Dear Editor,
It is often that I like the letters written in to your paper. The letters are thought-provoking, and sometimes they are funny. I always look forward to reading them on Monday, or sometimes I read them on Tuesday if on Monday I am too busy.
I understand also that you print the letters that are sent to you and do not usually reject letters. That is a good practice, because it stops discrimination and censoring. If you were to pick and choose everything you want to print, and turn away everything you found distasteful, your readers would not be able to trust that they are getting objective news.
Nevertheless, I am certain you do not have to be printing letters like the one that appeared in your paper last time. Is it maybe true that you did not get enough submissions, so you were forced to print a letter about “urinal etiquette”? It is not everybody that is so interested in the details of men’s urinating habits. Next you will have “stall etiquette”? But that would be disgusting!
I have one more thing to say about it. I do not even think the argument presented in the letter was valid. I for one am always grateful for the urinal walls. They protect my privacy. And I do not think the morals of our society can degrade so easily just because they are not practised. In fact it is my belief that most men still know how to behave themselves.
I certainly do.
Aleksi Zloczewski
I understand what you are saying Aleksi.
The letter was a bit dumb and I didn’t find it funny (probably because the writer was trying too hard to be humorous). Most of the things cited were childish “do not take the middle urinal under any circumstances”: what, are you 12? Grow up.
When I saw the headline my first thought was of cleanliness. Despite your belief that “most men still know how to behave themselves” they most certainly do not know how to clean up after themselves. Our janitorial services are amazing and every morning the washrooms are cleanly and fresh. Then these hyenas come in and piss all over the seats (literally ALL OVER), refuse to flush and litter the ground with toilet paper. It is gross. Moreover, from what I have gathered, the women’s washrooms are not much better.
So yeah, men can behave or, at least, construct the appearance of behaviour, but there are many out there who are disgusting, unclean and disrespectful (to other students and, most importantly, to the people who maintain our washrooms). You may not have an “interest” in “washroom etiquette”, but I have a strong desire to reach out and get those swine out there to understand that it’s pathetic the way our washrooms are used. Is it a major issue? Of course not. But sometimes, things need to be published that do not appeal to the audience at large.
Unfortunately, the writer of “urinal etiquette” missed the mark. Thanks for your post: The Medium needs more participation; it is out forum after all.