comment: >
  
  Why would this be an unpopular opinion? Does someone, like, not want more infrastructure in their cities?
context: Ima have to agree with this, some places definitely do a better place than others, my buddy once had an emergency and we were next to a subway and they held him up and said he couldn’t use the restroom unless he was a customer so he had to buy a cookie… >
  
  Yeah, that’s just so morally wrong. >
  
  But why? They need to be cleaned afterwards >
  
  That's incorrect. They are scheduled to be cleaned at certain times. That cleaning will happen regardless of whether or not that specific person uses it. So it's not causing any extra cleaning.
  Unless you are claiming that where you live they go and clean them after every single person who uses them? >
  
  Okay than… water use and toilet paper use, maybe the trashcan is getting used. All of that causes extra money >
  
  Only toilet paper use in some situations. And even when relevant, it wouldn't even be a pennies worth.
  Minimal water use.
  Incorrect again about the trash can. A bin being used by 1 additional person does not cost extra money. Again, like the cleaning, the bins will be emptied and collected regardless. The only argument you have here is if literally thousands of non-customers are using the facilities every day. And that just isn't realistic.
  If a company is going to stop someone who needs the toilet from going because it might cost them 1p (or 1c or whatever currency) then it isn't logic dictating that choice, and they shouldn't be defended for it. >
  
  You don’t use toilet paper every time?! >
  
  I'm a guy, so no, not if I'm peeing. Same as every other guy. >
  
  You still should use toilet paper to get rid of little drops 🤷🏾‍♀️ >
  
  What makes you think that? I've never heard of that or seen anyone doing it. And at urinals they don't provide toilet paper for you to do it. >
  
  There used to be better access to washrooms but you can thank the druggies, and sex perverts for their demise. >
  
  This would generally lead to spending a lot of money to have bathrooms built that ended up being too damaged and dirty for most people to use. >
  
  Then they should be cleaned and repaired. We can get the money for it >
  
  Would you want to clean them? >
  
  If I was paid enough yeah >
  
  Youd be the one  whos paying yourself....... bcuz your the taxpayer.
  Whats your next genius move? raise the minimum wage to $500 an hour so we can all be rich? brilliant!
  Man I swear some people just dont get it and never will >
  
  So every government employee doesn’t “get it”? Or do YOU not “get it”? Or are you just trolling? >
  
  As someone with IBS-D,  I’ve wondered why there aren’t more rest areas or just public restrooms in general. Especially since Covid and fast food places going drive thru only and gas stations don’t always have bathrooms, sometimes it’s a really big struggle for me. I’ve never had an accident but it’s stressful when I’m out and can’t find a public bathroom. >
  
  Yeah I was going to include the Covid bit here but it got automoderated for having the word Covid. 
  The amount of washrooms closed during Covid was a catastrophe for garbagemen, delivery drivers, and of course people with IBS. it was just plain discriminatory at that point you know? It’s like people don’t have empathy for others if it pertains to washroom issues. People here comment stuff like “why not just hold it until you get home” >
  
  Uhh they would be disgusting. The homeless people would most likely sleep in them and they would smell horribly >
  
  … then the homeless should have somewhere else to sleep >
  
  Why do think they're called "homeless" in the first place? >
  
  I think they mean homeless shelters should be more prominent.  Homelessness is a problem that is routinely pushed to the side instead of being remedied, i.e governments put stuff out to keep homeless people away (obstructions on benches to stop them from sleeping) rather than help them find somewhere to go. >
  
  Do some reading on why the homelessness problem is so difficult to solve. It’s not just building people houses. >
  
  Wasn't proposing there is a magical simple fix, I'm saying governments are barely doing anything to try and are actively making their lives worse. >
  
  Cities are spending literal billions of dollars every year trying to help the homeless. San Francisco spends over a million dollars a year on every single homeless person living there.
  Don’t let compassion get in the way of better judgement. The lengths this country goes to in order to help the homeless is insane. Yet people see benches designed to stop homeless people from sleeping on them and think that the city they’re in is actively trying to screw them over when they’re just trying to stop them from ruining the commons area. >
  
  Where are you getting these numbers from?  According to my research, there are about 7,700 hundred homeless people in San Francisco in 2022.  If they were spending $1 million per person, they'd be spending $7.7 billion each year on homelessness.  This number seems high for a city that has a $14 billion budget.  
  To your point though, it's fair to say that governments might be doing more than I thought.  I will research more. >
  
  You’re right, the number I was using was for the total budget of a program, not for one year.
  Still though, San Francisco is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on programs for their homeless population, despite that it’s still experiencing some of the most rampant homelessness in the country.
  The issue with “solving homelessness is that it isn’t a problem in of itself. It’s a conclusion of nearly every other problem within society. Any potential solution to one of those legs can easily exacerbate another cause in a completely unforeseen way. It’s the same thing with world hunger. >
  
  So I guess you just shat yourself at a bus stop OP? >
  
  No, my friend did >
  
  Dang.... That's shitty. >
  
  Did you really have to write washroom because I kept reading mushroom lmao >
  
  Tf else would I write? Can’t call it a bathroom cuz there’s no bath in it >
  
  Toilet. Shitter. Lavatory. >
  
  I agree, in San Francisco they have really nice, well taken care of bathrooms all over the city. They have a person who stands outside and "manages it" which is key, otherwise it'll get taken over by gross worthless drug addicts or prostitutes. 
  Yes...I know I said gross and worthless. Try living in SF before you downvote me. >
  
  Every Bus Stop?! >
  
  Stop slapping the term "human right" on everything willy-nilly. It dilutes the importance of actual human rights.
  A developing country that can't supply a bathroom at every bus stop is not committing a violation of human rights. There is no need to waste the UN Human Rights Council's time over it. They do not need to be brought up on charges at the Hague. >
  
  Bus stops??? Those are usually just places on the side of the street. You want port-a-potties? >
  
  Bushes are a human right. >
  
  The European Human Rights Convention and the German Grundgesetz both guarantee you the use of a washroom and use of a washroom can't not be denied.
  There have been law suits hammering out this right in the past. For example a little girl, that got denied a bathroom break during class... >
  
  NYC we are looking at you >
  
  I live in a city with public washrooms and they are horrible. Not just unsanitary but they are a nexus for all kinds of illegal and anti-social behavior.
  The problem is not that people don't care. The problem is a small minority of selfish, ignorant and hateful people ruin anything that's free and nice.
  Our city tries to clean them and keep them functional but it never lasts long. I suppose it's better to at least try but the streets of my city are covered in human feces despite offering exactly what you are talking about. >
  
  As someone with IBS I agree there should be more public toilets. I dont care if they're dirty and smell, I just dont want to shit myself >
  
  We have those in Argentina, government owned public restrooms. We need that here too, specially big cities. >
  
  I think we as a society have completely lost the plot on what constitutes a human right.  A practical necessity/nicety is not a human right.  You're not entitled to public, government-funded washrooms.  Are they nice?  Yes, but they're not necessities.  Plus, in most Western countries there are already washrooms everywhere and in most places you are very rarely going to be in a situation where there are no available washrooms you can run to in an emergency, unless you're out in the middle of nowhere, in which case you can go wherever you want so long as you're not exposing yourself to other people in the process. >
  
  In the places I’ve visited in Europe, publicly available toilets are rare let alone free. >
  
  It depends on where you live.  You have to pay fifty cents for the upkeep of many of them, but they are there, and truthfully, comparing the public washrooms in places like Scotland, Germany, Ireland, and France, where someone is actively there all the time keeping watch/cleaning, to the ones in Canada which are just a free-for-all, I’m all for having to pay fifty cents to use the washroom if it keeps the washrooms clean, maintained, and free of druggie needles and other people’s shit all over the place. >
  
  For those who don’t agree, you can’t get mad at people for pissing and shitting in public then. If you got to go then you got to go lmao. >
  
  If your in the UK you can arrested and/ or fined for that! Rule fucking britannia >
  
  We also used to have council run toilets everywhere. >
  
  They still exist. >
  
  In much fewer numbers. These days you often have to find a McDonald's >
  
  Just because you say something is a human right, doesn't make it a human right. >
  
  Yeah, I hate this kind of thinking. Anything that requires another person's labor can't be a human right. >
  
  Lol, people need to get real with their demands for human rights. >
  
  We as a society decide what constitutes a human right. They aren’t written in the sky. >
  
  If it requires someone else labor then it isn’t a human right >
  
  I take it you’ve never been to Europe. You have to pay to use many of the public restrooms there. >
  
  How does that negate my point >
  
  It doesn’t. Rather it points out that even countries with broader social safety nets (e.g., universal healthcare) don’t consider washroom access a human right. >
  
  
  Washroom access is a human right
  
  No it is not. That is literally just misinformation. >
  
  It’s not misinformation, this is literally “unpopular OPINION” 😂 while ridiculous, it’s clear that this is just a belief and not a fact. >
  
  Something being a human right doesn't mean that it's the government's responsibility to provide said right. >
  
  My problem with everything these days being a "human right" is that most of them now conclude that someone else must provide said right by either their money or labor. >
  
