There are many people would not hestitate to drop empty crisp wrappers on the ground in public. They probably think, well if a non-Jew can do it, so can I.
The idea, that others also do so, therefore it makes it OK for me to also do so fallacious. This is because there can be be things that are inherently wrong to do so, yet many people still do so.
Regardles of non-Jewish sensibilities or attitudes, a Jew must always act in accordance with the Torah. As Torah Jews, we look in the Torah to find the answers to ethical questions which confront us.
I suggest that this idea also applies to the seemingly mundane question of throwing away an empty crisp wrapper on public grounds. I will explain.
I refer to the Talmud (Chagiga 5a) which interprets the verse (Koheles 12:14) that Hashem will bring a person to judgment on "ALL hidden things". Rav says that this refers to someone who kills a louse in front of his friend; who is repulsed by this action. Shmuel says that this refers to someone who spits in front of his friend; who is repulsed by this action. Rashi explains, that though the person doing the action was unaware of the significance of his action, and though the action seems trivial, nevertheless Hashem will judge him for his action, because his friend was nontheless repulsed by it.
The above gemara is quoted by the Mishneh Berura (151:24) in reference to
spitting in front of another person.
The Meiri (ad loc.) comments, that the examples given in the gemara are not
exclusive, rather they serve as examples of actions which are not prohibited per se. If others find repulsion in these actions, than these actions they must be refrained from. I therefore suggest, that we can infer
from this gemara a Talmudic basis for not littering the streets, since some
people find this action repulsive.
When a non-Jew reacts negatively to a Jew dropping a crisp wrapper, this can be due to the fact that he finds it repulsive. As such, there is a Torah source why this should not be done.
Why the non-Jew doesn't comment in the same manner to another non-Jew, may be due to antisemitism, or may be due the fact that the other non-Jew may pull a knife or a gun on him. These factors still don't make it appropriate for the Jew to do something that Torah ideas discourage.
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