Is public urination immoral?

[billwald]

Yes. It is unhygenic. Not many things smell worse than urine on a hot summer day.

 

[RavenPoe]

New York can get that tendency to smell like urine on the weekends, so I'm not a big fan of public urination.

The Shewee looks cool, but you can make a cheap alternative with one of those medicine spoon things. Just melt a hole into the bottom. After all what is good for the goose... Can't let guys have all the plague-spreading to themselves.

 

[ReverendDG]

its moral as long as i can write my name in the snow!

 

[RavenPoe]

Watch out where the huskies go
Don't you eat that yellow snow!

 

[Futuwwa]

It's morally acceptable if you find yourself some shrubbery to pee in, as the shrubbery will soak it up, and probably appreciate it too.

 

[Verv]

I'm fine with public urination being legal as long as both boys and girls are allowed to do it, and as long as people don't do it in places where it doesn't rain - like in subways and car park stairwells, people, that's horrible - or on other people's property.

There's a house in Brixton with a sign on the door that says "DO NOT P*SS HERE - IT IS OUR DOORSTEP, NOT A TOILET." Seems fair enough to me.

Women also peeing in public? I imagine that as quite a trip. Perhaps it is fathomable in a skirt or dress but any other notion seems really odd to me. A man is capable of doing it with all subtlety, merely giving the world his back; that is partly why it is acceptable.

It is not indecent.

Plus women ought to be more feminine (and men ought to be masculine); just as it is unacceptable to me to have a woman peeing on the streets I would be disappointed in a friend who was too chicken or lame to not want to pee in the street.

It's morally acceptable if you find yourself some shrubbery to pee in, as the shrubbery will soak it up, and probably appreciate it too.

Yeah, everyone wins here!

 

[cantata]

Women also peeing in public? I imagine that as quite a trip. Perhaps it is fathomable in a skirt or dress but any other notion seems really odd to me. A man is capable of doing it with all subtlety, merely giving the world his back; that is partly why it is acceptable.

It is not indecent.

What if a woman used a device which allowed her to pee standing up without exposing her backside, as some people have provided links to earlier in the thread?

I don't think the law should discriminate.

Plus women ought to be more feminine (and men ought to be masculine); just as it is unacceptable to me to have a woman peeing on the streets I would be disappointed in a friend who was too chicken or lame to not want to pee in the street.

Well tough, I'm afraid not everyone wants to squeeze into your anachronistic ideal gender roles.

 

[catlover]

The Land of the Big Chicken has passed a new law on public urination. While the practice was banned previously, the new law makes it quicker to ticket and fine someone for doing it.



Full article here. It may require a free registration to view (I usually make the information up or use BugMeNot.com).

So, I wanted to throw out the following questions:

• Is public urination immoral? Why and how?
• Is it unhygenic? Why and how? If so, is there a way to make it hygenic?*
• Is this really just a plan to force the homeless to stay elsewhere?

I'll pop back in later with my thoughts on the matter.

* Which reminds me -- one of my goals is to see a Urilift in action before I die.

It depends...if someone whips it out and starts peeing blatently where I can see them, or hear it...well...that's not nice.

Be discreet.

 

[catlover]

edit

 

[Eudaimonist]

Plus women ought to be more feminine (and men ought to be masculine); just as it is unacceptable to me to have a woman peeing on the streets I would be disappointed in a friend who was too chicken or lame to not want to pee in the street.

It is masculine to urinate on the street? It seems to me that this wouldn't be a gentlemanly thing to do (in the presence of women), and that trumps a vulgar "masculinity" every time.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Verv]

What if a woman used a device which allowed her to pee standing up without exposing her backside, as some people have provided links to earlier in the thread?

I don't think the law should discriminate.

I think it would be disgusting and strange, inappropriate for children.

Well tough, I'm afraid not everyone wants to squeeze into your anachronistic ideal gender roles.

Then they can live somewhere else.

I am afraid not everyone wants to live in your image of the world, either.