  Ha. Tell me you’ve never had to clean a public bathroom without saying “I’ve never had to clean a public bathroom.” 
  Just one story from my experience working in the service industry for 20 years; a sweet little old lady rushed into the corner store where I was working at the time and begged to use our restroom- it was an emergency- and even tho I’d been warned not to let ppl use the bathroom (employees only) I was like omg but she’s old, it’ll be fine, go right ahead. 
  Bruh… still to this day I have NO IDEA how she managed to shit on the ceiling… but she did.
  And we didn’t know why- was she sick? Was it contagious? No one went in and discovered the mess until she was long gone- and she had just slinked out so much as a “sorry” or “thanks.” 
  Either way I wasn’t getting paid enough to clean up raw human sewage so moving forward I had a choice; send the ones who ask away or accept the possible risk of cleaning up their unapologetic diarrhea explosion …. for $8/hr. 
  OP, what would you chose?
  Public Restrooms deff sound like a basic human right- but what about the basic human rights of those who would have to clean them? >
  
  I don't understand how people shit on the ceiling or across the room. It's purposeful and you won't convince me otherwise. >
  
  Human rights this, human rights that. Are you gonna take care of the washroom? Gonna clean the highly infectious fecal matter off the walls every day? Clear out unstable and posibly dangerous people every day? It's fine for you to sit here and expect others to deal with the problem, but at least be honest about the problem >
  
  Yeah I would clean it actually. Just gotta be for the right price >
  
  The "right price" is more than the government  is willing to spend, i assure you. >
  
  Depends on the government I guess >
  
  Nice to have? Yes. Human right? That's a bit much. >
  
  If prisons had no washrooms, I’m sure there would be protests for their rights. The same applies in a free society where accessibility is a key factor. >
  
  When the government is already this bad, you really want them to provide and control washroom access? Oh, lordy. >
  
  It's not a human right. Just go before you leave and keep an eye out if you need one. Most shops have a toilet anyway >
  
  In my experience big cities often do not have restrooms available to customers. I may not have to shit before I leave the house but 4-8 hours later is a different story. >
  
  Often the place to get a drug fix.  Ugh >
  
  It's a very nice thought that would be horrible in practice. >
  
  It would be that easy if people cleaned after themselves properly which is as much of a necessity as the bathrooms they “should be entitled to” >
  
  I agree but wanted to add that fast food places and stores should not be allowed to have a customers only policy when it comes to using their bathrooms. And all publicly accessible places like stores, restaurants, etc. should have public restrooms. >
  
  you'll notice a lot of places don't have those rules. Pay attention to the places that do - usually in areas with lots of crime and vandalism, or just very high volumes of people. the stores aren't trying to be jerks, they are trying to prevent people from coming in and peeing all over the walls in the restroom they provide to customers. they have to go clean that up. it's not a free service. >
  
  There are (atleast here) washrooms at most public places where people can gather.
  Where I live we have two malls and a train station, both malls and this train station has washrooms.
  Most stores (grocery stores etc.) also have washrooms, but you usually have to ask for access to them seeing as they usually are within the "employee only" zone.
  If you go to bigger cities here in Norway you will find small structures outside which are exclusively washrooms (usually "pod"-shaped). And you'll find washrooms in most buildings.
  The only downside with the washrooms in bigger cities is that they usually have a fee. It's only about $1, but still it sucks that you have to pay for using a toilet...
  But those washrooms are usually cleaner, fancier and better than the fee-less washrooms.
  All washrooms in my city are free, which means that they are usually quite dirty.
  The paid ones in a nearby "bigger" city are usually always clean.
  So you pay for quality I suppose, but there should always be fee-less washrooms aswell IMO. >
  
  So if this became a thing then you would be the first in line to be the one to clean them, correct. >
  
  If I was paid well and had PPE >
  
  and yet more money being spent to accommodate your “right” >
  
  They claim to care enough to help but only if they’re paid. 😂 >
  
  Yeah, because who has time to do this stuff for free? Genius >
  
  Grow up. A lot of people give up everything to go volunteer for international aid groups. Why? Because they actually care and aren’t just demanding someone else fix what they perceive as a problem. >
  
  UK has paid toilets. I'd be happy to pay for a toilet >
  
  I have never been in a place where they turned me away for having to use the restroom. And I've been everywhere man. >
  
  Even Narnia >
  
  I may or may not have peed in a wardrobe, what of it? >
  
  Oh! Than your Peeter! >
  
  They have them in most places and have been shut down because people that live in cities are absolutely disgusting.  Even smaller metros I've been in public restrooms at parks and such and every toilet is crammed full of tp and shit. There's random piles of human shit on floors. 
  It was common. But you nasty city dwellers ruined it for yourselves. >
  
  I live on the west coast of Scotland and the promenade at the seafront has 4 free, council ran public toilets along the 5km route. All of them get cleaned at night and replenished with TP. The largest one near town has two permanent attendants to clean the place and chase out potential drug users n'stuff. TBH, the toilets pay for themselves, as without them the town would get a hell of a lot less visitors during spring and summer. >
  
  According to John Locke or?
  Sounds like you couldn't reach a washroom in time, and you were shamed for the consequences of it, and now you've come online to complain about it.
  huh... >
  
  No, that happened to my friend >
  
  That really sucks. I'm sorry. I hope they don't think on it too much. >
  
  If it's criminal to "go" outside, then yes.
  Decriminalize public defecation! >
  
  Certainly would clean up the streets. Human sanitation is important. I did a thesis on it. >
  
  I’d love to read that >
  
  Think of the Amazon delivery drivers >
  
  I agree. In the event that you can’t hold it and want to avoid pissing or shitting on yourself you will be fined or possibly even arrested if caught no matter how you try to seclude yourself. >
  
  Initially disagreed, but considering it is illegal to do it outside, then yeah, makes sense to be a right. However, this would only apply in countries where public defecation is illegal and punished. >
  
  Traveling for work through rural Ohio one day, I got a bad case of the McGurgles from my breakfast. My digestive tract was in full revolt. I pulled into the only place around, a Hampton Inn, and politely explained my situation and asked the desk clerk if they had a restroom I could use.
  Clerk: ‘are you a guest here, sir? The restroom is for guests only.’
  Me: ‘let me rephrase it: in the next 3-4 minutes, I’m going to shit in this hotel, either in the toilet or your lobby. The choice is yours and the clock is ticking.’
  Clerk: ‘it’s down the hall to the left.’ >
  
  In the Upper Midwest (USA) we have really nice "rest stops" along major roadways that offer clean restrooms, water fountains, vending machines, picnic areas, semi parking, and some even have dog parks, hiking trails, and I've even seen native forest/grassland protection programs offering education on the topic.  
  They are very clean and a person can always rely on them being well managed.  We should look into the setup for those and see if we could expand away from major roads and into towns. >
  
  I absolutely agree. I would even be willing to pay extra taxes for cities to implement more public restroom options. It’s an absolute necessity. >
  
  Counterpoint, they shouldn’t be. Have you seen government depts? Those restrooms would likely be disgusting. Then there’s the assumption that everyone’s clean. Unfortunately that’s not the case. For some reason people blow out toilets and don’t clean up after themselves. 
  Instead, you should tip businesses that allow you to use restrooms, specifically gas stations. More often than not, the guy behind the counter is the one that cleans it up. >
  
  Tipping is NOT the solution here. >
  
  Why not? If the guy behind the counter will be the one to clean your shit streaks off of the toilet bowl, clean your piss off of the floor, sanitize the door handles, and spray febreeze after you blew up their toilet, why shouldn’t you tip them? 
  If you’re not a paying customer, you’re not chipping in towards the costs of maintaining the bathroom, so why should you use it? >
  
  Because you have a need. You’re a human being that needs to be rid of bodily waste. You’re also hardly going to be worse than the people who ARE paying so there’s really no difference. Speaking as someone who’s had to clean up after both genders who are clearly raised in fucking barns. >
  
  We could say the same about everything. I am a human being that needs to eat, so why should I pay the restaurant for my meal? I’m not going to eat any more that people who DO pay, so who cares?! Who cares that the waiter will still provide me a service, who cares that the cooks have to prepare me a dish, who cares that the busboy will have to clean my table just the same. I AM A HUMAN BEING AND I HAVE A NEED. 
  Or maybe we can pay people for providing us with the services we use, even if we are just one person. >
  
  You can not eat for weeks, giving you plenty of time to not eat until you get home, you can hold off on peeing for maybe an hour before it starts getting bad. People have died from holding urine or feces for excessive times. >
  
  Nobody has died from holding in their pee until they get to work, or back home. Do you people not have jobs? Are you just outside all day far from home holding in a turd? Like honestly what are you doing all day that keeps you so far away from work or home?
  Go to the bathroom before you leave your home. There you go, problem solved. >
  
  Ok you can’t die but it’s still very bad for you, and times come up when you’re in a rush to get out or the need to go comes later in the day, etc. >
  
  You haven’t answered my question at all. What are you doing all day that keeps you away from a bathroom that is meant for you for so long. Do you not work? There is a bathroom for me where I work. If you don’t work, what are you doing all day that keeps you away from home? Why are you in such a rush to leave if you’re not going to work? How much of a rush can you be in that you don’t have 12 seconds to take a leak? >
  
