Sitting vs. squatting in public restrooms

Public toilets are an area of great divide. This week, Kristen Mae wrote a plea to women to just sit down.

I agreed wholeheartedly with what Kristen said- her complaints are complaints I have often voiced myself. How hard is it to clean up after yourself? How can you justify leaving a gross mess behind for somebody else to clean?

Then I read the comments, where more than one woman suggested we should all squat because they feel no obligation to clean up after themselves.

WHAT?

I swear I am not making this up.

A quote from Katie: (edited to eliminate profanity)

"hell no. no way. i try to wipe the seat after myself but i dont always. and you couldnt pay me to sit on public toilet seats. im 20 weeks pregnant, still squattin strong. squat or die b@#$hes! "

When someone responded negatively to her comment, this woman went on to say:

"if you would actually take a minute to read what i wrote, i said i try to clean up after myself. and so what if i occasionally leave the seat dirty? maybe you should have some standards for yourself and not sit on public f@#$%ing toilet seats. sicko."

So what if I leave a seat dirty? Seriously?!? So I and women like me are sick for expecting this woman to not leave puddles of her urine on a toilet seat?!? Is that really too lofty a goal?

What about the females not physically capable of squatting over a toilet, Katie? The small children, old ladies, disabled girls? Should they be expected to clean up your mess because they can't squat like you?

How sad that this woman feels entitled to leave her soiled mess for someone else to clean up. Katie, you are part of the problem.

hell no. no way. i try to wipe the seat after myself but i dont always. and you couldnt pay me to sit on public toilet seats. im 20 weeks pregnant, still squattin strong. squat or die bitches! - See more at: http://www.scarymommy.com/why-women-should-sit-down-on-public-toilets/#sthash.8EVksz06.dpuf

hell no. no way. i try to wipe the seat after myself but i dont always. and you couldnt pay me to sit on public toilet seats. im 20 weeks pregnant, still squattin strong. squat or die bitches! - See more at: http://www.scarymommy.com/why-women-should-sit-down-on-public-toilets/#sthash.8EVksz06.dpuf

hell no. no way. i try to wipe the seat after myself but i dont always. and you couldnt pay me to sit on public toilet seats. im 20 weeks pregnant, still squattin strong. squat or die bitches! - See more at: http://www.scarymommy.com/why-women-should-sit-down-on-public-toilets/#sthash.8EVksz06.dpuf

When teachers are human.

I have tremendous respect for teachers- they are right up there with cops and fire fighters doing amazing work you could not pay me enough to do. The vast majority of my teachers were amazing. They worked really hard for what was really low pay (Catholic school salaries) and I am grateful to all of them.

I read an article today about a teacher who bullied a student, and I thought about a math teacher I had in High School. Not a bully. A tough teacher who picked on me. Nothing was done like what the teacher in the article did (and in the interest of full disclosure, I was no darling in those days either) but it made life harder than it needed to be.

But my story has a satisfying ending:

I missed the start of the school year due to an extended holiday so when my uncle came to America for the first time, he would not have to travel alone. I arrived for my first day three weeks later than my fellow classmates. (In fairness to my parents, there was a teacher strike for some of that time, so the class time I missed was significantly less.) I was a decent student and figured I would catch up.

The math teacher gave a chapter test on my second day back, and I got a 47%- which I thought was pretty good considering having only a day to learn the material. Have I mentioned that math was never my strong suit?

Anyone who failed the test had to stay after school and correct it using the textbook and class notes until they achieved a passing grade (70%) so I was there for a while. When I finally finished and the teacher reviewed it for accuracy and gave me permission to go, her parting words struck me.

"I guess that will teach you to stay in Ireland."

As the school year progressed, Math continued to be a struggle. I failed the first semester with a 67%- the first time I didn't earn at least 2nd honors since I started High School. And I really got the feeling she picked on me. I dreaded going.

But maybe she picked on everybody and I was just more sensitive.

"Nope," my good friend Frank assured me at lunch one day. "She is definitely picking on you."

So it wasn't all in my head. And really, there was nothing to do about it because I didn't want to be moved to a different class.

This was an amazing teacher- I struggle with advanced math on my best day, and this teacher was able to deconstruct the hardest problems so that we could see how to proceed and get to the answer. Other friends taking the same course with a different teacher were struggling and we would face state exams at the end of the year. We had to know the material. I stayed put and worked to improve my grade and learn the material.

