OT - Please Help Ladies!! Restroom Etiquette - Your Opinions Needed!!

perhaps its a different sense of humour.
whats amusing to some cultures is rude to others.
sometimes it just seeing the silliness in some situations.
i'm seeing how 'mr bean' or 'black adder' might cope.
jeanne

Queen of Squishies writes...
| Oh puleeze! I was just too tired when I read this, I know. I know I
was.
| But I just couldn't stop laughing when I read this.................. oh
my,
| wiping the tears, and gasping for a normal breath..........
|
| Karen, Queen of Squishies



"Marie Lewis" wrote...
| There is obviously a difference between our countries as
| regards the furnishing and use of disabled toilets.
| --
| Marie Lewis
|
|
| Please explain why.
|
| Perhaps there is also a difference between our understanding of the word
| "use".
| In English English, it means both what one does sitting on the loo and
| the way one enters and leaves the cubicle plus the rules as to who is
| allowed to use it.
|
| Anyway, I am so pleased that you are so amused by such minor things: it
| must brighten you life.
| --
| Marie Lewis

Are you laughing at those poor disabled toilets? Tsk Tsk...
Diana

--
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44
"Queen of Squishies" wrote in message
k.net...
Oh puleeze! I was just too tired when I read this, I know. I know I was.
But I just couldn't stop laughing when I read this.................. oh
my,
wiping the tears, and gasping for a normal breath..........

Karen, Queen of Squishies


There is obviously a difference between our countries as
regards the furnishing and use of disabled toilets.
--
Marie Lewis

I have a disabled toilet. Well, not totally disabled. The seat is detached
on one side but if I'm careful I don't end up on the floor.
--
Ruth in Happy Camp

"Queen of Squishies" wrote in message
k.net...
Oh puleeze! I was just too tired when I read this, I know. I know I was.
But I just couldn't stop laughing when I read this.................. oh
my,
wiping the tears, and gasping for a normal breath..........

Karen, Queen of Squishies


There is obviously a difference between our countries as
regards the furnishing and use of disabled toilets.
--
Marie Lewis

And for other people who have had emergencies, I bless and thank you. Years
ago when we went to Oysterfest in Rockport, I apparently ate something that
was not stored or cooked right and very suddenly had to go to the bathroom.
There were lines in front of each of the 30 Porta-Potties. I went up to the
lady at the front of one line and asked if she would let me in ahead of her.
My face must have been as green as I felt, because she did. Hearing me
throw up must have confirmed my emergency, because I heard her tell someone
else that I was sick.
Otherwise, I wait in line with everyone else.

Nell in Austin

"Teresa in Colorado" wrote in message
nk.net...
All they have to do is ask.
I've let people ahead of me when they asked, due to an emergency
(handicapped or otherwise).

--
Teresa in Colorado

The Presser Foot
Sewing Machine Sales, Service, Supplies, and More
www.thepresserfoot.com
--
"Marie Lewis" wrote in message
...
In article . net,
Jalynne writes
I would always let someone who is obviously disabled go ahead
of me.


What about the disabilities that are not obvious?
--
Marie Lewis

To be honest, not much when she was young. When we did, the hotel counted as
"home".
N

"Marie Lewis" wrote in message
...
In article , NBennett
writes
I would never take a 3 yr old to an opera because they couldn't behave
appropriately. I also
wouldn't take a child of the opposite sex somewhere where the washroom
situation was not
suitable to the child's age. This means if the child was not old enough
to
go to the washroom alone,
I wouldn't take him/her far from home.


Do you never go on holiday?
--
Marie Lewis

Shelly: I have no objection to your opinion of wanting to keep
men out of women's toilet facilities, and visa versa. I would
prefer to keep some distance too. That is not why I called you on
this. My objection was to your bold statement telling Marie that
she can and should do her private activities without assistance.
You may know some of her problems, because of some of her
statements here, but to make that statement was going away from
the general caring tone of this NG. I prefer tactful and kind
posting. Now I will prefer to talk about quilting, so let's flush
this tread away!
PAT in VA/USA

I have been reading this thread with some interest. I am a male with a
hidden disability (autism) and I wear a medic alert and because my
neurology is so screwed, sometimes it is very dificult for me to....GO.
(I guess this would count as invisible disability. You'd never
know I couldn't go just by looking...)

I also, coincidentally, happen to make a living as an advocate for the
disabled. So being in both situations, the disabled and the advocate,
I thought I would give my male opinion on some things said in this
thread...

1) When is the right age for the child go in alone?