  There’s really no excuse for not having publicly available bathrooms for those who need it. Seems to be the same argument for UHC in US: “I’m not using it now so it shouldn’t be a thing for anyone else” >
  
  OP has clearly never seen a public bathroom and how people treat it. They are a cesspool of disease and overall disgusting. >
  
  Then dozens of cleaners should be hired >
  
  You think people will clean dirty public bathrooms for minimum wage? >
  
  Who said anything about minimum wage? >
  
  Which government agency is going to manage these government bathrooms, how much tax money are willing to spend on these bathrooms and would you be willing to do the job of keeping them clean? >
  
  That's like saying nobody is willing to be a janitor or a trashman. 
  Well if I'm not willing to do it NOBODY will be! >
  
  Someone just pooped their pants.   
  It can't be a "human right" if it takes the labor of another to build and maintain it. Speech, dignity, respect, equality/ THOSE are human rights. Things cannot be human rights. >
  
  No my friend pooped his pants >
  
  NOPE, it is a PRACTICAL NECESSITY for a clean public tho.  Rights are decided on democratically inside the context of a social system.  There are three basic rights that all reasonable societies observe (still a matter of context as even these are taken away as punishment), but a belief in an objective list of natural entitlements to be paid to you by society is fundamentally invalid. >
  
  THE FLAW IN YOUR LINE OF THINKING is this: the government took away the right to piss on a tree, by making it illegal. Since it took away this outlet to a regular natural need, it is the government’s responsibility to provide adequate alternatives. >
  
  Not really a flaw in my reasoning just a comprehension failure on your part. >
  
  If someone has to provide it for you it's not a right, nor can it ever be.  You can't compel others to do something because it's your "right". >
  
  Then what are medical rights? They're something that are provided by others but we have rights to regardless (at least in Canada we have the right to choose our care provider, our treatment, the place we get care, etc). Even then, the medical rights branch off to provide more rights depending on where you're getting care. 
  There's actually a lot more rights provided by others in some countries than you may assume. >
  
  It's still not a natural right, it's something the government decided they were going to use the money they collect from people to provide.  It's NOT a right, even if the advertising package says it is.
  The closest that medical care comes to being a "right" is being able to access it at will.  That doesn't mean that you have a right to receive it free of charge, or that they should provide you everything you demand.  If you can't afford care, and nobody else (government, insurance, etc) is paying for it, your rights aren't being violated, you just can't buy something you want.
  It's just like free speech.  You have a right to free speech, but that doesn't mean that anyone is obligated to provide you free internet access, or publish your manuscript for free.
  Americans have a right to keep and bear arms.  That doesn't mean that gun stores are obligated to provide Americans free guns or ammo. >
  
  So they would probably get very disgusting unless the government partnered with a private contractor. However we already have a publicly funded restroom and it's called Washington DC. Congress is just one big bathroom stall. The FBI is a urinal because of all the leaks. >
  
  You don’t need to “partner with private contractors” to have clean public systems. Stop with the capitalist propaganda that only companies can do these things. >
  
  Well seeing as every single government funded public restroom I’ve ever been in has been DISGUSTING, I would say they DO need help. Your precious government has no incentive to improve at all, since they get paid no matter what. Your tax money gets taken directly out of your pay and goes straight into their coffers without you having any say, and that will likely never change. They don’t give a fuck about optimizing for customer experience at all. >
  
  Government doesn’t have “customers,” it has citizens, and you vote for people who give a shit. It’s telling that the only ones that do are pretty far left, the others only care about enriching themselves and their friends, and thats why public services have gone downhill in the last century. >
  
  If that is really the case, why aren’t the left leaning places paradise? Or even close to paradise? Or even kind of nice?
  I’ll give you a hint: it’s because ALL politicians care about enriching themselves. Nancy Pelosi (a Democrat) is a multimillionaire. She also earns less than $200k/yr. Her stock portfolio out performs all of the top hedge funds, and all of the top investors. How is that possible if she and other people on the left are the only ones who give a shit about their citizens? And for every scheming, self-enriching democrat politician, there is a Republican politician who is just as scheming and self-enriching. 
  It’s not about left/right. The government doesn’t give a fuck about any of us. >
  
  She’s left-ER, but she’s not left :) >
  
  So apart from her, why aren’t the places run by people who are LEFT absolute paradise? >
  
  Nah, we need way less government, not more >
  
  Big Government is when the government provides public bathrooms to stop people from shitting in the streets >
  
  Do you really think government provided bathrooms will be much better than privately owned places having bathrooms available (and most times required) like in the US? >
  
  Did I misunderstand the post or you guys really don’t have public washroom at train station? Then, where are the workers at train station gonna do the deed then? >
  
  They do, I'm not sure what Op is on, for that point. >
  
  Definitely an unpopular opinion with me.  1) imagine what it would cost, there are hundreds of thousands of places you're saying that would require a bus stop.  2) extremely unsanitary conditions, the government wouldn't be able to maintain them at an acceptable rate cuz there's literally hundreds of thousands of them. 3) there are far more pressing issues than the odd weirdo that wants to use a government run public washroom. 4) who is nasty enough to literally want to use a public outhouse?  Seriously, I'm 41 and have used a public toilet maybe a dozen times in my adult life.  By public, I mean malls, gas stations and such.  I know restaurants are considered public but you generally can't use them if you're not a paying customer and they generally have a higher standard of cleanliness due to it being a restaurant. >
  
  Are you serious about number 3 and 4? I wouldn’t call a mother with bladder issues an odd weirdo. Lots of people have to use public washrooms on a daily basis, and I have sympathy for them >
  
  So all the drug addicts can OD in them? Or have a safe place to have sex? Who’s going to clean them? Sounds like an expensive and disgusting nightmare. Especially for cities. >
  
  Yeah but how to keep it clean and usable? I’m grossed out by public bathrooms 95% of the time. >
  
  By hiring lots of cleaners >
  
  Personally, I find public toilets disgusting and refuse to use them as much as I can. I even dehydrate myself before boarding planes just so I don't have to go piss in one of those germ-infested bogs of eternal stench.
  And unless they have some sort of a medical issue, people who constantly have to go to the washroom are an annoying lot. Just hold it, for fooks sake. >
  
  People who have to go to the washroom a lot:
  Mothers
  Women on periods
  Children
  Disabled people
  “Just hold it” is pretty unempathetic to say >
  
  Note the part where I wrote "unless they have some sort of a medical issue". >
  
  Yes just add more bathroom’s for the Meth smokers. Denver metro libraries and RTD restrooms have to be closed for meth clean up. >
  
  So the government doesn't own or have the legal right to build washrooms on private property. The disability accommodations are mandated by law but the cost (when in/on private property) goes to the property owner. Public washrooms on publicly owned property is different. I don't entirely disagree in theory but I have seen the way people treat things that are free and for some reason freely available bathrooms seem to have a neon sign over them that most of us can't see that says "come on in and smoke lots of crack! Or shoot some dope and leave your needle on the floor. Take a shit and smear it on the walla while you're at it". Something to that effect.
  Who would maintain them? Who would pay for the construction and upkeep? If you're talking about America we are already paying like $10 for a carton of eggs. Everything costs significantly more than it did a year ago. Raising taxes right now to pay for bathrooms or allocating money we've already paid to build bathrooms all over the place would likely tip people over the edge at this point. >
  
  I agree. The first complaint, as is with early comments here is who is going to clean them, Well… there’s a job. A job that most anyone can do, that the government can provide. People clean bathrooms, yes it can be messy, but if they are being monitored from nearby, a lot of these issues are reduced. The idea that it is not the governments job to provide this right is classic McConnell logic… What DO we expect them to provide then? It’s not infrastructure, we barely get that. Protection? We all saw that video, don’t get that either. Liberty? Mmm… perhaps, but we’ve got a decent wage-slavery racket going making that a hard pill to swallow. We used to count on them for waste disposal, but most of that is privatized too. What do they do with our tax money other than start wars, and pass it around? I’d be ok if some of the tax pool went to, oh I don’t know, Some public services. >
  
  I spent 2 weeks kayaking on the upper Missouri River, very remote area and I only had to poop in the woods 1 time. The rest of the time a restroom 🚽 was never to far away. I don’t think this is a problem. >
  
  bushes 😶 >
  
  What the fuck?  In australia theres free bathrooms and toilets.  Ive never had to pay to use a bathroom. >
  
  i went on an international vacation once and it actually shocked me how difficult it was to find a public restroom. more than that, when i found some i had to pay for them. only a small amount to me but to someone who doesn’t have much, that could potentially be damaging >
  
  Agreed on washroom being a basic human right. There are literally laws that prevent people from using rivers and streams to wash themselves, so, yeah, we *must* provide an alternative. Anything that society bars the natural version of it must provide a free social version of.
  Requiring it at every single bus stop is probably overkill and way more than actually necessary. Provide public funding to shelters with the caveat that they can't deny showers to anybody. All showers should also be single occupancy. >
  
