I know it does not look pretty, but what is she suppose to do? She was outside.

I always try to have a tissue tucked away in a pocket for this since I have chronic sinus and allergy problems but as Judy said, if she didn't have one what else was she supposed to do with it? There's only one alternative and we don't even want to have to spell that one out.

If she had blown her nose on a Kleenex and tossed it....that would have bothered me.

I used to run with a lady who blew her nose on her gloves, then rolled them up & carried them. She looked like a model......gave everyone Glamour Shots photos of herself for X-mas.

Maybe it's not a habit. A bug may have entered her throat and she wanted to dislodge it. :)

Ick! For those that ask what she was supposed to do with it, I'd say swallow it. Spitting is gross and not generally accepted, IMO. Yeah, some men do it, but in my experience they are not the cream of the crop otherwise, either. I'm not intending to sound snobby with those comments, but I agree with Jasdip.

If it was, in fact, a one-time event when she was caught short (no Kleenex, a big wad, a bug, or whatever), yes, I'm ok with that and likely would've done it myself (especially if it was a bug).

I agree, go prepared or find another way but spitting is gross regardless of who does it, a women, a man or even a kid. It’s disgusting.

I think it must have been more acceptable in the past as spittoons were manufactured, some quite fancy in silver or brass. Etsy has them for sale. And surely spitting contests using watermelon seeds is still done by kids.

Yes, it is gross. I was out was walking across a parking lot yesterday when a guy got out of his car about 20-30 feet in front of me. He spit right in my path which caused me to alter my route so as not to step in it.

Speaking of gross habits, what's up with people and their gum? About a month ago, someone stuck a big wad of pink gum on the trunk of my car. The sun then baked it on and i had a devil of a time getting it off. Three times in the last week, ive nearly stepped in gum that people threw on the ground even though there was a trash can nearby. I find that so thoughtless and rude of people and there is absolutely no good reason or excuse for it.

Maybe she DID have a bug fly into her mouth as someone else suggested! If I had that happen (and I have) you better believe I'd be spitting like crazy! HA!

Trust me, she did not have a bug fly into her mouth......and twice???

She hoarked, a white glob of spit onto the sidewalk.

There's NO excuse for anyone doing that in this day and age. It brought me back to the time working at the factory when a certain race regularly spit on the floor, we were dodging gobs all the time.

Yuck, when I read the title I thought this would be about smoking - just as disgusting.

Yeah, smoking and chewing tobacco are two more bad habits that are pretty gross.

Just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover! HAHA!

I see a lady jogger daily, on a (paved) path where I stroll my grandson, as we tend to go there at the same time each day. It's a popular walking path through a scenic ravine. Several times in the Spring I witnessed her do that. But after each time, she stopped, took her water bottle out of her fanny pack, opened it, and poured some water over where she had spat, washing it away. I think she must have had some kind of bronchial infection at the time, as I've never seen her spit, except during that week or so. I appreciate that she took the time to stop her jog, and then 'tidied up' after herself. I bet she keeps a clean house!

that is pretty nasty but..... sometimes it's unexpected and just has to come out. Now if it just a bad habit that's just not good. I know when I was smoking I would get a lot of phlegm and it had to go somewhere in a hurry

When I was little I remember my dad spitting once in a while. Other boys did too -- part of why they had "cooties" maybe, lol.

Now that dad is elderly (over 90), he spits more frequently. I can tell he tries to be considerate of where/when; it's still gross. But at his age we put up with it without undue fuss.

She may have COPD or asthma and has a lot of secretions. Too many secretions that she would have to carry a box of kleenex with her. That's not convenient. The story I made up in my head about this lady is that she used to be a heavy smoker, saw the light and quit but not before lung damage (and secretions) and is now just trying to live her best life. I guess I would risk grossing out some random person in an effort to maintain my pulmonary fitness.

It grosses me out. At least do it in a grassy area or one of the tree islands in the parking lot? I mostly see people spitting while walking to a store in the parking lot or while they are pumping gas.

Fortunately spitting is very uncommon here. Not all COPD is from smoking, I know a family of non-smokers and all the older members through multiple generations have the disease, it can by familial.

Maybe it was a desperate moment for her? Yeah, that's what I'm going with. That is, she doesn't ever do it and absolutely had to this once.

And then there are professional baseball players. If I owned a team, anyone who spit while playing a game would be thrown off the team.

That spit (or whatever) is full of germs and that action is just disgusting.