What If...

My brain is weird. I was just in the restroom here at work and the toilet lid was down. No big deal, right? But with all the contention between men and women over the position of the seat, what would happen if everyone simply closed the lid?

Women wouldn't complain, "You left the seat up, AGAIN!!!!!"

Men wouldn't forget to adjust it or have to deal with the "you left the seat up, AGAIN!!!!"

If the lid is already down upon your arrival, you make the preferred / necessary adjustment and... you know. Then put it back down for the next user.

That also half solves the issue of the precipitate ejected during the flushing action. If you don't know about that, it is important. Depending on the type of mechanism - gravity or "power" - you can spray material in fine mist form up to six feet away from the bowl. Meaning your toothbrush standing in its holder on the counter, your towels on which you wipe your hands after washing, the taps and all the other things in the typical bathroom are all in the line of fire if your commode shares the space with the rest of those items.

I say it half-solves because the mist is still present. It's just trapped under the lid and will, over time, precipitate back into the bowl. Some does escape around the edges, but doesn't get to travel quite so far.

All-in-all, while that's a disgusting thought to us Westerners, it's actually not necessary a bad thing. Of course, that's assuming you or someone with whom you share that particular space are not carrying around a little Hep A, B or C or some other communicable disease found in places we don't like to talk or think about. After all, that's what our immune system is for and exercising it on the germs we encounter isn't necessarily all bad. It's just the super-duper BAD germs and viruses that are the problem.

And, being weird and having a convoluted brain, after working through that, I started thinking about other things. Like what if we were all blind? What if we couldn't see, at all? How would that affect the way we interact with other people, if we couldn't see the color of their skin or eyes or whether they have tats or piercings or whatever?

It's an interesting thought. If you can't see the other person, you can't make snap judgements about their appearance. You might make a snap judgement based on their speech patterns or choices of words, or how they sound - do they slur or mumble or have an accent - or even how they smell, but you won't be judging on appearance.

Wouldn't that be nice, to be able to interact with other people without the baggage of preconceived notions based on the other person's appearance?

Personally, I have a very hard time looking at someone with gauged ears. It really, really bothers me. A LOT. But, if I couldn't see it, it wouldn't. I would judge the person based on what they say and do and how they act. And that's how all of us should be weighed and judged.

Tattoos bother me, too. Only slightly less than gauged ears. Particularly 'sleeves' and massive tats that cover more than a few inches of skin. But, with that said, I also acknowledge that both are a personal choice for the wearer and, in the end, it really is none of my damned business. However, it does set the mark for my expectations - and I know, intellectually, it shouldn't. But it does and no matter how I chide myself it doesn't change.

Now, I'm not advocating that we all line up to have our eyes put out, but maybe we should work on being blind to the things that bother us. Like gauges and tattoos and skin, hair or eye color, and get past those things to see the person inside the outer shell.

I'm going to try. I'm not going to go out of my way and race up to the first person I see with something that makes me uncomfortable and try to learn their life story, but I will stop and look and try to see past the obvious. Maybe I'll learn something along the way. Maybe something about them but, more importantly, maybe something about myself.

I already know that I don't give a rip about the color of someone's hair or eyes or skin. I treat everyone I meet the same way - with respect and openness and expect they will do the same. At least I'm 'there' on that part of appearance. I just have to work on the other.

Another task on which I need to start, so I'll go now, but I hope you have a lovely day!

Best~
Philippa

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