Spitting in officer’s food is a very serious offense

I was shocked when I read your editorial about the Waffle house cook spitting in Lt. John Morgan’s food. You feel spit, or more precisely human saliva, is no big deal.

First I would like you to put yourself in his place. Do you savor the thought of eating someone else’s bodily secretions? Now consider this, any disease that a person has can be transmitted through their saliva. We all are aware of HIV but stop to consider others like Hepatitis A, B, and C.

While Hepatitis A is treatable, B is not so easily treated. It is dangerous enough that most public safety and healthcare workers are vaccinated against it. Hepatitis C, however, spreads more easily and has no vaccine or cure. Furthermore it can be fatal. I don’t have room to list all the diseases that could be spread but here are a few: Tuberculosis, Herpes Type 1 &2, Syphilis, provided the carrier is in advanced stages with coughing, or any other venereal disease provided the carrier contracted it through oral sex.

What about the flu or a cold, rarely fatal but does anyone want it? Finally what about this officer’s family that could also be exposed to disease? What if Lt. Morgan hadn’t caught this and the cook did have a disease. As a city employee you and I pay for his health insurance. How much would a chronic lifelong condition cost over a man’s lifetime? What about the risk of spreading a disease throughout our community.

You owe Lt. Morgan an apology, and not on page seven beneath a grocery ad. When something like this makes news it’s easy for you to think it’s no big deal because you are the protected. Just remember your protectors wade in the cesspool of society to keep you safe. We don’t need any more exposure to filth in our food.
Shane Prater
Mt. Leo Heights
McMinnville