Let’s charge more people for spitting in public

I don’t get people who spit in public.

There’s nothing much that’s more disgusting than hearing a big hork followed by a loud pitoo when you’re walking down the sidewalk. Certain people get into this offensive habit and can’t seem to shake it. It becomes part of who they are.

It’s a sad thing when people — and it’s mostly a guy thing — are so devoid of social morals that they think spitting in public is in any way necessary or acceptable. That’s why I was heartened this week when bylaws court Judge Joan Hughes slapped a guy with a fine and banned him from the Lansdowne Street bus exchange for smoking and spitting in violation of a posted sign.

But, really, do we have to post signs to tell people not to spit? It’s not only repulsive, it’s unhealthy. There could be all kinds of things in that saliva — keep it to yourself.

There should be a new penalty in hockey — two minutes for spitting. I shudder to think what the player’s box looks like after a game. The poor guy who has the job of cleaning it up afterwards should get danger pay.

Baseball players are no better than hockey players, but have you ever noticed that tennis players — male and female — don’t spit while they’re on the court? Why is it that tennis players, whose sport is every bit as physically demanding as any other, don’t feel the need to spit?

Now, they do a lot of grunting and shrieking, but I’ll take that over spitting any day of the week.

Bylaws officers would be doing us all a favour if they’d haul a few more people into court like they did Stephon McKay, the offender at the bus exchange.