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Where did all the public bathrooms go?

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Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#61
post #17

Strange "For the Classroom" question. Men seeking same-sex encounters transformed the pissoir into something its planners never intended. Who ultimately determines the meaning of a public space: its designers, authorities, or the people who use it? The law determines that public space can't be used for any sexual activity. I'm not sure what constructive classroom discussion you can have when the example is based on t…

It sounds like, of the three options given, you are squarely in the “authorities” camp (although it seems to me that you interpret the question as asking what you believe should happen, whereas it appears to be asking what happens in practice). Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the other points of view?

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#62
post #20

I was in France recently and used a public restroom. It had an attendant, and a fee of €0.50. Charging for the restroom is unfortunate, but this setup is certainly better than eliminating public restrooms entirely.

That practically ensures that some people who have to go really badly, and for whom €0.50 is a big deal, will just drop their business on the sidewalk.

> but this setup is certainly better than eliminating public restrooms entirely.

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#63

Something else I've noticed, garbage cans are disappearing. I had some trash in my car I needed to get rid of: McDonalds? None outside, Tacobell? none outside, CVS? none outside OR inside, The entire rest of that shopping center? nope. Luckily gas stations still have them but its sad to see these community service type things disappear.

In city centers it's usually counter-terrorism: it's easy to throw a timed bomb in a metal garbage can and flee the scene, so they got rid of them (London did because of IRA, and of course now they have Islamic terrorism). Outside of city centers it's about (lack of) recycling: it's easier to check if you're recycling correctly in your home bin than public bins.

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#64
post #8

I am going to start calling the reduction or removal of minor things that helped society "micro regressions".

I’m not sure it’s a regression really

If you look at a graph of the world population it’s seems clear to me that freely available common resources are just going to continue to get overused and ruined as we continue to add people to the equation

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#65
post #8

I am going to start calling the reduction or removal of minor things that helped society "micro regressions".

Micro-regressions will largely be in the realm of charity and hospitality as society has aggressively embodied capitalism's cost and benefit analysis.

Don't forget privacy

Feels like tons of micro regressions around our expectations of privacy these days

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#66
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That practically ensures that some people who have to go really badly, and for whom €0.50 is a big deal, will just drop their business on the sidewalk.

The only place in France I have seen this happen was Paris and public toilets are free there. I haven't seen paid toilets at all in France for a long time, actually. Maybe in train stations though.

This was a year ago in Nice for reference.

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#69
post #66
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only place in France I have seen this happen was Paris and public toilets are free there. I haven't seen paid toilets at all in France for a long time, actually. Maybe in train stations though.

This was a year ago in Nice for reference.

Oh I don't doubt you, I was just reflecting that I think that paid toilets have largely been made free in the last 10 years or so.

But I'm sure there still exist quite a few, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were especially found in right-wing cities like Nice.

Re: Where did all the public bathrooms go?

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah you have to actually hire people to clean them and patrol for homeless weirdos. Which is why in my country they cost money. I never really understood the economics of public restrooms in America. Who pays for them?

We thought it was mean to homeless people to make them pay for bathrooms and made it illegal to charge. Then once bathrooms because a massive cost center, we closed all the public restrooms and made it a sex offense to piss outside. So now instead of making homeless people pay $1 for a toilet, we throw them in jail at a cost of $100k/yr. Thank these folks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_End_Pay_Toilets_i.…

Where are we throwing homeless people in jail for pissing outside?
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