It pains me to write this, but for every loogie or spitwad I see hanging on the floor during the pandemic, I smelled just a little bit more. This is a scourge that predates COVID-19, and it is so rooted in our culture to use the sidewalk or street as a personal spittoon that the trend continues unabated even as people on the street wear masks to prevent transmission of COVID.
I know I’m in great danger of sounding like an angry dad, but I really don’t care: I’m here to admonish those who enjoy it their loogie-wad, saliva-spraying ways, because you deserve to feel bad and you really need to get that shit out.
Spitting spreads disease
I know Dr. Fauci has not enacted a national PSA on the dangers of spitting with impunity, but you should still know that it is obscenely reckless given the currently raging state of the pandemic. It has to reiterate that there is a global plague hitting the US harder than any other country; We have had more than 300,000 people die from COVID-19 within a year, and the stark number really sees little sign of declining in the near future. So why the hell are you spitting on the ground where people walk?
COVID is transmitted in a number of ways, and yes, the saliva you spit on the floor is one of the carriers through which this virus spreads. But wait, it can spread other diseases too!
The BBC kindly set out a few more of the conditions that can spread through saliva:
Diseases that are spread through saliva include tuberculosis, hepatitis, viral meningitis, cytomegalovirus – a common virus that resembles the herpes virus – and the Epstein-Barr virus, a common herpes virus that causes many illnesses, such as glandular fever.
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We know that outdoor COVID transmission is lower than prolonged indoor contact with someone who has the virus. You probably won’t catch the virus simply by walking past someone who has just spit on the ground, but that doesn’t mean you should spit on the ground during a pandemic. After all, if you have COVID, does it help or hurt you by spitting in public? I think you know the answer.
Guys, it’s not difficult
Many of the conventional ways to showcase stereotypical male nonsense have been pushed aside by the pandemic, so it may seem like a great tragedy has befallen tough guys everywhere. But one thing that has remained available in this climate is the ability to spit. The government can’t take that away from you, so congratulations, patriot. Still, the pastime of spitting has never made anyone look tough or cool. What you think radiates raw, untethered masculinity just spreads germs and puts you more on a par with an alpaca than a UFC fighter.
It’s not a hard habit to break
Look at it this way: you’re not addicted to spitting. I gladly acknowledge that certain allergies and medical conditions cause excessive production of saliva, so sometimes the need to spit is borne by an actual medical problem that is beyond the digger’s control. But if you don’t have some kind of chronic condition, ask yourself why need to do it in the first place.
It’s a habit or compulsion, but it’s not a necessity like breathing or farting. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can break the habit. Or, if you are going to spit, at least do it out of sight and hearing of others. (That sound … ugh.) I hope for a time when more people will understand the relationship between public health and disgusting habits like spitting.