Features, Sounding Off

Bad Habits That Need To Go

Image of Rochelle Gonzales

*DISCLAIMER: Don’t read this if you are just sitting down to eat or if you are queasy*

There are many different types of behaviour and bad habits that society will generally turn a blind eye to, even though we all know the actions are wrong.

There are cases where people will stop to call out or tell off the person committing those acts but in general, when we see those bad habits being acted out in public, the most that the majority will tend to do is turn up their noses and or turn their heads away.

But there are some bad habits that should never be ignored…in fact, even though they might seem small to others, I personally think the people acting them out should be heavily punished.

We are not talking about the odd littering (which I also hate by the way and think it’s a big deal) or talking too loudly and making a scene in public…nah, I’m talking about the kind of behaviour that can make you sick to the stomach…literally.

People, when did it ever become ok for someone to place their finger on one nostril and blow out huge globs of phlegm from the other nostril onto the pavement?

Just about two weeks ago, I almost lost my rag when a man walking straight towards me proceeded to do just that…right in front of me and just continued walking along like nothing happened.

I swear, I almost attacked him! I still don’t know what stopped me but to this day, I still regret not giving him an uppercut in that disgusting snout of his!

But anyway, Let me not speak of or incite violence…Violence is never a good thing, ok?

Skip to this morning, an old man walking slowly in front of me did the same thing and I had to dodge treading in his nasty green mess.

By this point, my “Respect your elders” mantra just flew out the window and this man was nothing more than dirty old “Git” to me now.

Could you picture the scene? Ok, well yeah, actually I understand why you wouldn’t want to picture it, but that’s just the point. No one wants to see something like that so why are people still doing this without getting fined for it?

And whilst we’re at it, I would like to throw this in the court of those who spit on the pavements as well. Oh and the bare handed nose pickers who then proceed to touch surfaces that the rest of the public touch, like door handles etc.

You people are SICK!

I know our law enforcers are inundated with work which is way too important to place on the back burner for small fry tasks like these but in my foolish opinion, law enforcement could have a domino effect… a positive one if done correctly. In my opinion, we have to return to the days when public service announcements against these kinds of practices are repeatedly aired so that our people can understand that such practices are just not acceptable.

Further, if it is possible to punish people who break these laws, they will see that law enforcers are very serious about upholding those values and standards that we all have a right to expect from our fellowmen. It will also ensure that there will be more discipline and respect for the law and for each one another by members of the society.

You might think my words are nothing but wishful thinking but they are very much possible.

But before anyone thinks I’m bashing the police for not doing their jobs properly, I’ll go back to the nasty people doing this.

How is one supposed to know whether you have TB or something? What if your greenies land on unsuspecting passers-by? What are tourists supposed to think when they come and find that they have to play hopscotch, skipping over patches of thick phlegm?

How do you do things like these and then expect any kind of respect, to the point where you want to fight if someone calls you out for your nastiness?

And then we turn and look at the stray dogs on the street calling them disgusting when all along, we have some people who behave worst than the defenseless animals. What about all those people, men especially, who urinate all over the city leaving such a repulsive stench in areas like the Castries market?

I don’t even think I need to stress on how disgusting this is…I can’t even write this article without having chills run up and down my spine.

I bet many of you readers have witnessed this, wouldn’t you feel absolutely disgusted if even for a minute?

Mr. Francis, whilst you and the rest of the government are shaking up the GOSL, could you please address police complacency as well because the blatant disregard for the laws deemed too important is having an adverse effect from this practice of turning a blind eye.

Please don’t disregard these matters as unimportant.

Rochelle entered the Media fraternity in May 2011 as a fresh-faced young woman with a passion for the English language, a thirst for worldly knowledge and a longing to inform the world of what was happening around them, whether it was good or bad.

She began as part of a small news team at Choice Television, which falls under the MediaZone umbrella. She was hired as one of the original members of the newly created Choice News Now team...Read full bio...

 

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