  This has probably crossed my mind everytime I am out and on my period. It makes no sense that half the populace experiences this biological process, which follows a cycle but can come unexpectedly, and this is not accomodated in the slightest. But also, gender data gap and what not. 
  Creating spaces where you can relieve yourself while in public is a net positive for everybody, because it will also improve hygiene. A lot of guys will end up pissing in a corner or behind a tree if they really can't hold it in and I totally get it. However, it still makes said corner smell like piss. >
  
  I agree with you. One reason I made this post is because my girlfriend gets sick in her stomach when she has her period, and it gives me great anxiety whenever we are in public as I preemptively search for washrooms for her >
  
  Imo not an unpopular opinion. Washrooms/restroom are a basic human right >
  
  326 comments on this post, I think it may be somewhat of an unpopular opinion >
  
  Man, people get rights and needs confused so easily.  
  It is not a basic human RIGHT to use someone else’s property to deposit a load of excrement that they then have to expense to sanitize. Water bills. Janitorial fees. Supplies like soap and TP. 
  You do not have a RIGHT to someone else’s things. 
  You do have a basic human need to expel waste and a few regulations on where you can’t do it, like on a sidewalk. 
  Huge difference between rights and needs. Just because you need it doesn’t make it a right. >
  
  Considering the large quantity of regulations on where you can or cannot expel waste, a large quantity of alternatives (washrooms) should be available. Otherwise this is restricting basic human needs, some of which are really pressing for disabled people, mothers, etc >
  
  Okay, but a basic human need can be restricted. Yes, there should be more public facilities. Yes, they should be clean and sanitary. Yes, the government should be supplying these facilities and paying people to maintain them. 
  But my point stands - it’s not a RIGHT.
  The government cannot infringe on a right even though they try and succeed quite often. That’s another topic. 
  The government’s purpose is to manage things that the citizenry needs to function as a society, which includes a place to shit.
  The US government is a monumental failure. /tangent >
  
  I agree, paying to do something natural is just capitalism at its finest >
  
  We dont have requirment to have acess to toilet or a place to eat unless you stay at a project longer than 1 week at work. The problem then is that you can fall into a situation with where you never have any place because you jump between small projects every week for a long time >
  
  And all those government bathrooms should be gender neutral! >
  
  You’re making fun, probably, but why the hell not? >
  
  Some of the bus stations I use have restrooms for the riders.  Of course every station has a restroom for the bus drivers. The ones that don't have the restrooms, have those johnny on the spots. I guess they are better than nothing, but I hate them. >
  
  ... a porta potty/portaloo ? >
  
  Yes >
  
  Ahh okay lol I assumed but wanted to clarify, I've never heard them called Johnny on the spots. >
  
  Tell that to Amazon >
  
  But we need to come up with a plan that deters drug addicts from hogging them and using them to shoot up. Maybe a time limit and then the door forcibly unlocks? But if you’re alert and just taking a huge shit, then you would just relock it >
  
  I don’t agree at all, but you make some strong points! >
  
  There are a few self cleaning toilets outside some metro stations where I live (Montreal, Canada). One of them is in one of the worst parts of the city, lots of homeless people. It starts beeping and the door opens if you're inside for too long. It works just fine, there should be more. >
  
  Ahh yes the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and government entitled bathrooms. You’re so totally right OP. Great job solving another one of societies pressing problems…. >
  
  for a second I thought you were talking about showers, stupid american and all, although they are pretty common over here, thinking about it showers would be pretty dirty if made public use. >
  
  I think we should, but the problem is that there is a mixed basket of people in society that plays into this like everything else. To put it simply if they did that they’d have to hire people to work around the clock to keep it clean and probably security to make sure no one tries to abuse it in some way. Then you got some that don’t care and shit outside because they’re more comfortable that way >
  
  Yeah, but it would be a good thing to hire those people. That would provide jobs! >
  
  Yeah but they’d probably pay shit and wouldn’t be worth it >
  
  Well they should pay well and then be worth it >
  
  They’re not gonna do that >
  
  Well they should. Consider that part of my unpopular opinion lol >
  
  That is sooooooo unpopular >
  
  Yeah man I have more people in the comments disagreeing with me than agreeing >
  
  My town a couple years ago spent over 1/4 million on a new bathroom for people and families to use at a local park. The local crack heads have destroyed it in no time and now it's shut town. All at the cost of the local taxpayers. 
  Good concept, but it didn't work in my town. >
  
  Why would this be an unpopular opinion? Does someone, like, not want more infrastructure in their cities? >
  
  I think a lot of people are mad at me calling it a human right. And then there are people who say that it’s not worth it because of homeless people and junkies, or the cost of maintaining these things. >
  
  Another of the “government owes me” ilk, what if there is no such thing?  What if each of us is responsible for dealing with the world as it is?  Not saying making things better isn’t a good thing, but it’s not a “human right”.  Being free from slavery is, don’t compare that to restroom access. >
  
  If the government banned hunting in all forms in an indigenous community, it would be up to the government to ensure that alternative methods of getting food are available. 
  Since the government banned relieving oneself in a bush, the government should be responsible for supplying an adequate quantity of alternatives (the alternative being a washroom). >
  
  Check history to see how that worked.  This was one of reasons the feds weren’t supposed to own any land.  Every government is a sewer, all they’re good for is taking shit.  They are the answer to nothing. >
  
  Every train station and place of gathering, yes absolutely, but a lot of bus stops are literally just a sign. >
  
  In France, you pay to piss and shit in public washrooms. It's a huge business model. >
  
  That’s why the streets of Paris reek of piss >
  
  Incredibly unique and conducive to public health in modern day. 100% agree and will pass on the idea. >
  
  Who do you expect to clean it? How much do you want to pay extra for cleaners? >
  
  Anyone paid enough will clean it. And whatever cost this is, is worth it for accommodating disabled people and mothers etc >
  
  Fuck this. >
  
  Well you could always do what Seattle did: They don't provide public washrooms but the Seattle PD doesn't bother to enforce public urination laws. >
  
  Hey OP! Were you not a local in the city where this “incident” occurred? Because I can think of at least 5 free and clean bathrooms in my hometown. As a tourist in Europe I found it extremely hard to find a free public bathroom, and had to check Google maps quite often.
  I see where you’re coming from, but now I’m just genuinely confused… some context would be nice. :P >
  
  No incident occurred to me >
  
  This is just stupid. >
  
  here in aus, or atleast queensland its been pretty alright for the most part. alot of public places like large parks, beaches, lookouts, ect have bathrooms along with alot any manned trainstation. unless youre in the middle of bumfuck nowhere youre always within 5-10 minutes of a shitter.   
  also. you want this but have you see councils as it is? almost every council ive seen from almost anywhere is useless and thier public toilet maintenance frequency or quality is even worse than thier ability to fix potholes alot of the time lol. while youre idea is good in theory it could very well turn shit in reality. cause people will only use em if theyre well maintained... and almost no public toilets are. >
  
  
  EDIT: people keep saying that if it has to be provided then it is not a human right. They forget that you used to be able to just piss on any tree you wanted. Since governments made it illegal, the alternatives must be provided by the government!
  
  Or... better yet, just remove the laws that make it illegal.
  But OP, please read up on the concept of Positive Rights vs Negative Rights, as well as learning how they relate to the concept of Duties, and how they are correlated to Rights.
  Once you are fully vetted in the information, then you can come back here with your opinion, and we can have a discussion. >
  
  “Paying customers only” is wrong, especially in cities where homeless run rampant. Like a homeless man is forced to shit himself for the crime of being poor >
  
  Sounds to me like op pissed their pants. Lil piss baby >
  
  No my friend shat his though >
  
  I don't know where you are from but in the UK all of those places have WC aside from bus stops. 
  I'm taking bus stops to mean the posts or shelters every mile along the road, which it would be ridiculous to equip each one with a toilet.
  I've never found public wc to be that scarce, unless you are in the middle of nowhere, at least to the point that a healthy adult is unable to reach one. >
  
  No it is not. It's a privledge, nothing more. You can't have a right that involves a right to others work or resources >
  
  Well you say it is a privilege. But if you were imprisoned and there were no toilets whatsoever, would you still be calling it a mere privilege to have washroom access? Hypothetically >
  
  Yes, I have principals. I don't arbitrarily change my morals, on a whim, based on my necessities; that would be monstrous and disgusting. >
  
  Sounds like a good idea to me.
  I like how you took on some of the responsibilities for providing this yourself (taxpayer funded, government funded washrooms) instead of claiming some supreme right to unlimited use of the bathrooms of private business owners on their own private property. >
  
  SOCIALIST!!! >
  
  Seethe >
  
  I have to agree with this I’m tired of seeing people piss on the street >
  
  Not being able to piss wherever you want doesn’t entitle you to a place where you can. On top of that, you were never allowed to use any tree you wanted. Any private property owner had the right to close off whatever use they don’t want from whomever >
  
  It does entitle one to a place where they can. And in fact you were allowed to use any tree you wanted, if we’re talking about nature here.
  If we must talk about private property, fine. But even public property trees today are not allowed to be pissed on. >
  
