the risk of filth being spread on my furniture, that’s absolutely nothing to do with OCD. But it may mean you’re a pig, if you still hold to your view on the OCD thing.
And now –if I also tell you to kindly remove your shoes before coming into my living room, it’s for the same reasons. And if you decline to comply with my reasonable requests above, and I ask you to leave or throw you out – it’s an issue with ‘the street’. But then I have to think what sort of person wants to bring ‘the street’ into my lodgings and cause me some sort of disease or infection. I know this – it’s a pig masquerading as a person! So, yes – it will get personal. You want choice? Here’s the choice: you choose to put ‘the street’ on your own furniture and bedding, not on mine. That’s it!
