Posted on 11/19/2004 5:35:36 AM PST by SheLion
Today is the day we set aside each year to badger, harass and pester that marginalized subculture of Americans, the Doorway People.
You know the Doorway People. They stand in doorways at work or at the mall smoking cigarettes because lighting up in mixed company has become as distasteful as nose-picking.
Yes, today marks the 27th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, where modern incarnates of pinch-mouthed prohibitionists attempt to further ghettoize smokers.
Now, it's not that I think smoking is good. I have friends who smoke. I wish they didn't. On average, they will trade 10 years of their lives to enjoy their habit. But we're all grownups. Smoking is their demon and I have enough of my own demons to wrestle with.
But, unlike anti-smoking zealots, I sympathize with smokers.
That's because I was a smoker. When I quit for good in 1996, I was burning through 2 1/2 packs a day. I ditched the habit because each time I coughed, my lungs rattled as if someone had backed into metal trash cans.
Still, I loved every puff. I still miss it. In fact, I still have nicotine cravings.
So I'm sympathetic to smokers and believe they should be free to enjoy their addiction, which, last I checked, remains legal. Which is why I dislike the anti-smoking scolds. They are trying to criminalize smoking.
From New York City to Dallas, from Toledo, Ohio, to Eugene, Ore., anti-smoking zealots have racked up successful campaigns to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, the last bastion of peace and acceptance for smokers.
Eventually, the anti-smoking "movement" will have won enough smoking bans in enough cities in enough states to introduce national no-smoking legislation, said Zoe Mitchell, co-founder of Ban the Ban, which recently defeated efforts to enact similar no-smoking legislation in Washington, D.C.
"Ultimately, their goal is to make it a national issue based on their success at the local level," she said.
Anti-smokers say they're acting in the best interest of public health.
They say all those smokers burden the healthcare system with their cigarette-related maladies. It costs all of us more in healthcare premiums, they say.
Nonsense. Smokers die sooner than most of us nonsmokers, never collecting a cent from Social Security, which they've paid for decades.
Also, smokers pay outrageous cigarette taxes on each pack of smokes, which pours billions of dollars annually into government coffers.
At best, the money argument is a wash.
When an anti-smoking nut steps into a place like the Puss N' Boots Tavern in Fairless Hills, all they see is the blue-gray cloud of smoke hovering over the patrons crowded around the bar.
When I walk into the Boot, I see it differently.
I see a local cop who's seen more than his fair share of tragedy.
Or an emergency room nurse who was up to her elbows in blood just a few hours before.
Or a construction guy who's sacrificed years of Saturdays to work overtime so he could save for his kid's college tuition.
Or a middle-aged father worried about his son, who's fighting the war.
These are the good people the anti-smoking zealots want to stigmatize as public health leeches.
And if they accomplish their goal, they won't go away.
They will persecute the overweight, stigmatize SUV drivers and haul into court those who don't recycle.
They've got the money and the time and the lawyers.
Um, because it's not YOUR highway. Build you own road on your own land and drive as fast as you want.
Okay, you're kind of losing me here. We vote for elected officials, they pass a law saying that there is no smoking in public places (on a state by state basis - some towns are doing this now also), and now you want the vote to slip further down the line to each city.
Now, as I see it, the only responsibility the mob has is to vote for the people passing the laws. What about states that use the popular vote to add or subtract amendments to the state constitution. Is that wrong.
No matter what, the people have to power to decide what becomes a law and what doesn't. We use to have a ban on Assault Weapons, now we don't. Thanks to the NRA and all it's members, we can now go out and buy guns for our collections without spending an arm and a leg. That's the power of the people.
It doesn't, it's just a common courtesy. Where does it say that I am not allowed to spit in your face if you blow smoke in mine? It doesn't, but we have laws that make it illegal, just like there are laws that say you can't smoke wherever you want.
Unfortunately, decency and common sense are two qualities that are hard to find nowadays.
Everything is me, me, me. You want to smoke, fine, do what you want. Just don't do it where it affects me. Is that too much to ask. If you are smoking in a bar or restaurant, I won't come in and ask you to stop if you respect the fact that there are places where smoking isn't allowed and that doesn't mean to congregate by the door and smoke while you are waiting to go in.
Is that unreasonable? Do you think that our society can handle a little kindness. Maybe someday people will start opening doors for each other again. Maybe we'll say please and thank you once in a while. Maybe, just maybe, we'll realize that sometimes our wants and desires don't always matter in the overall scheme of things.
What do you think?
It was sad to see the state he was in at death all because of a stupid habit that can be beaten cold turkey in 3 days, with much prayer and the help of God in my case.
That's a fact and, in this type of scenario, I blame the antismokers for that.
and that doesn't mean to congregate by the door and smoke while you are waiting to go in.
Unfortunately, this is pretty much the only place smokers are allowed to congregate anymore. Unless you'd like to have smokers congregate in the middle of the parking lot, or the road.
Most places that have enacted a smoking ban won't even let you have a 'smokers only' restaurant. It can't be either/or for the antis. It's my way or the highway, period.
Yes, society, as a whole, could use a little more kindness but unless you're willing to give, as well as receive, it only goes so far.
Once you get to post 204 maybe we can see eye to eye.
And my wish for you as well. I don't wish harm on anyone. And I really want everyone to be happy. :)
Yes. That hit me as well. I know many many people who are smokers and are collecting SS. See how something can be spun out of control and the general public believe it??
But why can't I have an open container in my car? It's not hurting anyone. I am a great drunk driver, my actions don't hurt anyone else. You shouldn't stop me until there's proof that my actions hurt others. </sarcasm>
You see, sometimes laws have to be passed to protect people from themselves. Everyone knows that drunk driving is wrong because OCCASIONALLY, someone gets killed. Not every time, not every other time, but occasionally. Now, that may not seem like a big deal to you but I wonder if the family of the person who was killed feels any differently.
You know what else, bars used to be able to serve people alcohol until they passed out. Now you can't do that, there are specific laws that govern all liquor license holders. How can they do that? How can they tell these bars who they can serve and when they have to stop? They can do it because the bars weren't acting responsibly to protect the general public.
Even if you own a private business, you have to realize that you are responsible to operate your business within the best interests of the general public.
He was under a lot of stress.
For 5 states.......and the business owner's had no choice in the matter.
Fox News just had on that NYC has a 6.1% drop in employment. The lowest since 911. Just recently, I read an article where the bars in NYC are letting employees go. They are really losing business with this smoking ban.
But also, there are several in NY that are taking this ban to courts. So, maybe with a little bit of luck........
Well, I guess I am more tolerant to people and life. When I leave my house, and run across things that are unpleasant to ME, well, I'm out in the public.
The public consists of the good, the bad, the ugly AND the smokers. heh!
Absolutely.
And we were allowed to request another table, and did.
See, life's not that complicated, and needn't be nasty and confrontational.
Well, I could quit smoking today and then go out tomorrow and get head on by another vehicle. We never know the day and time of our deaths. So, I enjoy smoking, it's legal and it makes me happy.
For me, it's ham and cabbage that have to simmer for hours and hours. It really makes me sick to my stomach.
Or beer breath. LOL! Even though I have tried to acquire a taste for beer, someone else's beer breath really turns me off. BUT! I never scream and hollar that they MUST stop drinking BEER!
They are my friends and I love them no matter what their habit. They are all adults.
Thank you.
That could get you in trouble.
A safe alternative is my plastic cigarette. All the fun with none of the risk. It raises their blood pressure just as much, makes them look like the idiots they are, and it provides me with the pleasure of confessing a minor sin.
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