To tell this man what he's doing is disgusting?

[Helpinsuchapickle]

warning. May make some people feel a bit sick

walk to school and back every day, there is one basic route from my house (so I can't go another way before it's suggested).

I pass by a fellow school childs house early on and the father and I often end up walking close to each other. We don't talk as he doesn't speak English bar a few phrases.

Here's the problem. He spits and blows his nose constantly. Not into a hankie, but onto the floor. He hacks up phlegm very loudly and really fires it out. And when he blows his nose he covers one nostril and blows everything out through the other one. Everywhere with no tissue.

It actually makes me heave. I've been late to school before because I've had to hang behind him and wait for him to get a good deal ahead of me because I couldn't listen/see it.

WIBU to say something to him?

It's literally every day I see him hack something up.

LOL at the idea that it's 'cultural'.

It's not 'cultural'; it's just not deemed completely grim and disgusting in some cultures. There's a difference.

Our taxi driver in Shanghai hoiked out the window every couple of minutes as we flew down the motorway. We wound the back passenger window up and pressed ourselves up against the diagonally opposite back seat, in order to avoid any backwash.

Phlegm and mucus is grim at the best of times, let alone some random stranger's actually on you.

Uurgh, I sympathize. I'm an expat in Guangzhou, China and a lot of people do it here. It's not even discreet, you can hear the noise they make halfway down the street!

Much cleaner to get it out onto the street!!

Hardly!

Aside from the streets being awash with it, if you don't have a tissue, isn't residue left on your nostrils and mouth?!

🤢

Oh THIS gives me rage - man serving me in my local newsagent did it tonight just casually standing by the till making all those phlehm noises and screwing up his face like he was about to projectile snot all over me. I did say something - along the lines of 'are you ill? Why are you making those VILE noises? Jesus' and he just looked at me and said sorry but will probably do it the next time. I despise when people do this, honestly. I want to scream 'get that dirty filthy habit and noise away from me NOW!!!'

Just to add - if I see people do this on the street I turn around and throw them a filthly look (yes I am so mature and grown up 😂)and loudly say something which conveys my genuine disgust. They still continue to do it I'm sure - but I really cannot help myself. It makes my blood boil.

अवैध

Copy and paste this and print out larger . Hold that up to him. It means illegal and you say ah vay id (the d sound at end is aspirated.

गंदा

Or this ...

I live in Saudi. I feel sorry for my husband because whenever you walk past the men's bathrooms you have to cover your ears, the noises are heartbreaking 🙉

Pretty much all men from the Middle East and any Asian country East of here do it. Constantly spit, phlegmy noises and nose emptying. Thankfully I don't see too much of the nose blowing or I'd cry.

Apparently only the men have a need to publicly reject their bodily fluids. I've never seen or heard a woman do this in the street. The Filipinos don't really do it so much so I'm going to say the Philippines latitude is where it stops being a thing 😂. None of the younger Arab/Asian professionals do it either so there must also be an age factor.

Only westerners pull faces at it so I guess it just isn't seen as rude.

By all means try and tell him it's disgusting, but there's a high chance he won't understand your or won't give a shit. I'd vote for avoiding him if possible.

I can't bear this, I see it an awful lot where I live and when I've been to certain countries on holiday. Yes it is cultural, it seems it's very common for many countries in Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

The funny thing is, I only EVER see and hear men doing it. Never the women. It's absolutely disgusting and incredibly unhygienic, the dirty bastards.

Might be cultural in the place where he grew up, but he isn't living there, he is living here where it is considered fucking disgusting and is known to spread disease.
Everyone should adapt their behaviour when they are in a different country, you can't expect to move elsewhere and carry on the same.

Only on MN would it be suggested that you take flowers and apologetically ask a disgusting person to stop spitting and snotting on a public pavement.
Fuck that.
He needs telling one way or another. But not with a gift.

I don't think by saying it's a cultural thing anyone is trying to excuse or minimise it though, are they? I think people, including me, are merely pointing out that in certain Asian cultures it's extremely common and they don't see it as a big deal. It doesn't mean we should have to tolerate it though and if I were the OP I'd have shouted at the filthy bastard to learn some manners.

As soon as I read the thread I knew the man would almost certainly be from Asia and most likely from from China or India, or somewhere very close by. Even if the OP hadn't mentioned that the man didn't speak English I would have happily put money it that he would be of Asian heritage.

I couldn't hold back - I'd have to thrust a box of tissues at him.

I know you said you can't walk to school another way, but can you at least walk up the other side of the street to avoid him?

Couldn't give a shit if it's cultural. We don't do it in the UK. It's absolutely disgusting.

It is a cultural thing, and shouting "DIRTY" at someone will not help!

Well it would help me.. I'd get an enormous sense of satisfaction from it. Filthy fucker.

This is on of the reasons TB is on the rise again in this country.

But because it's a cultural thing nothing will ever be said about it, instead we all have to put up with this disgusting, filthy habit, and the health and hygiene consequences of it.

Why do people do it though?! I've never needed to spit apart from if I've been really ill and coughed something up and then used a tissue. Or the sink at home. I blow my nose in a tissue

Years ago I worked with a young woman that used to do this. She didn't spit but used to hoick it up and swallow. The first time I heard her I thought she was choking on chewing gum or something but soon realised it was a habit. The noise was astonishing! She used to complain constantly that she couldn't ever get beyond more than one or two dates with anyone. Not a shock.

Sadly its cutural and not seen as doing anything wrong. Used to be illegal many moons ago due to tb spread.anyone remember...coughs and sneezes spead diseases catch them in a handkerchief

It's disgusting and I find it offensive-this is the reason places like Newham in London has problems with a recent emergence of TB!

Some white (and often male) runners do this as well.

I don't think this chap is going to respond to any intervention. Spitting, gagging, belching and farting openly are done with pride and bravado. I bet he has no idea that this revolts you, much less cares.

Just cross the street to avoid him.

We saw a similar thing with a Chinese or Japanese guy (not entirely sure where he was from) in the very cramped Pancake House queue at Center Parcs last year! He wasn't blowing it out onto the floor, just holding one nostril with his finger and hocking back the phlegm!
It was gross.....in a very confined space.

Then, I read somewhere afterwards that it's a cultural thing and that actually swallowing your own phlegm was a good way of stopping a cold.....something about the virus going into your stomach that signalled to your body to fight it? That wasn't probably all made up from a dodgy website but it explained why he wasn't using a tissue or hanky.