Friday, February 26, 2016

People Who Spread Stomach Viruses Should Be Punished

Before I had Nadia, I didn't get stomach viruses, because I am a clean person who washes her hands regularly, and doesn't eat in dirty places.  However, once I found myself spending sixteen hours a day in close contact with a toddler, that all changed.  Because Nadia does not share my commitment to hand washing, and does not understand about germs, or the mechanisms by which viruses are spread.  Also, she wants to be cuddled while she vomits.  Apparently she finds this comforting.

Anyway, this isn't news to anyone with kids; we all know that they're little germ factories.  But they are not the reason why stomach bugs continue to plague the world.  Nope.  Because a small baby or child can't spread its germs all around town without a horrible nightmare of a parent who takes that child out and about, and lets that child touch things and put things in its mouth and slide its diarrhea encrusted butt all over surfaces everywhere.  

The way stomach bugs spread is through fecal matter.  Do you know what that means?  People are literally walking around with feces on their hands and touching things.  There is absolutely no excuse for this.  And yes, I know that it only takes a tiny speck of microscopic fecal matter to spread the illness, but I don't care.  That shouldn't matter if you're thoroughly washing your hands and staying at home while contagious.  I don't want to hear any fucking excuses.  Wash your damn hands PROPERLY, and DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE IF YOU HAVE VOMITING OR DIARRHEA.  DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD OUT OF THE HOUSE IF SHE HAS VOMITING OR DIARRHEA, FOR ANY REASON EXCEPT A HOUSE FIRE, OR AN EMERGENCY ROOM VISIT, OR A PHARMACY VISIT.  THAT'S IT.

I don't even understand how people CAN leave the house when they have stomach bugs.  When I have one, I can't get out of bed, much less put on an outfit and head to a restaurant and rub poop on doorknobs, as people apparently do.  

I get so angry when I'm talking to a mother who says "Oh, yeah, yesterday Dakota had a really bad stomach bug."  Umm, ok, then what the fuck are you doing at the park today?  Get Patient Zero back home until he's been at least a full 48 hours without symptoms.  He may seem to be feeling ok, but you don't know!  He's still a big maybe in the wellness department.  He could blow at any time!  

My big pet peeve right now is people who change diapers and then don't wash their hands, claiming that they "didn't get anything on their hands."  These people don't understand science, or how particles work.  Just because you don't have literal globules of shit on your hands, that doesn't mean they're clean.  Tiny particles of feces flick and scatter when you wipe a child's ass.  That is fact.  WASH YOUR HANDS.

This blog has been disgusting and angry.  I am aware of that, and I apologize a little.  But it's nowhere near as disgusting as the filthy degenerates who go around spreading this shit and ruining my life.  

If you're sick with a stomach bug, don't assume it's food poisoning, or that you're not contagious.  Stay home, a day more than you think you should.  And wash your hands, regardless, always, frequently, and well.






Monday, February 22, 2016

Evolution and Hate

The general theory is that human emotions have good, biological, evolutionary reasons.  For instance, love has an evolutionary explanation, in that if I love someone, I will try to help and protect that person, giving that person a better chance at living and reproducing, and so on.  Therefore, people who are able to give and receive love reproduce more and pass those love genes onto their offspring.  Fear keeps us safe from harm.  Jealousy makes us protect what's ours and strive for more.  

But what about hate?

On the surface, it would seem that hate has no good evolutionary reason.  After all, hate is one of the greatest destructive forces known to man, and countless atrocities are committed because of it.  It would seem that hate, as an emotion, would have died out long ago if it were purely detrimental.  We are socialized from the time we're small children to believe that hate is a very, very bad thing, and that we should avoid hate at all costs.  It's ok to dislike something, or be annoyed at someone, but hate?  Never!  

And yet, people keep on hating.

I think there are two kinds of hate.  Destructive hate - the kind that causes us to harm others, and constructive hate.  Yeah, I said it.  Hate can be constructive.  Let me explain.

I have hated three people in my life.  Deep, true, fierce hatred the likes of which I hope never to experience again.   It was a deeply unpleasant feeling.  I'm not going to go into details or name names - the purpose of this isn't to bad mouth anyone.  But I believe, in retrospect, that this hatred did in fact serve a positive purpose in my life.  These three people showed me the absolute worst of humanity.  They showed me how really, truly awful people can be.  And my hatred of them caused me to actively avoid being like them.  

Now, obviously this is not going to be a popular opinion.  And I would like to repeat here that destructive hatred is always bad.  You should never harm others, even if you hate them.  Period.  But constructive hatred that influences you to take a morally productive, healthier and overall happier path in life shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.  


This has been a blog post by Dana Hammer, Evolutionary Psychologist, and Explainer of Mysteries.  Mike drop.