  Your only basis is “nuh uh, because”. That isn’t a valid opinion. “It’s nature” doesn’t apply to property rights. Claiming you have a right doesn’t make it so when a conveyance must be provided for you to do so. We’re talking about the difference between “positive” and “negative” rights in the sense of actualization rather than good or bad. A negative right is something you can provide for yourself without requiring the assistance of another. A positive right is something that can only occur as long as another helps make it so. The latter is more of a privilege rather than an actual right >
  
  Just wear diapers like the rest of us adults.
  Right?
  ....RIGHT?! >
  
  Totally agree. One time me and my boyfriend were out traveling and ofc we ate something that didn’t rlly agree with us. There wasn’t a toilet for a while so we had to stop off at this restaurant where we HAD to pay to use the facilities and the cheapest thing we could get was £5. I shouldn’t have to pay to go for a shit!!! It’s a human right! And if I would have done it outside I would have been arrested for public indecency. The audacity to charge to use the toilet baffles me. - it wasn’t even a good bathroom, was shitting while smelling piss and looking at toilet roll stuck to the roof >
  
  It's their private business. I don't let strangers off the street come use my private toilet but if they have business here (working or visiting) they're welcome to use it. >
  
  Where do you live where this isn’t a thing? 
  I’m guessing America, but you can never really know. >
  
  I live in the US and have never had an issue finding a bathroom. Restaurants, gas stations, stores...rsre to find those without a restroom >
  
  In the EU, it is quite common (if not the norm) to get your access to a restaurant's washrooms denied if you don't buy anything. >
  
  Thats logical. I mean the company has to clean it. The least a bathroom user can do is buy the simplest thing for like a dollar >
  
  Of course, and I agree with this! I'm on the same side as "maintaining public restrooms requires employees thus money, where'd it come from?"
  But, on the other hand, I can't quite deny entirely with OP: shitting and peeing are basic needs. I mean we keep telling kids in their way to proper hygiene to pee whenever possible because it can be bad for the kidneys to hold urine (not that they do; but it happens when your bladder is ready to blow so much it's filled). Yet, governments don't usually place restrooms enough in terms of density in my opinion, yet you get your wallet heavily fined if you do your needs in the air (thing that I also agree with, I don't want to catch E. Coli to the tenth power on my way to buying a baguette). But I do see the point of OP in the current situation of "you have basic needs, we forbid doing these at any location yet we don't offer immediately-free-of-charge convenient locations for the thing".
  But again, money has to come from somewhere, so it's a kind of situation where the current one could be better, but it'd be hard in terms of efforts invested, while not being the worse (I mean, we could've aswell had 0 public restrooms too) >
  
  We have that in Europe, but varies a bit from country to country (and population density) >
  
  You must not be from the US. People don’t even believe healthcare is a human right around here. >
  
  Maybe, but it’s pretty easy to find free public toilets in most parts of the US. >
  
  Idk. The only truly “public” bathrooms I can think of are at rest stops, parks, and govt buildings. Restaurant and store bathrooms are private that they let the public use. >
  
  Maybe paid toilets, not free. Who is managing them ? Because that's more government, more money. 
  We live in a very small, very "good" area with many open restrooms at local parks. Guess who immediately moves in ? The homeless.. and I don't even particularly care except inevitably they're going to end up trashed in cities with many more homeless folks than we have or have needles all over the place. >
  
  I think you hit on a good topic that Americans ignore: what is the social contract? What is the minimum the government, or any government, should provide the people under its flag.
  I’ve grown to believe if it can’t meet the most basic necessities of life (food, housing, clothing) for every citizen, then it is either poor or corrupt. America brings in billions of tax dollars annually and has the highest GDP of any nation at present and past… and we have homeless people- I’d say our system is corrupt.
  We have people who want to build stations on the moon or even Mars. Run all you like, but these systematic problems will always follow you. Hell, we haven’t even solved recycling/waste management at scale. >
  
  I work security in a hospital. And literally 3 blocks away is a facility that takes in homeless people, houses them, feeds them, tries to give them the help and assistance to not be homeless. All they ask (as in rules of the facility) is to not use illicit drugs or excessively consume alcohol.
  By and large, an overwhelming majority of the homeless would rather keep their drugs and drinking and try to camp out in the restrooms of my hospital. 
  There is no easy or quick answer to the homeless problem in this country. And a lot of it comes down to desire >
  
  I recently saw a documentary regarding the homeless issue and solutions. 
  It brought up the American approach, which is that groups (charities, local governments, churches) offer housing to people under the conditions you've listed (i.e. sobriety, abstinence from substance abuse), which leads exactly to what you described. I can attest that outcome is very common.
  I can't recall which country (Germany, Sweden?), but their approach was to provided housing, regardless of a person's sobriety. What they found was that providing the housing (along with other support services) increased rates of sobriety and reintegration with society.
  Maybe some people do drugs because they don't have a place to stay or a support system to actually help them get back on their feet. >
  
  I feel like OP is holding a story back from us. >
  
  Yeah my story is that my friend recently shat himself in public and I feel really bad for him >
  
  That’s a shitty story.  Thanks for sharing.  For what it’s worth I’m all for access in an emergency laws coupled with no you can’t take over a bathroom and live in it if you are homeless laws. >
  
  Ima have to agree with this, some places definitely do a better place than others, my buddy once had an emergency and we were next to a subway and they held him up and said he couldn’t use the restroom unless he was a customer so he had to buy a cookie… >
  
  Yeah, that’s just so morally wrong. >
  
  But why? They need to be cleaned afterwards >
  
  That's incorrect. They are scheduled to be cleaned at certain times. That cleaning will happen regardless of whether or not that specific person uses it. So it's not causing any extra cleaning.
  Unless you are claiming that where you live they go and clean them after every single person who uses them? >
  
  Okay than… water use and toilet paper use, maybe the trashcan is getting used. All of that causes extra money >
  
  Only toilet paper use in some situations. And even when relevant, it wouldn't even be a pennies worth.
  Minimal water use.
  Incorrect again about the trash can. A bin being used by 1 additional person does not cost extra money. Again, like the cleaning, the bins will be emptied and collected regardless. The only argument you have here is if literally thousands of non-customers are using the facilities every day. And that just isn't realistic.
  If a company is going to stop someone who needs the toilet from going because it might cost them 1p (or 1c or whatever currency) then it isn't logic dictating that choice, and they shouldn't be defended for it. >
  
  You don’t use toilet paper every time?! >
  
  I'm a guy, so no, not if I'm peeing. Same as every other guy. >
  
  You still should use toilet paper to get rid of little drops 🤷🏾‍♀️ >
  
  What makes you think that? I've never heard of that or seen anyone doing it. And at urinals they don't provide toilet paper for you to do it. >
  
  There used to be better access to washrooms but you can thank the druggies, and sex perverts for their demise. >
  
  This would generally lead to spending a lot of money to have bathrooms built that ended up being too damaged and dirty for most people to use. >
  
  Then they should be cleaned and repaired. We can get the money for it >
  
  Would you want to clean them? >
  
  If I was paid enough yeah >
  
  Youd be the one  whos paying yourself....... bcuz your the taxpayer.
  Whats your next genius move? raise the minimum wage to $500 an hour so we can all be rich? brilliant!
  Man I swear some people just dont get it and never will >
  
  So every government employee doesn’t “get it”? Or do YOU not “get it”? Or are you just trolling? >
  
  As someone with IBS-D,  I’ve wondered why there aren’t more rest areas or just public restrooms in general. Especially since Covid and fast food places going drive thru only and gas stations don’t always have bathrooms, sometimes it’s a really big struggle for me. I’ve never had an accident but it’s stressful when I’m out and can’t find a public bathroom. >
  
  Yeah I was going to include the Covid bit here but it got automoderated for having the word Covid. 
  The amount of washrooms closed during Covid was a catastrophe for garbagemen, delivery drivers, and of course people with IBS. it was just plain discriminatory at that point you know? It’s like people don’t have empathy for others if it pertains to washroom issues. People here comment stuff like “why not just hold it until you get home” >
  
  Uhh they would be disgusting. The homeless people would most likely sleep in them and they would smell horribly >
  
  … then the homeless should have somewhere else to sleep >
  
  Why do think they're called "homeless" in the first place? >
  
  I think they mean homeless shelters should be more prominent.  Homelessness is a problem that is routinely pushed to the side instead of being remedied, i.e governments put stuff out to keep homeless people away (obstructions on benches to stop them from sleeping) rather than help them find somewhere to go. >
  
  Do some reading on why the homelessness problem is so difficult to solve. It’s not just building people houses. >
  
  Wasn't proposing there is a magical simple fix, I'm saying governments are barely doing anything to try and are actively making their lives worse. >
  
  Cities are spending literal billions of dollars every year trying to help the homeless. San Francisco spends over a million dollars a year on every single homeless person living there.
  Don’t let compassion get in the way of better judgement. The lengths this country goes to in order to help the homeless is insane. Yet people see benches designed to stop homeless people from sleeping on them and think that the city they’re in is actively trying to screw them over when they’re just trying to stop them from ruining the commons area. >
  
  Where are you getting these numbers from?  According to my research, there are about 7,700 hundred homeless people in San Francisco in 2022.  If they were spending $1 million per person, they'd be spending $7.7 billion each year on homelessness.  This number seems high for a city that has a $14 billion budget.  
  To your point though, it's fair to say that governments might be doing more than I thought.  I will research more. >
  
