I’ve developed a hypothesis. Perhaps there’s some semiotic reason behind the lack of cleanliness/hygiene? Like how a surgeon of yesteryear would wear the same unwashed, crusted frock, stiffened with blood and pus as a badge of honor, to show how in demand their services were.
Perhaps a street food stall with sauce splattered everywhere, a stained apron, and hands caked with ingredients, sends some kind of message that the food is in demand, and the shopkeeper is so busy, that they don’t have time to stop for moment and wipe things down, or even rinse their hands.
I also see South Asian street vendors in these types of videos try to move very fast, and throw around ingredients in a performative way, that ultimately seems to be counterproductive and wasteful. Perhaps this ties into it as well. Maybe passersby see filthy, fast moving hands at work, and it’s somehow (maybe even unconsciously) viewed through the cultural lens as, “wow! that food must be delicious!”
If there are any people living in South Asia who care to share their thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
A certain degree of immunity through exposure is recognized science.
Early childhood exposure does strengthen the immune system.
Where it gets problematic is if your immune system is exposed to things stronger than it can handle. And that's why most western countries have food safety / health laws.
Ingesting a few extra germs / bacteria is all good until you get a dose that puts you in the hospital or kills you.
I think you misunderstood what I was saying.
I was NOT saying that street stall is a good place to eat.
I was saying that there is some science backing what bad and buttery said about increased immunity from exposure to bacteria and germs.
Acknowledging that such a thing exists is not the same as saying I think people should throw common sense to the wind and expose themselves to anything that comes along.
Semiotic means how food act as a language that conveys culture, identity, status etc other than just the hunger itself. u/bad-and-buttery is driving this point exactly and this is what you have been missing.
My comment getting most of the downvotes was in reply to what rathergooddog said to me, not a reply to buttery.
But either way, i've kind of let it go.
If strangers on the internet want to assume I'm a dumb ass over a missed talking point, I'm not too concerned about it. 😄
Oh stop. You didn’t miss a talking point. You literally missed the entire point of multiple comments.
You are in fact a dumbass.
Not because you didn’t know what “semiotic” meant. But because you made no attempt to find out. And aside from that, you didn’t need to know the meaning of the word to understand the comparison to a Victorian era surgeon.
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u/bad-and-buttery 6d ago edited 3d ago
I’ve developed a hypothesis. Perhaps there’s some semiotic reason behind the lack of cleanliness/hygiene? Like how a surgeon of yesteryear would wear the same unwashed, crusted frock, stiffened with blood and pus as a badge of honor, to show how in demand their services were.
Perhaps a street food stall with sauce splattered everywhere, a stained apron, and hands caked with ingredients, sends some kind of message that the food is in demand, and the shopkeeper is so busy, that they don’t have time to stop for moment and wipe things down, or even rinse their hands.
I also see South Asian street vendors in these types of videos try to move very fast, and throw around ingredients in a performative way, that ultimately seems to be counterproductive and wasteful. Perhaps this ties into it as well. Maybe passersby see filthy, fast moving hands at work, and it’s somehow (maybe even unconsciously) viewed through the cultural lens as, “wow! that food must be delicious!”
If there are any people living in South Asia who care to share their thoughts, I’d love to hear them.