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Is America Really That Bad?
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this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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No Stupid Questions
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Our tap water is in crisis. What hasn’t been privatized is either being operated with outdated technology, or being polluted, and EPA protections are being weakened by the Supreme Court.
And, in most of America there aren’t freely available public restrooms. They are all located in businesses that will outright deny you access, or force you to make a purchase. Their policies allow them to discriminate against the unhoused, and the disabled.
I am an American, but I’m not going into I get into the broader discussion here, just had to respond to your two points, as they don’t seem grounded in reality.
Walk around in a major city and you'll notice there are outright no bathrooms available to the public, or paying customers only.
I guess the one argument for "public restrooms" is rest areas along major highways and restrooms in public (usually national or state, not little municipal) parks.
So we do have public restrooms...they're just nowhere near 99% of the population most of the time.
At least we don't have to tip someone to get a square of paper lol
You just walk into a starbucks or a gas station. They're all in businesses, but saying you have to make a purchase is straight up false.
Even when you CAN do this, it's usually because the employees are either kind enough or inattentive enough to let you do this. And if you are clearly unhoused or poor, your chances of being able to do this are much, much lower than if you can fit in in a middle class white area. (Restaurants with predominantly poor clientele or many homeless people nearby tend to be much stricter about this.)
Starbucks is iffy but I've traveled nearly every state and never once have I been to a gas station that required a purchase to use the restroom.
Here's what everyone isn't getting.
Public bathrooms are accessible to those that contribute to society.
Not saying this is right, it's just how it is. Even places that have a "purchase policy" don't care, the policy only exists to keep problems to a minimum and is usually only enforced against those that look like they might cause problems.
YOU have never been TOLD a gas station bathroom required a purchase. Likely because you pulled up in a vehicle and look normal enough. But I'm willing to bet money if you wander up on foot and look homeless you'll find out they actually do have that policy.
I've been on all sides of this. As the strung out homeless kid that just wanted a quiet warm "nice" place to do my drugs. Then the struggling young adult having to wash blood, hair and literal shit off every surface in there. And then the manager having to enforce these policies because if I don't my employees (or myself) have to go deal with whatever problems are created in the bathroom (and the WILL be a mess to clean up 98% of the time).
In Switzerland, you have to pay $2 to use the restroom in gas station. But I totally prefer using those compared to the sanity standard of your average american gas station. I can be picky.
Fair enough, gas station bathrooms in the states range from really good to don't fucking touch anything.