  You’re right, the number I was using was for the total budget of a program, not for one year.
  Still though, San Francisco is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on programs for their homeless population, despite that it’s still experiencing some of the most rampant homelessness in the country.
  The issue with “solving homelessness is that it isn’t a problem in of itself. It’s a conclusion of nearly every other problem within society. Any potential solution to one of those legs can easily exacerbate another cause in a completely unforeseen way. It’s the same thing with world hunger. >
  
  So I guess you just shat yourself at a bus stop OP? >
  
  No, my friend did >
  
  Dang.... That's shitty. >
  
  Did you really have to write washroom because I kept reading mushroom lmao >
  
  Tf else would I write? Can’t call it a bathroom cuz there’s no bath in it >
  
  Toilet. Shitter. Lavatory. >
  
  I agree, in San Francisco they have really nice, well taken care of bathrooms all over the city. They have a person who stands outside and "manages it" which is key, otherwise it'll get taken over by gross worthless drug addicts or prostitutes. 
  Yes...I know I said gross and worthless. Try living in SF before you downvote me. >
  
  Every Bus Stop?! >
  
  Stop slapping the term "human right" on everything willy-nilly. It dilutes the importance of actual human rights.
  A developing country that can't supply a bathroom at every bus stop is not committing a violation of human rights. There is no need to waste the UN Human Rights Council's time over it. They do not need to be brought up on charges at the Hague. >
  
  Bus stops??? Those are usually just places on the side of the street. You want port-a-potties? >
  
  Bushes are a human right. >
  
  The European Human Rights Convention and the German Grundgesetz both guarantee you the use of a washroom and use of a washroom can't not be denied.
  There have been law suits hammering out this right in the past. For example a little girl, that got denied a bathroom break during class... >
  
  NYC we are looking at you >
  
  I live in a city with public washrooms and they are horrible. Not just unsanitary but they are a nexus for all kinds of illegal and anti-social behavior.
  The problem is not that people don't care. The problem is a small minority of selfish, ignorant and hateful people ruin anything that's free and nice.
  Our city tries to clean them and keep them functional but it never lasts long. I suppose it's better to at least try but the streets of my city are covered in human feces despite offering exactly what you are talking about. >
  
  As someone with IBS I agree there should be more public toilets. I dont care if they're dirty and smell, I just dont want to shit myself >
  
  We have those in Argentina, government owned public restrooms. We need that here too, specially big cities. >
  
  I think we as a society have completely lost the plot on what constitutes a human right.  A practical necessity/nicety is not a human right.  You're not entitled to public, government-funded washrooms.  Are they nice?  Yes, but they're not necessities.  Plus, in most Western countries there are already washrooms everywhere and in most places you are very rarely going to be in a situation where there are no available washrooms you can run to in an emergency, unless you're out in the middle of nowhere, in which case you can go wherever you want so long as you're not exposing yourself to other people in the process. >
  
  In the places I’ve visited in Europe, publicly available toilets are rare let alone free. >
  
  It depends on where you live.  You have to pay fifty cents for the upkeep of many of them, but they are there, and truthfully, comparing the public washrooms in places like Scotland, Germany, Ireland, and France, where someone is actively there all the time keeping watch/cleaning, to the ones in Canada which are just a free-for-all, I’m all for having to pay fifty cents to use the washroom if it keeps the washrooms clean, maintained, and free of druggie needles and other people’s shit all over the place. >
  
  For those who don’t agree, you can’t get mad at people for pissing and shitting in public then. If you got to go then you got to go lmao. >
  
  If your in the UK you can arrested and/ or fined for that! Rule fucking britannia >
  
  We also used to have council run toilets everywhere. >
  
  They still exist. >
  
  In much fewer numbers. These days you often have to find a McDonald's >
  
  Just because you say something is a human right, doesn't make it a human right. >
  
  Yeah, I hate this kind of thinking. Anything that requires another person's labor can't be a human right. >
  
  Lol, people need to get real with their demands for human rights. >
  
  We as a society decide what constitutes a human right. They aren’t written in the sky. >
  
  If it requires someone else labor then it isn’t a human right >
  
  I take it you’ve never been to Europe. You have to pay to use many of the public restrooms there. >
  
  How does that negate my point >
  
  It doesn’t. Rather it points out that even countries with broader social safety nets (e.g., universal healthcare) don’t consider washroom access a human right. >
  
  
  Washroom access is a human right
  
  No it is not. That is literally just misinformation. >
  
  It’s not misinformation, this is literally “unpopular OPINION” 😂 while ridiculous, it’s clear that this is just a belief and not a fact. >
  
  Something being a human right doesn't mean that it's the government's responsibility to provide said right. >
  
  My problem with everything these days being a "human right" is that most of them now conclude that someone else must provide said right by either their money or labor. >
  
  Ha. Tell me you’ve never had to clean a public bathroom without saying “I’ve never had to clean a public bathroom.” 
  Just one story from my experience working in the service industry for 20 years; a sweet little old lady rushed into the corner store where I was working at the time and begged to use our restroom- it was an emergency- and even tho I’d been warned not to let ppl use the bathroom (employees only) I was like omg but she’s old, it’ll be fine, go right ahead. 
  Bruh… still to this day I have NO IDEA how she managed to shit on the ceiling… but she did.
  And we didn’t know why- was she sick? Was it contagious? No one went in and discovered the mess until she was long gone- and she had just slinked out so much as a “sorry” or “thanks.” 
  Either way I wasn’t getting paid enough to clean up raw human sewage so moving forward I had a choice; send the ones who ask away or accept the possible risk of cleaning up their unapologetic diarrhea explosion …. for $8/hr. 
  OP, what would you chose?
  Public Restrooms deff sound like a basic human right- but what about the basic human rights of those who would have to clean them? >
  
  I don't understand how people shit on the ceiling or across the room. It's purposeful and you won't convince me otherwise. >
  
  Human rights this, human rights that. Are you gonna take care of the washroom? Gonna clean the highly infectious fecal matter off the walls every day? Clear out unstable and posibly dangerous people every day? It's fine for you to sit here and expect others to deal with the problem, but at least be honest about the problem >
  
  Yeah I would clean it actually. Just gotta be for the right price >
  
  The "right price" is more than the government  is willing to spend, i assure you. >
  
  Depends on the government I guess >
  
  Nice to have? Yes. Human right? That's a bit much. >
  
  If prisons had no washrooms, I’m sure there would be protests for their rights. The same applies in a free society where accessibility is a key factor. >
  
  When the government is already this bad, you really want them to provide and control washroom access? Oh, lordy. >
  
  It's not a human right. Just go before you leave and keep an eye out if you need one. Most shops have a toilet anyway >
  
  In my experience big cities often do not have restrooms available to customers. I may not have to shit before I leave the house but 4-8 hours later is a different story. >
  
  Often the place to get a drug fix.  Ugh >
  
  It's a very nice thought that would be horrible in practice. >
  
  It would be that easy if people cleaned after themselves properly which is as much of a necessity as the bathrooms they “should be entitled to” >
  
  I agree but wanted to add that fast food places and stores should not be allowed to have a customers only policy when it comes to using their bathrooms. And all publicly accessible places like stores, restaurants, etc. should have public restrooms. >
  
  you'll notice a lot of places don't have those rules. Pay attention to the places that do - usually in areas with lots of crime and vandalism, or just very high volumes of people. the stores aren't trying to be jerks, they are trying to prevent people from coming in and peeing all over the walls in the restroom they provide to customers. they have to go clean that up. it's not a free service. >
  
  There are (atleast here) washrooms at most public places where people can gather.
  Where I live we have two malls and a train station, both malls and this train station has washrooms.
  Most stores (grocery stores etc.) also have washrooms, but you usually have to ask for access to them seeing as they usually are within the "employee only" zone.
  If you go to bigger cities here in Norway you will find small structures outside which are exclusively washrooms (usually "pod"-shaped). And you'll find washrooms in most buildings.
  The only downside with the washrooms in bigger cities is that they usually have a fee. It's only about $1, but still it sucks that you have to pay for using a toilet...
  But those washrooms are usually cleaner, fancier and better than the fee-less washrooms.
  All washrooms in my city are free, which means that they are usually quite dirty.
  The paid ones in a nearby "bigger" city are usually always clean.
  So you pay for quality I suppose, but there should always be fee-less washrooms aswell IMO. >
  
  So if this became a thing then you would be the first in line to be the one to clean them, correct. >
  
  If I was paid well and had PPE >
  
  and yet more money being spent to accommodate your “right” >
  
  They claim to care enough to help but only if they’re paid. 😂 >
  
  Yeah, because who has time to do this stuff for free? Genius >
  
  Grow up. A lot of people give up everything to go volunteer for international aid groups. Why? Because they actually care and aren’t just demanding someone else fix what they perceive as a problem. >
  
  UK has paid toilets. I'd be happy to pay for a toilet >
  
  I have never been in a place where they turned me away for having to use the restroom. And I've been everywhere man. >
  
