Before you get too far I want to warn you that this post is about Russian toilets and Western snobbery so if either of those offend you then feel free to click away right now!
Yesterday I was enjoying watching the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. While I was watching I decided to hop on my computer to see what my social networks were saying about the games.
That’s when I came across this!
What’s wrong with this picture?
Let me give you a hint, it’s not the toilets!
With 5 kids and one toilet there have been many times when I wished we had this exact set up in our apartment.
In fact any parent with more than one child and only one bathroom can immediately see the convenience of this configuration and the great amount of stress it would relieve them of.
We shouldn’t laugh at Russia for their water closet ingenuity, we should thank them!
So what is really wrong with this picture?
What’s wrong with this picture is what you don’t see, the person behind the camera!
Here’s the problem, Westerners are snobs. We love to travel, see new places and then send home pictures of how terrible it is so that we can laugh at our gracious hosts behind their backs. I know that sounds a bit harsh but it’s true.
Russia has opened her doors to the world for the Olympic games. They invited us and that means we are guests. I don’t know what kind of homes these photographers grew up in but I grew up in a home where I was taught that when you’re a guest you’d better be on your best behavior, always say “please” and “thank you”, try all the food even if you don’t like it and make sure you complement your host!
It’s just good manners!
I’ve never been to Sochi but I’ve been in Russia and it is an amazingly beautiful place with rich culture and wonderful people. There are a million other things they could be taking pictures of yet strange toilets and unfinished buildings seem to be the hot topic!
Can you remember the last time you had guests over to your house for dinner? Did they go into your bathroom and take pictures of your toilet and then send them to all their friends commenting on it’s terrible condition and wondering how in the world anyone could regularly use it?
Probably not! If they did I’d be surprised and you’d be shocked and offended.
And yet we wonder why much of the rest of the world seems to think that we are stuck up!
Let me tell you why I’m really so worked up about this, the truth is I’ve seen it happen before and it wasn’t at the Olympic Games.
On many occasions I’ve witnessed the odd spectacle of an American on a short-term missions trip in a Ukrainian village walking into an outhouse with an expense digital camera in hand.
Unfortunately I’m pretty sure that my experiences aren’t unique!
This bothers me because it’s indicative of a greater problem. We tend to assume that our culture, our country and our bathrooms are better and that’s nothing less than arrogance and pride at work in our heart.
When I get a chance I warn missions teams not to photograph their hosts toilets. It’s rude and it doesn’t communicate the love of Christ very well.
After all I’m sure you have a few places in your house that you’d rather not have the rest of the world see!
The point is this, we need to stop searching for and publicizing the faults of others, that’s what snobs do!
Instead let’s start showing the love of Christ which “covers over a multitude of sins,” that’s what real missionaries do!
Bill (cycleguy)
February 8, 2014Well said Caleb. I remember when it was “fashionable” for American missionaries to Americanize the mission field they were on. Why? Second, this is also the problem with short-term missions: they sometimes become nothing more than a picture-taking odyssey for travel seekers. Not all but many. It is time we stop being snobs.
Caleb
February 10, 2014Bill, I think these types of things just seem to stand out to us because they are foreign but we have to remind ourselves that what is foreign to us is home to others.
Caleb
February 8, 2014Aproove
Ngina Otiende
February 8, 2014Thank you Caleb!! My hubby and I were just talking about this ridiculousness this morning! It started off when we heard one reporter say “this is to be expected from any third world country…” First off I didn’t know Russia is considered 3rd world! it’s amazing how foreigners (esp the press!) look for and find the smallest speck of dust at the back of every shoe! (helo, there’s bound to be some small particle of dust/scuffing at the back of any shoe) There’ll be so much good going on but for some reason, it’s the small things that attract attention and keep everyone ‘mesmerized’. Anyway, enough venting 🙂 . Great post, thank you.
Caleb
February 10, 2014Yes, I’ve heard people refer to Ukraine and Russia as 3rd world countries and also thought, “Wait a minute, who said it was 3rd world!”
floyd
February 8, 2014I’m not sure how anyone could look down their noses on a situation like this that although shows a difference in culture, it’s obvious that this picture speaks to a country that is advancing in wealth. Being in the business, I know the costs, the ones seen and the ones unseen. This to me shows the wealth and mentality of a country that learned the hard way that socialism doesn’t work, but free enterprise does… something our country has seemed to have forgotten. They weren’t kidding when they said, “A picture is worth a thousand words”!
Caleb
February 10, 2014Very true Floyd! Russia is actually a place of great wealth and natural resources. They also have a growing economy once again.
Dan Black
February 9, 2014I think it depends on what the person is saying about the picture. It sounds like the person was making fun of or insulting the bathroom which is wrong. We should do everything we can to care and love other people, even if they do things differently than us. Good thoughts.
Caleb
February 10, 2014I agree Dan, there probably is a way to take a picture without just using it to laugh at your host but I tell our short term missionaries that it’s just best to stay away from toilet pictures.
