I notice a lot of people
complaining about riding MUNI and BART — most of them are techies.
With all the damn scooters
and Ubers around, you would think the techies wouldn't bother with
plebeian transportation. Yet somehow these “germophobes” find
their way to the rest of us who ride on public transportation in SF
(San Francisco).
The main complaint? The
homeless and their GERMS!
The techies have never heard of hand sanitizer apparently.
Sure, MUNI and BART is gross at times. I've seen my share of: vomit,
piss and shit. That's the whole human race though — we're all
really animals, it's just some are better at disguising this defect
and we call those types: The Privileged.
I wonder at this trend of privilege and germophobia. Turns out it
started in the Victorian age as in, the age of sickness, fever,
plagues and death.
They never washed their hands in those days. Sewage was out in the
street and there were no antibiotics or vaccines then. Penicillin
(which I'm allergic to) didn't exist yet. Those were times to
be afraid of germs.
But a new germophobia continued throughout the age and it turned into
a new kind of threat: the immigrant germ phobia.
In Jack Herrera's article on Pacific Standard
(https://psmag.com/news/studies-show-fears-about-migration-and-disease-are-unfounded)
published online in May 15, 2019, the racist agenda is still at work
when it comes to blaming any new plague on the immigrant population.
The US has a notorious reputation for denying entry into the country
based on a health inspection where anything from lice to a cough
could put you back on the boat.
The most threatening fact is that the current Trump administration is
trying to use this tactic again with refugees coming into the US.
Other than the total racist agenda at work, the claim that immigrants
bring diseases is, to quote the article, unfounded. It's rather the
poor conditions people have suffered through that leads to the spread
of disease — most of which can be cured with simple medicine and
better living standards.
I've seen my share of the “immigrant condition”. Readers who have
followed me know I live in Chinatown, the last place in SF where the
rent isn't $3K-$4K. But not for long. Whole blocks are torn down in
SOMA to make way for the rich condos that all working-class in San
Francisco can't afford to live in. Those who can't afford the hefty
price of “luxury” have to settle for run-down wrecks known as
SRO's, the old barracks of the working-class and a shameful reminder
of San Francisco's marginalization of the non-rich population.
The filth I've witnessed here is best left unsaid but I blame it on
poor conditions: no bathrooms in the units so 10+ people on each
floor share a bathroom, and poor hygiene awareness. Many of the folks
in the building are old and are not aware of how to properly “clean”
themselves or the bathrooms they use. Slop buckets must be popular in
China, where in most places there is no sewage.
I've had my share of disgust and contempt here. What makes it worse
though, is the knowledge that there is nothing else around... as the
rich techie kids make AirBnB rentals out of the SRO's in Chinatown —
resulting in higher rents. I'm quite disgusted with it all.
These over-privileged kids make a big deal about how they don't want
to get their hands dirty — especially when they've never done a bit
of hard work in their life. I've done more than my share of “dirty”
jobs and I'm not ashamed. Working in an animal shelter removed
whatever squeamish reaction I would've had to anything grungy. I've
also been a care-worker and seen my share of human filth. I'm pretty
much immune to it. That being said, I hate being sick and manage to
avoid it. I only get sick about twice a year, and that's with
everyone coughing on me and me riding the MUNI and BART. Why am I not
dead yet?
Too much germophobia can be harmful. My grandmother put bleach in
everything, even the food. She'd wash vegetables and soak the fruit
with a drop of bleach, just like she was told to do in her day. I
never quite understood this hysteria she had for germs but she'd tell
me horror stories constantly of people catching tapeworms, E. Coli.,
dysentery and other horrible diseases — all because someone didn't
wash their hands.
I gather the task of keeping the household germ-free fell mostly to
women, as my grandfather never worried himself over this and
certainly my father, who fished in the wilds and slept in his van
sometimes, didn't bother himself over. I was reminded yet again, how
the system of oppression against women works in such conniving ways.
The war on germs came from doctors, as they were likely paid by
commercial companies who sold soap and bleach to ward off the evils
of filth. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” was pushed to the
extremes during the 1950's because what else did women have to do
when they came back from the World War Two factories and jobs? They
went back into the household to have babies and the men from war went
back to work, leaving all the women alone to fend for themselves in
the next invisible war: contagion.
Worse than the Cold War, this was a war with no visible weapons and
woman's only defense was the shield of chemical compounds known as
bleach and other abrasive, poisonous ingredients. Why on earth would
women use such dangerous chemicals? Fear. It was widespread through
ads warning about what could happen to the children, should they come
across the infestation known as germs. Won't you think of the
children? The ads screamed from newspapers, magazines, radio and now
TV ads.
And
yes, women were to blame for their unhygienic condition too. In
Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English's book, “Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness” (Feminist
Press, 1973) there was widespread belief about a woman's body and her
“cleanliness” factor. Men's disgust of women's bodies spread into
the medical field as doctors told women to douche with bleach... down
there.
Although
these ads are clarified now as a false method of birth control, the
bleach douche was nevertheless touted as a way to make women's bodies
“odor free”. Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean... as
conclusive evidence points out that douching with bleach is more
likely to kill you than cure you of anything.
My
grandmother told me her doctor advised her to follow this horrendous
and life-threatening act. When I asked my grandma why, she just
shrugged her shoulders, “That's what they all told us then, we
didn't know any better so we just did as we were told.” I'll also
point out that a few doctors almost killed her with their ineptitude
and blatant disregard for her health.
Doctors
did a lot of harm to women and the trend continues today.
Germophobia
takes its toll in more ways than you'd think. Being afraid of germs
can take a toll on your psychological and social health. I remember
as a kid being afraid to touch the toilet seat for fear I would catch
something... as my grandmother falsely believed, I could possibly
catch AIDS. I was afraid to use public toilets at times. I chastised
my friends for not washing their hands and in return I got funny
looks from them and later had to eat lunch by myself. On a personal
note, my fear of germs also damaged my intimate relationships to
where I was constantly afraid of catching an STD from skin contact or
kissing... until I finally got over it and learned about safe sex.
Germs happen and you just learn to live with them.
Now
I'm living in poverty, I just don't care anymore. I figure the germs
already had a chance to kill me when I visited Thailand a while back
and now here in Chinatown I think my immune system has seen it all.
I'm still here. I still wash my hands. I'm more lackadaisical about
hygiene when it comes to doing the dishes, the laundry and riding
public transport.
These
days the only disease I'm afraid of catching is the incurable
contagion known as: The Rich. Their
disgusting, unfounded disdain and hatred for the poor is the most
disgusting thing I've ever seen. You can't sanitize that. We have yet
to make a vaccine against the entitled assholes in San Francisco and
the rest of the country. It's a hard enough job cleaning the putrefied dump in the White House.