  Even Narnia >
  
  I may or may not have peed in a wardrobe, what of it? >
  
  Oh! Than your Peeter! >
  
  They have them in most places and have been shut down because people that live in cities are absolutely disgusting.  Even smaller metros I've been in public restrooms at parks and such and every toilet is crammed full of tp and shit. There's random piles of human shit on floors. 
  It was common. But you nasty city dwellers ruined it for yourselves. >
  
  I live on the west coast of Scotland and the promenade at the seafront has 4 free, council ran public toilets along the 5km route. All of them get cleaned at night and replenished with TP. The largest one near town has two permanent attendants to clean the place and chase out potential drug users n'stuff. TBH, the toilets pay for themselves, as without them the town would get a hell of a lot less visitors during spring and summer. >
  
  According to John Locke or?
  Sounds like you couldn't reach a washroom in time, and you were shamed for the consequences of it, and now you've come online to complain about it.
  huh... >
  
  No, that happened to my friend >
  
  That really sucks. I'm sorry. I hope they don't think on it too much. >
  
  If it's criminal to "go" outside, then yes.
  Decriminalize public defecation! >
  
  Certainly would clean up the streets. Human sanitation is important. I did a thesis on it. >
  
  I’d love to read that >
  
  Think of the Amazon delivery drivers >
  
  I agree. In the event that you can’t hold it and want to avoid pissing or shitting on yourself you will be fined or possibly even arrested if caught no matter how you try to seclude yourself. >
  
  Initially disagreed, but considering it is illegal to do it outside, then yeah, makes sense to be a right. However, this would only apply in countries where public defecation is illegal and punished. >
  
  Traveling for work through rural Ohio one day, I got a bad case of the McGurgles from my breakfast. My digestive tract was in full revolt. I pulled into the only place around, a Hampton Inn, and politely explained my situation and asked the desk clerk if they had a restroom I could use.
  Clerk: ‘are you a guest here, sir? The restroom is for guests only.’
  Me: ‘let me rephrase it: in the next 3-4 minutes, I’m going to shit in this hotel, either in the toilet or your lobby. The choice is yours and the clock is ticking.’
  Clerk: ‘it’s down the hall to the left.’ >
  
  In the Upper Midwest (USA) we have really nice "rest stops" along major roadways that offer clean restrooms, water fountains, vending machines, picnic areas, semi parking, and some even have dog parks, hiking trails, and I've even seen native forest/grassland protection programs offering education on the topic.  
  They are very clean and a person can always rely on them being well managed.  We should look into the setup for those and see if we could expand away from major roads and into towns. >
  
  I absolutely agree. I would even be willing to pay extra taxes for cities to implement more public restroom options. It’s an absolute necessity. >
  
  Counterpoint, they shouldn’t be. Have you seen government depts? Those restrooms would likely be disgusting. Then there’s the assumption that everyone’s clean. Unfortunately that’s not the case. For some reason people blow out toilets and don’t clean up after themselves. 
  Instead, you should tip businesses that allow you to use restrooms, specifically gas stations. More often than not, the guy behind the counter is the one that cleans it up. >
  
  Tipping is NOT the solution here. >
  
  Why not? If the guy behind the counter will be the one to clean your shit streaks off of the toilet bowl, clean your piss off of the floor, sanitize the door handles, and spray febreeze after you blew up their toilet, why shouldn’t you tip them? 
  If you’re not a paying customer, you’re not chipping in towards the costs of maintaining the bathroom, so why should you use it? >
  
  Because you have a need. You’re a human being that needs to be rid of bodily waste. You’re also hardly going to be worse than the people who ARE paying so there’s really no difference. Speaking as someone who’s had to clean up after both genders who are clearly raised in fucking barns. >
  
  We could say the same about everything. I am a human being that needs to eat, so why should I pay the restaurant for my meal? I’m not going to eat any more that people who DO pay, so who cares?! Who cares that the waiter will still provide me a service, who cares that the cooks have to prepare me a dish, who cares that the busboy will have to clean my table just the same. I AM A HUMAN BEING AND I HAVE A NEED. 
  Or maybe we can pay people for providing us with the services we use, even if we are just one person. >
  
  You can not eat for weeks, giving you plenty of time to not eat until you get home, you can hold off on peeing for maybe an hour before it starts getting bad. People have died from holding urine or feces for excessive times. >
  
  Nobody has died from holding in their pee until they get to work, or back home. Do you people not have jobs? Are you just outside all day far from home holding in a turd? Like honestly what are you doing all day that keeps you so far away from work or home?
  Go to the bathroom before you leave your home. There you go, problem solved. >
  
  Ok you can’t die but it’s still very bad for you, and times come up when you’re in a rush to get out or the need to go comes later in the day, etc. >
  
  You haven’t answered my question at all. What are you doing all day that keeps you away from a bathroom that is meant for you for so long. Do you not work? There is a bathroom for me where I work. If you don’t work, what are you doing all day that keeps you away from home? Why are you in such a rush to leave if you’re not going to work? How much of a rush can you be in that you don’t have 12 seconds to take a leak? >
  
  There’s really no excuse for not having publicly available bathrooms for those who need it. Seems to be the same argument for UHC in US: “I’m not using it now so it shouldn’t be a thing for anyone else” >
  
  OP has clearly never seen a public bathroom and how people treat it. They are a cesspool of disease and overall disgusting. >
  
  Then dozens of cleaners should be hired >
  
  You think people will clean dirty public bathrooms for minimum wage? >
  
  Who said anything about minimum wage? >
  
  Which government agency is going to manage these government bathrooms, how much tax money are willing to spend on these bathrooms and would you be willing to do the job of keeping them clean? >
  
  That's like saying nobody is willing to be a janitor or a trashman. 
  Well if I'm not willing to do it NOBODY will be! >
  
  Someone just pooped their pants.   
  It can't be a "human right" if it takes the labor of another to build and maintain it. Speech, dignity, respect, equality/ THOSE are human rights. Things cannot be human rights. >
  
  No my friend pooped his pants >
  
  NOPE, it is a PRACTICAL NECESSITY for a clean public tho.  Rights are decided on democratically inside the context of a social system.  There are three basic rights that all reasonable societies observe (still a matter of context as even these are taken away as punishment), but a belief in an objective list of natural entitlements to be paid to you by society is fundamentally invalid. >
  
  THE FLAW IN YOUR LINE OF THINKING is this: the government took away the right to piss on a tree, by making it illegal. Since it took away this outlet to a regular natural need, it is the government’s responsibility to provide adequate alternatives. >
  
  Not really a flaw in my reasoning just a comprehension failure on your part. >
  
  If someone has to provide it for you it's not a right, nor can it ever be.  You can't compel others to do something because it's your "right". >
  
  Then what are medical rights? They're something that are provided by others but we have rights to regardless (at least in Canada we have the right to choose our care provider, our treatment, the place we get care, etc). Even then, the medical rights branch off to provide more rights depending on where you're getting care. 
  There's actually a lot more rights provided by others in some countries than you may assume. >
  
  It's still not a natural right, it's something the government decided they were going to use the money they collect from people to provide.  It's NOT a right, even if the advertising package says it is.
  The closest that medical care comes to being a "right" is being able to access it at will.  That doesn't mean that you have a right to receive it free of charge, or that they should provide you everything you demand.  If you can't afford care, and nobody else (government, insurance, etc) is paying for it, your rights aren't being violated, you just can't buy something you want.
  It's just like free speech.  You have a right to free speech, but that doesn't mean that anyone is obligated to provide you free internet access, or publish your manuscript for free.
  Americans have a right to keep and bear arms.  That doesn't mean that gun stores are obligated to provide Americans free guns or ammo. >
  
  So they would probably get very disgusting unless the government partnered with a private contractor. However we already have a publicly funded restroom and it's called Washington DC. Congress is just one big bathroom stall. The FBI is a urinal because of all the leaks. >
  
  You don’t need to “partner with private contractors” to have clean public systems. Stop with the capitalist propaganda that only companies can do these things. >
  
  Well seeing as every single government funded public restroom I’ve ever been in has been DISGUSTING, I would say they DO need help. Your precious government has no incentive to improve at all, since they get paid no matter what. Your tax money gets taken directly out of your pay and goes straight into their coffers without you having any say, and that will likely never change. They don’t give a fuck about optimizing for customer experience at all. >
  
  Government doesn’t have “customers,” it has citizens, and you vote for people who give a shit. It’s telling that the only ones that do are pretty far left, the others only care about enriching themselves and their friends, and thats why public services have gone downhill in the last century. >
  
  If that is really the case, why aren’t the left leaning places paradise? Or even close to paradise? Or even kind of nice?
  I’ll give you a hint: it’s because ALL politicians care about enriching themselves. Nancy Pelosi (a Democrat) is a multimillionaire. She also earns less than $200k/yr. Her stock portfolio out performs all of the top hedge funds, and all of the top investors. How is that possible if she and other people on the left are the only ones who give a shit about their citizens? And for every scheming, self-enriching democrat politician, there is a Republican politician who is just as scheming and self-enriching. 
  It’s not about left/right. The government doesn’t give a fuck about any of us. >
  