We cannot live in the same place, Cantata.

It is masculine to urinate on the street? It seems to me that this wouldn't be a gentlemanly thing to do (in the presence of women), and that trumps a vulgar "masculinity" every time.


eudaimonia,

Mark

I think in most cases it would be appropriate. Not in front of a dinner party but outside the bar or near the subway station -- why not some ally way urination? It is something to chuckle about.

 

[cantata]

I think it would be disgusting and strange, inappropriate for children.

So women's urine is somehow more terrifying than men's? What is the difference? I think those little shewee devices are brilliant; I'll probably get one. Are you really saying that me peeing with that in an alleyway is worse than a man peeing in an alleyway? He's at more risk of exposing himself than I would be.

Then they can live somewhere else.

I am afraid not everyone wants to live in your image of the world, either.

We cannot live in the same place, Cantata.

Luckily, you're not legislating. I'm pretty sure that if any civilised country made public urination legal, they'd make it legal for men and for women.

I think in most cases it would be appropriate. Not in front of a dinner party but outside the bar or near the subway station -- why not some ally way urination? It is something to chuckle about.

Your misogyny runs deep, Verville. Men weeing: hilarious! Women weeing: MAY SCAR CHILDREN FOR LIFE.

Very rational.

 

[BillSMG]

No, just stay away from high traffic areas!

 

[Bombila]

Jmverville, surely you're joking.

Public urination loses its amusement value as soon as the stink starts. I used to have guys pausing to urinate under my first floor flat bedroom window, which looked out on an alley at an apparently convenient distance from the tavern. Disgusting, rude, thoughtless.

Do men actually have smaller bladders than women, or do they just not care?

 

[Darkhorse]

Immoral? Having an insufficient number of public toilets is immoral...

Consider the fact that the original purpose of women and girls wearing skirts was so that they could relieve themselves outdoors without exposing themselves. There were no gas stations and fast-food restaurants (with restrooms) everywhere a century or two ago, and "public" urination was a necessity, at least while traveling in the country.

I will say that using a sewer grate would be much better in a city, though

 

[cantata]

Immoral? Having an insufficient number of public toilets is immoral...

Consider the fact that the original purpose of women and girls wearing skirts was so that they could relieve themselves outdoors without exposing themselves. There were no gas stations and fast-food restaurants (with restrooms) everywhere a century or two ago, and "public" urination was a necessity, at least while traveling in the country.

I will say that using a sewer grate would be much better in a city, though

Well-said!

 

[Eudaimonist]

Consider the fact that the original purpose of women and girls wearing skirts was so that they could relieve themselves outdoors without exposing themselves. There were no gas stations and fast-food restaurants (with restrooms) everywhere a century or two ago, and "public" urination was a necessity, at least while traveling in the country.

I've always wondered about that. I had assumed that the purpose of skirts was "easy access", but your interpretation sounds more plausible.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[WiredSpirit]

Okay, I have one funny story and one serious thought. I'll start with the funny story.

I used to work at a Shell station that locked the doors and operated through a window at night. Sometimes people would be obvious what they were doing outside. The window and counter where I worked was at the corner of the building and people would just walk around the corner and go. We had cameras but they didn't pick up much at nighttime, sometimes just a bold-legged shadow near the building. It was obvious what they were doing because sometimes they'd still be zipping up when they came back around the corner. It was also obvious and somewhat amusing when a whole van or bus load of people would come up and several had to go. One night though a guy was hanging around the parking lot sitting on a trash asking people for money can so I called the police to run him off. Guess what he was doing when they pulled up? He got a public intoxication ticket and nothing else. I don't know what they'd do if he wasn't drunk, if they could have done anything.

Having been in that situation before, my best advice is not to be an exhibitionist about it. If a cop can see you, you're not being discreet enough.

I used to make a habit of getting plastered at a bar downtown and being to drunk to go home I'd go to the riverfront and sit in my car for a couple hours or get out and walk it off. I frequently had to find discreet ways and places to do it.