Is washing raw chicken a bad habit or just an old kitchen tradition?

I swear this is one of those cooking debates that never dies. Mention washing raw chicken in a room full of home cooks and you'll get two completely different reactions. One group looks horrified. The other wonders how anyone could cook chicken without rinsing it first. I grew up seeing chicken rinsed before cooking, and honestly, I think a lot of people did. It wasn't because anyone thought water magically killed bacteria. It was more about getting rid of that slippery liquid from the package that just doesn't look very appetizing. As I've learned more about food safety, I've seen why experts recommend skipping the rinse. The concern isn't really the chicken. It's the tiny droplets that can spread around the sink, counters, and anything nearby. What I find interesting is that most people who wash chicken aren't trying to make it safer. They're trying to make it feel cleaner. These days, I usually pat chicken dry with paper towels instead. It removes excess moisture, helps the chicken brown better, and saves me from having to sanitize half the kitchen afterward. At the end of the day, the thing that makes chicken safe isn't rinsing it. It's proper handling, clean surfaces, clean hands, and cooking it thoroughly. I'm curious how everyone else learned to do it. Were you taught to wash chicken before cooking, or has that never been part of your kitchen routine?