Where’s a Man Supposed to Piss?
A white, law-abiding Capitol Hill resident discovers an angry black man pissing in the metro station and argues (among other things) that the "man does not deserve to walk among the rest of us law abiding citizens who only want to improve Capital Hill and make it a better place."
Courtesy of Amanda Hess, "Tony's" full post on the New Hill East Yahoo listserv:
Last night as I left the Stadium/Armory metro south exit an man was urinating on the metro elevator. I told him that was not a bathroom. He immediately flew into a rage, shouting at me, "You ain't a cop, so fuck you. I'll piss where I want. I'll piss in you mouth you mother fucker. Black people were here before white people. I'll kick you fucking funky ass, mother fucker. White people shouldn't be around here." I educated him that white people were here before black people, and before that native Americans. Of course this ignorant racist couldn't care less about the facts. He's black and a victim, so fuck me.
I walked away, fearing for my life and safety. I called 911 and reported his crimes. Urinating in public is a crime. Threatening to assault someone is a crime. Add in the racism and the assault threat becomes a hate crime.
People make the ghetto. This man does not deserve to walk among the rest of us law abiding citizens who only want to improve Capital Hill and make it a better place, and a safe place to raise a family.
If you encounter people like this, report them to the police so they can be brought to justice for their crimes.
If you never wipe away the shit, it will always be a crappy place.
I identify with Tony's disgust over being told that "whites shouldn't be here." Such sentiments mirror--at least in spirit--southern laws from the early 20th-century that required African American laborers and servants to leave white towns by sundown or risk lynchings or incarceration. But I'm disappointed that Tony's response was, in effect, "we were here first." Referencing by implication colonialism and the slave trade in order to one-up a bigot is like competing in a racial pissing contest: we all lose, and we stink afterward.
Otherwise, Todd is a perfect example of the middle-to-upper-class DCer who'd rather pop pustules (with police assistance) than tackle the actual virus. If Todd were slightly less dense--perhaps a self-righteous progressive instead of a paranoid yuppie bigot--he would've wondered why the man didn't relieve himself legally in a public restroom. Next, he would have bemoaned D.C.'s dearth of public restrooms: According to the www.thebathroomdiaries.com (an excellent guide to potty stops), the only "free" restrooms in D.C. are located in government buildings, none of which are open 24 hours a day. His next move--because it's clear Todd really cares about "improv[ing] Capital Hill and mak[ing] it a better place, and a safe place to raise a family" (and using the state to do so)--would've been to call for lots and lots of public toilets, and an army of custodians to keep them stomachable, and signage discouraging Craigslist random encounters and drug use, and a handful of handsome MPD dicks to bait and bust the pervs.
But it's likely beyond Todd (and most of the decision makers in the District) that locking up public urinators or building public restrooms don't reflect the full spectrum of choices. But getting beyond that very expensive, very ineffective Either/Or proposition means confronting the deep causes of poverty and crime, like the drug war, poisonous entitlement programs, and a failed public school system.
Until then, I'm going to look the other way the next time some broken booze hound whips it out in public--I'd probably do the same damn thing.
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3:34 pm
I think you misread him. He's saying that DC (and Capitol Hill in particular) was predominantly White before it was predominantly Black. You hear so many lectures around here about "real" "long term resident" Washingtonians, but you don't usually have to dig very far into these "real" families before you find a bunch of North Carolinian transplants. Although, you probably can't blame Mr. Pisser for thinking the way he does. The DC government (and DCPS in particular) happily bandy about a DC history that begins with the Great Migration.
All well and good, but it erases generations of Germans, Irish, Greeks, Chinese, Jewish, etc. from the historical memories of our town. No ethnicity "owns" this town or its neighborhoods, and anybody who would suggest such a thing is ignorant and racist. They may be acting out this ignorance and racism out of good intentions or simple self-defense, but it's ignorant and racist nonetheless. (And obviously the same could be said for all those Germans, Irish, Greeks, etc. who segregated and then abandoned DC in part because of ignorance and racism).
And seriously, don't try to turn this into a social services complaint. There are bushes right there he could have used discreetly. This guy chose to piss on the elevator because he has absolutely no respect for anything besides himself.
3:34 pm
And I'm not talking public bathrooms (although I hate those too)...
in the Metro if one is defecating, that individual should be promptly pushed in front of the next train. If you can't hold it till you get outside to pee in bush (perfectly acceptable)...you don't deserve to be riding Metro.
Better yet, pee on the cop who will soon be awsking to look in your bag. You can make an argument that it is political speech and artful commentary on Metro's unconstitutional searches.
3:54 pm
Pissing in a bush instead of the metro = a fair compromise.
4:14 pm
I wish that the White man had kept his comments to himself and just beaten the black parasite. There's no sense in trying to reason or even talk with blacks. Also the White man sold himself short he shouldn't have been intimidated by a loud-mouth black. Poor White guy probably has not had enough experience with blacks. Those of us who live and work around them and with them know they're just windbags. Blacks make excellent punching bags and I hope the White subway rider will learn this from experience.
One more point- I am offended by the post's reference to the black as a man. There is no such thing as a black man.
4:23 pm
Ah, thanks Lyn. Nice to see this get linked on the batshit-crazy racist message board.
4:48 pm
I'm unclear on this point, Riggs---you were disappointed that the guy referenced "colonialism and the slave trade in order to one-up a bigot," but referencing Jim Crow lynchings is A-OK?
4:53 pm
But I didn't mention it to assert that southerners were there first.
7:24 pm
Tony's response was a provoked defense, not any sort of celebration of "colonialism and the slave trade." He goes on to say that Native Americans were there before whites; to me, the conversation seems more historical trivia than editorializing. You seem to be the only one (Metro pisser excluded) who places himself in the historical tradition of victims of lynchings and slavery.
7:47 pm
I'm admittedly confused as to the purpose of this article. A quick shot on racism? Or a quick shot on politics? Might someone elucidate this for me?
8:50 pm
Just go to mizpee.com if you need to find a clean public toilet.
Saves you all the headache!
9:37 pm
There are no public toilets in D.C. because people abused the privilege and given the average resident's poor work ethic, and the ingenuity of the average DC degenerate, there is no possible way that public restrooms in D.C. would remain clean, safe, and homeless and cruising-free. Look at the Union Station restrooms and tell me how great the idea of widely-available public restrooms are.
10:15 am
If I catch you urinating in the Metro, Riggs, I will resort to violence. That will teach you the difference between the exercise of civil liberties and swinish behavior.
Apparently, some citizens see public urination as their inalienable civil right, some sort of affrmative action, if you will. Such citizens must be opposed by all means necessary.