  She’s left-ER, but she’s not left :) >
  
  So apart from her, why aren’t the places run by people who are LEFT absolute paradise? >
  
  Nah, we need way less government, not more >
  
  Big Government is when the government provides public bathrooms to stop people from shitting in the streets >
  
  Do you really think government provided bathrooms will be much better than privately owned places having bathrooms available (and most times required) like in the US? >
  
  Did I misunderstand the post or you guys really don’t have public washroom at train station? Then, where are the workers at train station gonna do the deed then? >
  
  They do, I'm not sure what Op is on, for that point. >
  
  Definitely an unpopular opinion with me.  1) imagine what it would cost, there are hundreds of thousands of places you're saying that would require a bus stop.  2) extremely unsanitary conditions, the government wouldn't be able to maintain them at an acceptable rate cuz there's literally hundreds of thousands of them. 3) there are far more pressing issues than the odd weirdo that wants to use a government run public washroom. 4) who is nasty enough to literally want to use a public outhouse?  Seriously, I'm 41 and have used a public toilet maybe a dozen times in my adult life.  By public, I mean malls, gas stations and such.  I know restaurants are considered public but you generally can't use them if you're not a paying customer and they generally have a higher standard of cleanliness due to it being a restaurant. >
  
  Are you serious about number 3 and 4? I wouldn’t call a mother with bladder issues an odd weirdo. Lots of people have to use public washrooms on a daily basis, and I have sympathy for them >
  
  So all the drug addicts can OD in them? Or have a safe place to have sex? Who’s going to clean them? Sounds like an expensive and disgusting nightmare. Especially for cities. >
  
  Yeah but how to keep it clean and usable? I’m grossed out by public bathrooms 95% of the time. >
  
  By hiring lots of cleaners >
  
  Personally, I find public toilets disgusting and refuse to use them as much as I can. I even dehydrate myself before boarding planes just so I don't have to go piss in one of those germ-infested bogs of eternal stench.
  And unless they have some sort of a medical issue, people who constantly have to go to the washroom are an annoying lot. Just hold it, for fooks sake. >
  
  People who have to go to the washroom a lot:
  Mothers
  Women on periods
  Children
  Disabled people
  “Just hold it” is pretty unempathetic to say >
  
  Note the part where I wrote "unless they have some sort of a medical issue". >
  
  Yes just add more bathroom’s for the Meth smokers. Denver metro libraries and RTD restrooms have to be closed for meth clean up. >
  
  So the government doesn't own or have the legal right to build washrooms on private property. The disability accommodations are mandated by law but the cost (when in/on private property) goes to the property owner. Public washrooms on publicly owned property is different. I don't entirely disagree in theory but I have seen the way people treat things that are free and for some reason freely available bathrooms seem to have a neon sign over them that most of us can't see that says "come on in and smoke lots of crack! Or shoot some dope and leave your needle on the floor. Take a shit and smear it on the walla while you're at it". Something to that effect.
  Who would maintain them? Who would pay for the construction and upkeep? If you're talking about America we are already paying like $10 for a carton of eggs. Everything costs significantly more than it did a year ago. Raising taxes right now to pay for bathrooms or allocating money we've already paid to build bathrooms all over the place would likely tip people over the edge at this point. >
  
  I agree. The first complaint, as is with early comments here is who is going to clean them, Well… there’s a job. A job that most anyone can do, that the government can provide. People clean bathrooms, yes it can be messy, but if they are being monitored from nearby, a lot of these issues are reduced. The idea that it is not the governments job to provide this right is classic McConnell logic… What DO we expect them to provide then? It’s not infrastructure, we barely get that. Protection? We all saw that video, don’t get that either. Liberty? Mmm… perhaps, but we’ve got a decent wage-slavery racket going making that a hard pill to swallow. We used to count on them for waste disposal, but most of that is privatized too. What do they do with our tax money other than start wars, and pass it around? I’d be ok if some of the tax pool went to, oh I don’t know, Some public services. >
  
  I spent 2 weeks kayaking on the upper Missouri River, very remote area and I only had to poop in the woods 1 time. The rest of the time a restroom 🚽 was never to far away. I don’t think this is a problem. >
  
  bushes 😶 >
  
  What the fuck?  In australia theres free bathrooms and toilets.  Ive never had to pay to use a bathroom. >
  
  i went on an international vacation once and it actually shocked me how difficult it was to find a public restroom. more than that, when i found some i had to pay for them. only a small amount to me but to someone who doesn’t have much, that could potentially be damaging >
  
  Agreed on washroom being a basic human right. There are literally laws that prevent people from using rivers and streams to wash themselves, so, yeah, we *must* provide an alternative. Anything that society bars the natural version of it must provide a free social version of.
  Requiring it at every single bus stop is probably overkill and way more than actually necessary. Provide public funding to shelters with the caveat that they can't deny showers to anybody. All showers should also be single occupancy. >
  
  This has probably crossed my mind everytime I am out and on my period. It makes no sense that half the populace experiences this biological process, which follows a cycle but can come unexpectedly, and this is not accomodated in the slightest. But also, gender data gap and what not. 
  Creating spaces where you can relieve yourself while in public is a net positive for everybody, because it will also improve hygiene. A lot of guys will end up pissing in a corner or behind a tree if they really can't hold it in and I totally get it. However, it still makes said corner smell like piss. >
  
  I agree with you. One reason I made this post is because my girlfriend gets sick in her stomach when she has her period, and it gives me great anxiety whenever we are in public as I preemptively search for washrooms for her >
  
  Imo not an unpopular opinion. Washrooms/restroom are a basic human right >
  
  326 comments on this post, I think it may be somewhat of an unpopular opinion >
  
  Man, people get rights and needs confused so easily.  
  It is not a basic human RIGHT to use someone else’s property to deposit a load of excrement that they then have to expense to sanitize. Water bills. Janitorial fees. Supplies like soap and TP. 
  You do not have a RIGHT to someone else’s things. 
  You do have a basic human need to expel waste and a few regulations on where you can’t do it, like on a sidewalk. 
  Huge difference between rights and needs. Just because you need it doesn’t make it a right. >
  
  Considering the large quantity of regulations on where you can or cannot expel waste, a large quantity of alternatives (washrooms) should be available. Otherwise this is restricting basic human needs, some of which are really pressing for disabled people, mothers, etc >
  
  Okay, but a basic human need can be restricted. Yes, there should be more public facilities. Yes, they should be clean and sanitary. Yes, the government should be supplying these facilities and paying people to maintain them. 
  But my point stands - it’s not a RIGHT.
  The government cannot infringe on a right even though they try and succeed quite often. That’s another topic. 
  The government’s purpose is to manage things that the citizenry needs to function as a society, which includes a place to shit.
  The US government is a monumental failure. /tangent >
  
  I agree, paying to do something natural is just capitalism at its finest >
  
  We dont have requirment to have acess to toilet or a place to eat unless you stay at a project longer than 1 week at work. The problem then is that you can fall into a situation with where you never have any place because you jump between small projects every week for a long time >
  
  And all those government bathrooms should be gender neutral! >
  
  You’re making fun, probably, but why the hell not? >
  
  Some of the bus stations I use have restrooms for the riders.  Of course every station has a restroom for the bus drivers. The ones that don't have the restrooms, have those johnny on the spots. I guess they are better than nothing, but I hate them. >
  
  ... a porta potty/portaloo ? >
  
  Yes >
  
  Ahh okay lol I assumed but wanted to clarify, I've never heard them called Johnny on the spots. >
  
  Tell that to Amazon >
  
  But we need to come up with a plan that deters drug addicts from hogging them and using them to shoot up. Maybe a time limit and then the door forcibly unlocks? But if you’re alert and just taking a huge shit, then you would just relock it >
  
  I don’t agree at all, but you make some strong points! >
  
  There are a few self cleaning toilets outside some metro stations where I live (Montreal, Canada). One of them is in one of the worst parts of the city, lots of homeless people. It starts beeping and the door opens if you're inside for too long. It works just fine, there should be more. >
  
  Ahh yes the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and government entitled bathrooms. You’re so totally right OP. Great job solving another one of societies pressing problems…. >
  
  for a second I thought you were talking about showers, stupid american and all, although they are pretty common over here, thinking about it showers would be pretty dirty if made public use. >
  
  I think we should, but the problem is that there is a mixed basket of people in society that plays into this like everything else. To put it simply if they did that they’d have to hire people to work around the clock to keep it clean and probably security to make sure no one tries to abuse it in some way. Then you got some that don’t care and shit outside because they’re more comfortable that way >
  
  Yeah, but it would be a good thing to hire those people. That would provide jobs! >
  
  Yeah but they’d probably pay shit and wouldn’t be worth it >
  
  Well they should pay well and then be worth it >
  
  They’re not gonna do that >
  
  Well they should. Consider that part of my unpopular opinion lol >
  
  That is sooooooo unpopular >
  
  Yeah man I have more people in the comments disagreeing with me than agreeing >
  
  My town a couple years ago spent over 1/4 million on a new bathroom for people and families to use at a local park. The local crack heads have destroyed it in no time and now it's shut town. All at the cost of the local taxpayers. 
  Good concept, but it didn't work in my town.