Dan Black
February 11, 2014Ha, ya I guess that’s true:)
Phyllis
February 9, 2014I was happy to see what seemed like a (small) trend when I started reading news this morning. Over the past few days, I was feeling more and more offended for Russia. I wondered if I was being oversensitive, but then I saw today that other people were saying that the criticism really was over the top. (And it seemed like 90% of what the journalists were complaining about was related to toilets!) I liked this:
http://www.ethnotraveler.com/2014/02/6-reasons-to-celebrate-sochi/
We have seen way too much photographing of toilets, too.
Caleb
February 10, 2014That’s a great article about some of the very positive things happening in Sochi. Thanks for sharing Phyillis!
Chris Peek
February 10, 2014I tuned into the opening ceremonies on NBC, and they spent a great deal of time discussing the facilities and politics surrounding the games. It was frustrating because I just wanted to watch the ceremonies without having to listen to all the negativity. Unfortunately, the broadcast was a reflection on our inability to put aside for two weeks our foreign policy politics and our over-the-top expectations.
Caleb
February 10, 2014That’s is frustrating Chris. I have also felt like the media was just looking for things to find wrong with Sochi. I wonder if the media would do the same if the games were say, in Canada or England.
Caleb
February 10, 2014Yes, that’s so true, I’ve seen many toilets that are worse than this, although I’ve only seen a double seater on a rare occasion.
Caleb
February 10, 2014John, you actually missed the point of this post. I’m not saying that communism is good or bad, I’m not even saying that Sochi is ready for the Olympics. What I am saying is that the way Western guests have responded is impolite, inconsiderate and represents the snobbish way that we often look at countries and cultures which may not be quite as well off as our own.
Skip Prichard
February 12, 2014What an interesting perspective. As someone who travels globally, I see your point. We do not want to be quick to judge nor assume that we have the right way. On the other hand, the pictures are an educational opportunity. For others, it may make them thankful for where they live. That’s not completely bad either, I guess. Would I send a picture? Not likely to a network but maybe to a few friends, so I consider myself guilty and chastised for the thought.
Caleb
February 12, 2014I think attitude has a lot to do with it too. Most Westerners don’t realize that they can often come across as arrogant when they take these types of pictures. However, a truly humble attitude can go a long way.
Barb Raveling
February 17, 2014Preach it, Caleb!! Such a great post. I thinks sometimes we’re snobs as Americans, but sometimes we’re just ignorant. I could see someone doing something like this just out of ignorance and then feeling bad about it when someone pointed out how arrogant it was.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a few years ago I went to the tour of homes in our valley and visited one gorgeous lodge style house that had two toilets in the master bathroom, each in its own separate little room. On the way to the car with my daughters, I was making a careless remark to my daughters about how over the top it was to have two toilets in the master bathroom when we walked by a man that looked kind of sad.
I afterwards worried that that had been the builder of the house. That was about the time the economy was collapsing and I don’t know if the builder ever sold the house or broke even on it. I guess the moral of the story is always try to be kind, no matter what the situation. And be careful what you say!
Caleb
February 19, 2014What an interesting experience in your home tour. I guess that the US isn’t really that far away from the double toilet idea!
Loren Pinilis
February 18, 2014I took a foreign mission trip and was surprised by how many on my team didn’t handle all the differences in technology, living situations, etc. Sure, a lot of it may have been uncomfortable by our standards but it really wasn’t that bad. I’m sure if the situation was reversed, they’d be amazed at all the traffic, stress, and obesity.
Caleb
February 19, 2014Good point Loren, those are some of the things that many notice when they come to the US for the first time.
Debi Stangeland
February 19, 2014Caleb, I just saw this post for the first time and I want to say that on the whole your post is understandable and I respect your view.
However, I would like to also point out that the photo that was being passed around – the one you posted above – was a very specific. Those toilets were meant for the athletes at the biathlon facility. They are not meant for the public or families. The rub has been that if you build a state-of-the-art facility for the world’s finest athletes, you should provide modern accoutrements.
It has nothing to do with being a guest in the country of Russia. It has to do with Russia saying to the world, “we are ready to host the world and can provide the best venue, best accommodations and best facilities for all of the best athletes in the world.” I believe this photo showed that they were not quite as ready as they thought they were.
Since this photo was taken and went viral the toilets have been removed and the room has been filled with filing cabinets. Toilet? Storage? Whatever. This wasn’t someone’s house, where I agree it is very inappropriate to take a photo of the bathroom, it was an athlete facility. If I were a world champion biathlete, I don’t know that I would want to sit right next to my rival while taking care of business. Would you?
Caleb
February 19, 2014True Debi, the photo in question wasn’t in a private home and if it was that would have been even worse. Actually in my experience many of the toilets that have the honor of getting photographed are not only in private homes but also in more public places, like churches and trains.
I think your comment also brings up another issue that most Westerns miss when they are in Russia which is that Slavic cultures place a much more significant value on the group and society than we do. So that means they take great pride in their city and in their national treasures. Thus taking a picture of something like a public restroom in order to ridicule it is much more personal in the mind of a Russian than it is for an American where we place much more value on our independence and less value on the group.
I realize that these are the kind of cultural things that many Americans and many of our athletes just don’t understand, unfortunately that’s why we come of snobs.
Thanks for your comments Debi!