This one is tough. I had a very bad experience in the mens room when I
was a teenager (I wrote privately to a couple of you about that), but
at the same time, you can't hold onto them forever. One thing that was
not mentioned was about the others when the parent is waiting outside.

If a kid needs to go and the parent (read: MOTHER) wants to wait
outside, I am okay with that. But I can tell you as another male, that
I have problems with her calling in. Not because I care if she even
comes in and "sees" something, that wouldn't bother me, what DOES
bother me is the mother asking her boy if he is okay because if he and
I are the only ones in there, it makes me feel guilty, or makes me
wonder if the mother thinks I am up to something with him, when all I
am doing is my own business!

When is it safe? If my own experience is any indication, the answer is
NEVER. Because you never know who is waiting, regardless of what age
you are.

2) Handicapped Stalls

I use them. Always.

Unless I am at the urinal, I use the handicapped stall. It is bigger,
it is more comfortable, it is easier to go. And I am sure there are
women here who will have a problem with that simply because my own
disability is more neurological than physical. But I will do whatever
I need to do to get that stuff out of me (which is never easy,
regardless of which way I need to go) and never have I had a situation
where some physically disabled person came in while I was going.

That said, if someone like that DID come in, I would be the proper
advocate and vacate so they could use that particular facility.

3) Men/Women

I do a lot of public speaking at disability conferences around this
country. Most of them are average 85% female in attendance. This can
lead to big problems.

More than once I have been going and women have come into the mens
room. My take on this is LET THEM COME. I am in there because I need
to relieve myself. If they need to do the same thing, I would rather
they come in and go into the stall while I am going than stand outside
and be uncomfortable. If there is a stall available, then they are
free to use it, far as I am concerned. And if they happen to see
something while I am standing there, I could care less. I mean it
isn't like they have never seen male anatomy before, is it... We are
all adults. Do what you need to do and leave.

4) Assistance

This one is also touchy. I can fully understand where some of you are
coming from regarding same sex assistance. And for the most part I
agree with you.

There ARE advocacy laws on the books about this. If I remember right
(and it has been years since I took this particular course), if a
female has a male assistant, the male must go into the womens room with
the female. It is allowable and legal if the female is not able to go
alone.

It is fortunate that we do not come across this very often. I have
never had to do it in my work (there were always ways around it at the
time), but I know other advocates who have.

Pesonally I think we should move into the 21st century and do away with
the separation of men and women. That would solve a lot of problems.
But unfortunately there are a lot of idiots out there so it would also
create a lot of problems. And since we all have no choice but to GO
every now again, I guess we have to do the best we can with what we
have.

Oh yes, one final advocacy comment. If you, AS THE MOTHER, have some
sort of "uneasy feeling" about your son going in alone, IT IS OKAY to
act on that. Yes.

Because you are probably right.

Thomas

http://www.thomasamckean.com
Colonel, HOKC
Member, ASA, Board of Directors, 1992-1994, 1997-2000
Author, Soon Will Come the Light: A View From Inside the Autism Puzzle
Author, Light On the Horizon: A Deeper View From Inside the Autism
Puzzle

Oh yes, one final advocacy comment. If you, AS THE MOTHER, have some
sort of "uneasy feeling" about your son going in alone, IT IS OKAY to
act on that. Yes.

Yep, and you know what else? I am really sorry, but if it makes you
uncomfortable for me to call in to the bathroom after my kid "Hey, are you OK
in there?", you'll just have to be the big boy and get over it. Kids,
protection thereof, and Mama Bears are just that way, I guess.

I like the new bathrooms in our local mall. They are "family equipped", and
that means that at any given time any gender adult can be in them with any
gender child. There are also "attendant" restrooms, where it's only a bathroom
with a handicap fixture, and the attendants are easily accomodated.



The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized
LC in Sunny So Cal
Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

Yep, and you know what else? I am really sorry, but if it makes you
uncomfortable for me to call in to the bathroom after my kid "Hey, are you OK
in there?", you'll just have to be the big boy and get over it. Kids,
protection thereof, and Mama Bears are just that way, I guess.

I understand it. I don't like it when I am going, but I understand it.

Thomas

http://www.thomasamckean.com
Colonel, HOKC
Member, ASA, Board of Directors, 1992-1994, 1997-2000
Author, Soon Will Come the Light: A View From Inside the Autism Puzzle
Author, Light On the Horizon: A Deeper View From Inside the Autism Puzzle

I think one of the nicest things I've started seeing more and more are
"Family Bathrooms". These are individual bathrooms separate from the men's
and women's, and it allows caregivers of the opposite sex to go in with the
person without worry of offending anyone else that may be in there.