Unwashed and unkempt

Have you no pride in your appearance?

Published on November 27, 2004 By dharmagrl In Misc

I had the great misfortune of standing in line behind someone who smelled bad today.

This man....was overweight, wearing pants that were so dirty they were shiny (I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about), a shirt that had big yellow stains blooming from under the armpits to halfway down the sides, a long greasy bead that had what I presumed to be bits of food stuck in it, all in various stages of decay, long greasy hair and green teeth.

The stench.....made me almost gag. It wasn't body odor,it was waaaaay beyond that.... this was stench. This wasn't a fresh BO smell either. This was days and weeks of being unwashed and wallowing in his own filth. I've had cause to work with corpses in various situations, and I've tolerated the smell of a 3 day old un-refridgerated body better than the rankness of this dude. D was standing next to me with his hand over his mouth, his thumb covering his nostrils. I wish I could have done the same, but my hands were full.

We talked about it on the ride home....how in the hell can anyone stand to let themselves get like that???? I mean, I know that you're immune to your own stink, but this was insane. It was unhygenic. It amde me want to come home and take a shower, as if standing that close to him somehow contaminated me.

You know, I don't shower every day. Every great once in a while I'll let myself go....but it's not routine, and if I saw (or thought I saw) someone in proximity to me covering their nose because I smelled you can bet your ass I'd be scouring my body with soap and hot water at the next opportunity.

Why do people not clean themselves? A bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo and a stick of deodorant cost less than $5 if you buy the cheap stuff (which is just as effective). Is it a pride thing? This isn't even really about appearance...this is about hygeine, basic human hygeine.

Yet another thing to add to the ever-growing list of things I don't understand.....

Comments

crimson

on Nov 27, 2004

Is it a pride thing? This isn't even really about appearance...this is about hygeine, basic human hygeine.

In most cases, I think its a combination of complete self-denial and mental instability. It truly is a reflection about how a person feels about themselves. I also think it's somewhat related to another blog that you wrote about dirty homes. They need help to realize how they are really living, but it is a somewhat unapproachable subject. Most people shirk at the thought of having to tell someone that they need to bathe... really bathe. A friend of mine is a jailguard and has mentioned the condition of more than just a handful of prisoners upon entering. The stories that she told me were unbelievable....

Sad, isn't it?

dharmagrl

on Nov 27, 2004

Sad, isn't it?

Yes....I would want someone to tell me! Not in a 'you fucking stink' kind of way, but a 'i really was hoping to not have to talk to you about this but....you have a bit if an odor issue and i was hoping we could come to some agreement on how to handle it' kind of way.

Icky icky poo poo. Makes me shudder and get nauseated just thinking about it.....

TasT

on Nov 27, 2004

Dharma,
I'm right with you here girl, I just don't understand......

While in the service we had a guy that had all the necessary item right there for him, he just refused to wash. He was literally dragged into the shower in his underwear one night and washed with a stool brush, bar of soap and a firehose. The fear of that happening again didn't even completly fix the problem. He would only shower if he thought someone was going to jump his case.

Texas Wahine

on Nov 27, 2004

While in the service we had a guy that had all the necessary item right there for him, he just refused to wash. He was literally dragged into the shower in his underwear one night and washed with a stool brush, bar of soap and a firehose.

How can someone be OK with that? If someone ever told me that I needed to be cleaner, I would be in tears, and I wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Yet another thing to add to the ever-growing list of things I don't understand.....

Me, too dharma . . .

Danny Bassette

on Nov 27, 2004

I can kind of see not washing yourself if your not going to be smelt by other people, but you saw this guy in a line, so he was clearly out and about. I wonder what his home was like...

iamheather

on Nov 27, 2004

My husband was kicked out of the Boy Scouts for giving another boy a bar of soap for Christmas!

TasT

on Nov 27, 2004

My husband was kicked out of the Boy Scouts for giving another boy a bar of soap for Christmas!

I guess they didn't see the humor.

I got kicked out of the Boy Scouts also for other reasons though. I'll blog about it sometime.....

BlueDev

on Nov 27, 2004

I mean, I know that you're immune to your own stink, but this was insane.

You know what, I'm not. Maybe it is a curse, but I see it as a blessing. I can always tell when I am getting a bit ripe (like if I have gone a couple hours after a workout without a shower). Helps keep me clean.

I don't get it either. I can see letting it slide on occassion, but just flat out disgusting? Uh-uh. No comprendo.

iamheather

on Nov 27, 2004

I guess they didn't see the humor.

I got kicked out of the Boy Scouts also for other reasons though. I'll blog about it sometime.....

I think he was just living up to the Boy Scout ideal of helping others, but they had a different view.

Blog about it Tast. I would love to read!

MarcieMoo

on Nov 27, 2004

After TasT's article...I'm a bit hung up on the overweight issue.

I'm overweight. And therefore, people seem to think that I'm dirty. And...as a matter of fact. I'm not.

Granted, the apartment isn't always the cleanest...my clothes don't always make it into the hamper, and I rarely make my bed with hospital corners, but I DO take care of myself.

I shower at least once a day. I wash and condition my hair. I wash behind and in my ears, my neck, my pits, all the crucial areas that would normally stink. I do that EVERY day. And then...when I'm done with that...I put on CLEAN clothes (unless I'm cleaning the apt. or something...then I don't really care)...I won't even wear pants twice like lots of people. I put a liberal amount of deodorant on, dry my hair and style it in a becoming manner.

My shoes stink. My pits stink if I forget the BO killer or something. But just because I'm fat does NOT make me dirty.

I was in San Diego, CA this weekend, and I saw many more thin unkept people than overweight unkept people...

Spc Nobody Special

on Nov 28, 2004

ALL RIGHT ALREADY, I get the hint.........sheeesh (goes off to take another bath..........man, you work on your car for a little while.....)

alison watkins

on Nov 28, 2004

Haha--great article Dharma! I work at a library and I just helped a stinky patron. PU!

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