So, I just got a bit strident with a woman we know and her daughter. She was talking about how she hated Germex. I use antibacterial gel sometimes, but I do agree that some people go a little overboard with it, and a lot of times they'd probably be better off just washing their hands.
Then, she comes out with the fact that she only washes her hands about once a day, because she only does it if she gets something on herself when she goes to the bathroom. She's a teacher. I point out that part of the handwashing is for the bathroom itself.
Her daughter says that when she shops at Walmart, if she has to go to the bathroom, she doesn't wash her hands, because she's just going to come out and touch the shopping cart, touch the clothes, touch the conveyor belt.
By this time, I feel like I've stepped into crazy town. These are people that I like and that I normally agree with, and I honestly can't even believe what I'm hearing. I go into the facts as I know them... bathrooms have more germs than other places. The germs are in all these crazy places because people don't do simple things like wash their hands. Even if they don't get sick, they can be spreading diseases to other people.
Their argument: if someone is going to get sick, they'll get sick anyway. One person doesn't make a difference.
Now, that gets me to a point where I am having a hard time being polite, because that argument literally makes me crazy. Yes, one person is a very small percentage of most things. But, a lot of people individually deciding that one person doesn't make a difference DOES make a difference. And, in order to make any kind of change in the world, individual people need to make decisions for the greater good, even if it feels like a drop of rain in the ocean.
I told her that she is lucky that she's never caught anything nasty in her 50 years, because there are a lot of horrible things out there. They both said that they aren't going to start washing their hands. I might keep this in mind the next time they offer me something to eat.
