Ba-DUMP chaaaaa.
Only if it ain’t political. But tell me, how is it, though? I’ll let you know (by PM or email, of course) if ever I get there myself. It can’t be that great, I’m betting.
Nano does humor!! 
Stick around, kiddo: I got a million of 'em.
yeah, so how did ya know that I was thinkin’ of leavin’?
'Cause you’re kind of a jumpy sort.
Wait, you’re the one basking in your satori and all…was that supposed to be one of those trick questions?
quicker that time, eh!
…Huh? What? Sorry, I was napping. 
that’s a very nice gif!
Am I the only one who is astonished that spitting is acceptable in company off the sports field?
No one I know spits in public. How customs differ.
Obviously there is still a “spitting problem” in many parts of England, hence the calls for more stringent laws and enforcement.
I put it to you that the part of Buckinghamshire that I inhabit is darker far than the part of Buckinghamshire YOU inhabit.
All the world is a sports field. Breathing has always been preferable to choking to death, at least so far, for me.
I accept the possibility that there may be physiological or other reasons that necessitate spitting. A gob full of chaw could be one of them, and it’s not like you have a choice about it so long as the stuff is in your mouth (a different discussion, for my purposes); a swallowing disorder or honest revulsion at swallowing one’s own saliva could be another, and that is definitely not a choice. That’s why I don’t get overly put off by spitting in principle. I still say, though, that even in those cases one has a certain amount of control over when and how one does spit when others are around. You may not be able to help it if another gets offended or disgusted on general principles, but you do have control over whether how you behave may be taken as a direct, intentional offense. Those are two different issues.
In the case of idle, elective, nonfunctional spitting, one always has a choice.
My wife is a spitter. She just seems to produce much more phlegm than most. And the distinction needs to be made that it is not the same thing as saliva. When she spits she does so into a tissue which is then disposed of following proper disposal procedures.
A good point. To swallow, or not to swallow? In my case I suppose it depends on if I’m hoping for an extra little hit of nicotine.
Just use some spitless tobacco, they make just up the road from us in Williamsburg, a city built on tobacco among other unpleasant things.
No, no, I’m a smoker, you see. That’s what I meant; sorry if there was any misunderstanding. That’s what I love about smoking: I get a dozen oysters with every meal.
Tabasco sauce then.
I think, in all 3 scenarios, if I were to take any offense at them, my reaction would be to instantly spit back. He spits, and without blinking an eye, I spit too, the same way, with the same force. The person will realize it, wonder about it for a moment, and think about what he just did himself.
Now, there is one other scenario that I’ve not heard mentioned, and that is an old tradition among some ex-Marines who have seen combat in arid climates. It has to do with the old expression, “spit in the eye,” and it refers to combat situations where things became so dry, and clouded with dirt and smoke they resorted to spitting in each others’ eyes to lubricate them. Sounds gross, right? Some guys will still spit upon greeting someone they think may be a fellow ex-Marine or combat veteran as a show of respect.
Then I think it’s entirely fair to ask them to not guess, but do it only when they know who they’re dealing with. Now, I don’t know if mistaken identity has ever been the cause of any spit-greetings to me, but people regularly assume that I’m ex-military for some reason. Even when I wore a ponytail they assumed it. Well, I’m not. I don’t even dress in any manner that could cause anyone to assume it. No camo, no nuthin’. Whatever aura I may or may not project, I’m just a plain old up-front, jeans-and-plaid, cake-eating civilian (except for the cake part. I’m not wild about cake) who is not favorably disposed to people who spit on my path with the eyes-on full awareness that I am there. I reject the notion that because I see it as having all the elements to qualify as a provocation, that puts me dead in the wrong. My side of the story should count for nothing? If we are to be social animals, that comes off as pretty incomplete thinking, if you ask me.
OTOH, as one who aspires to a civilised condition I’m not inclined to confront and escalate things, either, especially so long as there’s reasonable doubt. There would be no good to that. Also, it’s entirely possible to see intentionally aggressive spitting as a backhanded compliment from a less-evolved sort and leave it at that, if it suits the times. But I do note it in a negative light, all the same.
BTW, in case people are wondering, this sort of thing has in no way been any sort of regular occurrence. Aside from the personal relief of not having to wonder if the world hates me, maybe its comparative seldomness is partly why it stands out so.