I’ve had this theory for awhile that I call the Clean Bathroom Theory. Silly, right?
But, have you ever visited a dirty public restroom? Toilet paper on the floor, messy toilet seats, wet counters, paper towels that seemed to have missed their target. I shamelessly admit that I become a little more careless in bathrooms like these. If a scrap of that one-ply toilet paper should float to the floor as I attempt to yank it out of the dispenser, I may just leave it there. It’s already a disaster in there, right? What does that one scrap of paper matter?
On the other hand, when I visit a virtually spotless bathroom, I do my best to keep it that way. Uncharacteristically, I find myself wiping down the counter and sink after I’ve used them. I do a double-check to make sure everything looks great before I exit.
I think this is also illustrated so well in a study my friend recently heard about. With two people asking for money on the street, many passersby were more likely to give money to the gentleman dressed in a suit and tie who looked just recently down on his luck, rather than the gentleman in tattered clothes, who looked like he had been on the streets for quite some time. How curious. Perhaps people felt the tatter-clothed man was a “hopeless” case and the suit-and-tie man might just be okay again with that extra $5 in hand. Perhaps some people could more easily see a bit of themselves in the suit man and therefore felt more sympathetic towards him. Whatever the reason, I find it fascinating and saddening that the man who probably could have used even more help was more often ignored.
I think the “clean/dirty bathroom theory” carries over into so many parts of our lives. People in debt may think, “I’m already so far over my head, what does this one extra credit card purchase matter?” Students who have been labeled as “troublemakers” might see no reason why taking part in another trouble-making “incident” will make any difference at this point. When people hear about the toxins in their food or household products, they might just figure it’s a hopeless case to try to change things. And when people hear about the “sad state” of the environment, they seem to care even less. What does that extra styrofoam cup or extra car on the road matter, if everything is already so dismal?
Ugh! I find this attitude so frustrating and yet I can completely relate. It’s easy to do our parts when it seems like everything is almost there. It’s fun to donate to a cause when the thermometer poster is almost at the goal. The tough part is when you’re looking at an enormous, almost impossible-looking mountain before you and really recognizing that each step gets you closer to where you want to be.
What I need to remember is that whether the bathroom is clean or dirty, whether the state of the environment is great or not, my actions and non-actions really DO make a difference.
How can we get people listening to the seriousness of our sweet planet’s situation, while not overwhelming them into a state of apathy?