Just Wash Your Hands Please

Antoeknee
2 min readApr 27, 2021
photo [CC BY-SA 2.0] 2018 by Ted Eytan

A Grandma walks into a restroom at Sears and starts washing her feet. The other women in the restroom protest and “a clash of civilizations [brews] in the Sears bathroom.” Obviously, the other women in this situation are in the wrong and they should have just swallowed their pride and tolerated the other person’s culture whatever it may be. Doing so results in a more diverse community with more diverse ideas which is a win for everyone, therefore this is the best course of action right? While it is a step in the right direction, we can go even further. If this situation were to play out in a truly diverse society, then the situation would look something like this. A grandma walks into a restroom and starts washing her feet. The other women in the restroom wash their hands and leave. End scene. Notice how there was not even acknowledgment of the grandma from the other women. A truly diverse society would not tolerate other cultures, it would just exist without caring about other cultures, everything would be normal to everyone. Life is too hectic and short to care about everyone who crosses paths with you. There doesn’t have to be an epiphanic moment where you become the better person for tolerating someone else’s culture, nor does there have to be some altercation where each side chucks harsh remarks at the other, just mind your own business. And wash your hands, please.

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