Things came to a head in the Spring. I was in school with a low grade fever because I was on attendance probation and could not miss any more days. When I got to Math class, I was struggling to follow along- it was warm in the room (A/C was not a feature at the school) and at some point I set my head down on my desk.

I got detention for sleeping in class.

Okay.

I got to the detention room after school, set my head down on the desk, and was told by the moderator that I was not going to sleep there like I had in math class. I struggled to stay upright and serve out my hour, knowing it would take an hour and a half to get home.

My math teacher arrived and pulled me out of detention to speak with me about my poor attitude. We went into the resource room and  once inside this person lit into me about being disrespectful. I answered that I wasn't trying to be disrespectful, I just felt sick.

Why had I not just stayed home?

I explained I was on probation and had to come no matter what. Which brought up the Ireland issue again. Our argument was taking on volume as it got more heated. I was told how I thought this person was a bad teacher and I interrupted.

"I have NEVER said you were a bad teacher, I would NEVER say that. Everyone knows you are the best math teacher in the school. I said you picked on me. Because you do- from the start of the year." 

I mentioned how my friends were struggling and worried, but how I felt confident I was in decent shape to pass the state exam. But I was picked on in class to the point that other students had noticed.

The year moved on towards summer. Class was better- it was still math but I didn't dread it. I sat for my state exam and felt confident leaving when it was over.  I ran into my math teacher and was asked how the exam was (our own teachers were not permitted to proctor our exams) and I said I was sure I had passed. I was congratulated- my teacher was genuinely happy for me.

I was happy for myself- this tough teacher got me through my last year of high school math and because of my state scores, my college exempted me from Math 101.

NASCAR so far 2015

Bullet points after week two of the 2015 season: 

The Sprint Unlimited went to Matt Kenseth.

Budweiser duel one went to Junior, and Jimmie won duel two.

Jeff Gordon won the pole at Daytona.

Joey Logano won Daytona and the pole at Atlanta.

Jimmie ended up started in 38th and still taking the checkers. 

And all that is awesome, but NASCAR made quite a few headlines for all the wrong reasons:

13 teams could not get through tech at Atlanta in time to qualify, leaving Gordon, Jimmie, Matt Kenseth, and Smoke at the back of the field. 

Travis Kvapil's car was stolen and by the time police found it, his team had to withdraw from the weekend's events. 

Kyle Busch has a broken right tib-fib and a broken left foot after slamming a cement wall during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona and will be out for we have no idea how long- my best guess is another 13-14 races, coming back mid June. It could have been so much worse... On the plus side- he will be home with his baby after he/she is born in May. Get well soon!

And of course the HUGE NASCAR story is the indefinite suspension of Kurt Busch. 

My bias about Kurt Busch is due to Ryan Newman being bumped (No room for a fourth car) and the Gene Haas starting a 4th team to hire Busch. Not nice at all. Rocket Man is a class act and took second last year (What do you think of me now, Gene?) but I still didn't like it. 

That said, something smells bad about this indefinite suspension. Last I checked, Kurt Busch has no charges pending, he has not been indicted, so why the suspension? 

Tony Stewart had a grand jury deciding his fate and he was allowed to race. A good thing since he was never indicted.  Because it was an accident.

More importantly,  in January of 2014, Travis Kvapil  PLEADED GUILTY to the charges of misdemeanor assault and false imprisonment as part of an agreement that will dismiss the case after he completes two years of probation (at least one year of supervised probation) and 72 hours of community service. He had to pay $460 in fees and court costs and must attend an anger management class. And what did NASCAR do to him? 

He is still racing. 

So let’s review- 

Kurt Busch- not even charged yet, but suspended indefinitely.

Travis Kvapil- guilty of DV assault on his wife, on probation, but racing as long as nobody steals his car.

What a difference a year makes.

Travis Kvapil’s crime was before the NFL screwed up with Ray Rice when he beat his fiancé, now wife. Kurt’s came after.

I do not know what happened between Kurt and his girlfriend- that is for the court to decide. But how on earth, NASCAR, is it okay that Kvapil is on the track? He actually said he did it. Where did you sanction him?