Guys, I’m noticing a trend in men’s restrooms. It’s our inability to take a single second to properly throw away a paper towel after drying off our hands. This is no longer just a thing at the stadium during sporting events, but it’s in the workplace, at restaurants, and men’s restrooms everywhere.
I have some theories on the root causes:
- A fear that there is something lurking in the trash can, prohibiting someone from properly pushing down the other paper towels to make room for their own.
- A missed hook shot from someone that used the paper towel to open the door when leaving the bathroom.
- Afraid that the paper towel will self-destruct if they take it with them and throw it away somewhere else.
- The thrill of being mischievous since no one is looking and there are no cameras in a bathroom.
- Just not giving a poop! (lol… kind of ironic though)
Well, there is a bit of good news. At least these guys are washing their hands.
So you may be wondering why I am bringing this up and why does it matter?
I’m a firm believer in the broken windows theory. Paraphrasing, the theory states that visible signs of crime create an environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes. And that policing minor crimes helps create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness, thereby preventing more serious crimes. Basically, fixing visible broken windows in a neighborhood helps to prevent other crimes.
I find myself now feeling like Jani-Tony, cleaning up men’s restrooms wherever I go. At first, it was annoying and sometimes weird. However, I started to realize that my initial instinct was to pick up the trash anyway. I would then quickly rationalize the thought away since the trash was not mine. I have just started picking it up, not caring who did it and putting it in the trash can. I feel better and I bet that the next person that comes in the bathroom will properly dispose of the paper towel vs. adding to the mess.
We applied this when I was on the alumni housing board for my college fraternity. When we made minor, yet very visible repairs or enhancements on our 75- year-old fraternity house, it translated into pride and the members taking much better care of the house.
To bring this closer to home, think about the dishes in the sink at your house. If there is a sink full of dishes, do you just add to the pile and walk away, or do you start doing all the dishes right then and there (even if they aren’t your dishes)?
I don’t want to claim to be a saint. In addition to being a culprit of the bad dish behavior above, my wife Katie likes to remind me of the time I was the designated driver at a training class with two colleagues that had flown in from Singapore. I was at a stoplight and spit out my gum on a grassy median. So I had just proven the point on why there was a chewing gum ban in Singapore, with two people from Singapore in the car! I tried to quickly make an excuse that a bird would use it for a nest. They didn’t buy it and I definitely never did it again.
So if we start with the restrooms, our streets, our parks, our waterways (see the guys in this American Family Insurance commercial featuring JJ Watt cleaning up their river), and communities and our planet will start looking better.
We can do better.
Whether someone is looking or not.
Whether it was ours or not.
So when you’re out walking your dog, hiking a trail, or walking to work, pick up that trash that you see and properly dispose of it (and for the love of god please don’t flick your cigarette butts out of car windows!)
The better our communities look, the better we will treat them.