Posted on 01/08/2005 9:20:21 AM PST by SheLion
I am surprised Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson didnt refer to the smokers as swine in a pig sty. Isnt that, after all one of the one of the first images that comes to mind when think of a pen? Before I am offended by da mayor I would have to be offended by the reference to the term smoking pens. In a city and state that was founded by a group of people so seriously reviled for their own beliefs in years past, you would think they would be among the first to take a live and let live attitude about the behavior and choices of others. Clearly the past lessons learned about intolerance by the Mormons must now have been forgotten.
Only 88 airports nationwide is hardly a mandate to make ones own airport smoke free. Furthermore if these smoking kiosks are eliminated it will only cause people to find other places to smoke. Delta Airlines is correct in standing behind the rights of the smokers. Perhaps they have taken note that incidence of air rage only became prevalent AFTER smoking was banned on aircraft. It should also be noted that since the ban, they no longer use fresh air to ventilate the planes; instead, they just run the air through a filtrations system which in an enclosed environment further exacerbates the problem.
Mayor Andersons pompous arrogance in stating that the ban will help smokers to break the habit is outrageous. It is not his job to be neither a social engineer nor the arbiter of personal choices. I do know however, that as long as Salt Lake City and Utah continue down this Draconian path of heavy handed intolerance, I will avoid their state in very way possible. I will not travel to it, I will not travel thru it, and I will not support my company scheduling a convention there.
BANS ARE BAD! Read it again, BANS ARE BAD! Banning blacks from white facilities---BAD! Banning books---BAD! Banning Beer---Bad! If the people of Utah agree that these bans are bad, then they must also agree that banning smoking is also BAD! I would certainly hope at this juncture they are starting to realize that any action, that would favor a smoking ban of any type, will only create far more harm than good. IN all fairness I should note their may be one kind of good ban. That of course would be banning Mayor Anderson from further political office at the next election.
What a wonderful post. Its so very well said!
In these politically correct days there are very few groups who are allowed to be hated. Even child molestors are getting status, as they now wish to have their predatory sexual practices referred to as 'trans-generational sex'. But there is still a group who has less status than child molestors, that group is smokers.
When the state sponsors hatred against any group there will always be those who will gleefully step up to be the haters.
Why does the state sanction hatred against smokers? So they can exploit them through the taxation system, the state always demonizes those they intend to exploit. The Jews were vilified in order to justify the Holocaust, blacks were called subhuman in order to justify slavery. The state promotes the idea that smokers should have no property rights so the state can seize their property.
Enough of the public will allow this to happen to their fellow citizen because they are lulled into believing smokers deserve the hatred that is heaped upon them. Of course the government would never abuse 'normal' citizen like they abuse smokers, so for some, it is 'safe' to watch the fundamental rights of some citizens be stripped away.
The door has been yanked open by those who love to hate, the obese are next. After the obese, who knows? Everybody is now fair game and in the end, those who backed the state sponsored hatred of smokers will find themselves in the crosshairs.
And they will be the first to squeal, "But...but...they weren't supposed to do this to meeeeee!"
What's addicting about it is enjoyment. If people didn't enjoy it, they could quit with no problem.
My Dad quit cold turkey. He got up one morning, went to light up and threw it down. He couldn't STAND smoking anymore, so he quit.
That's why it's hard for people to quit. They enjoy it. If I hated something, I surely wouldn't put it in my body.
Leaving this thread for a while on this snowy,sleety,icy afternoon.
Gonna brew some coffee,smoke a couple of cigs,and knock of that Hershey Symphony bar with toffee and almonds.
Life is good.
Clearly, we grew up in different cultural and social circles. At the risk of sounding unkind, I do recognize that double-wides are fire traps...
I'm with you. If someone would organize this, I would give till it hurt!
You are welcome. But pity that these Morlocks are supposed to be like-minded individuals that are registered at Free Republic, isn't it.
They love being conservative as long as the road is going THEIR way.
If you read the post carefully, you will note that I gave SheLion a political strategy lecture.
In a constitutional republic, the smoking laws will prevail unless you find something in the Constitution that protects your right to smoke wherever you please.
You may not like that. You may call that a "tyranny of the majority". Be that as it may that is the way it is.
In such a political system, the minority can get its agenda enacted either by violent revolution or by working co-operatively and appealing to the sense of fairness of the majority.
The following political position can get you somewhere: "We respect your right not to be exposed to your smoke. How can we work something out so that we can smoke and you can be free of our smoke?"
SheLion's position, when told others did not want to breath her smoke, will get her nothing but a political slap-down: "However, you know the ad on TV the town of PERFECT? Well, we don't LIVE in Perfect, now do we?"
That is John Thune from SD who replaced Dasshole.
I think you're mistaking him for someone who has cajones between their legs.
We'll just sit here alone, in the dark, with our Hersey Symphony Bar envy ;-)
4 years ago, when Maine raised cigarette taxes again, charging $45-$50 for a carton of my Premiums, I said enough is enough.
Thanks to my friends in FR, I learned how to roll your own. So, I ordered the Supermatic rolling machine off of the Net, and went to the local Smoke Shop and bought the bags of tobacco and filtered tubes. I haven't looked back since.
And that's a fact. Actually, I think we have a few in Free Republic that lean in that direction as well.
Oh please! How many smokers burn your furniture and dump their ashes on the floor. You are stereotyping, now!
The funny part is that every time I've been in there, I've enjoyed the company! Smokers are a friendly group.
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Usually, they are quite friendly. But everytime I've smoked in public, (minus the smoking deck, lol)folks generally tend to ignore me and each other. Weird, but true. I must send out "I'm a rhymes-with-witch" vibe, lol.
But then a fool who wages war against minor vices, when there are far greater evils to fight, is unlkely to heed such sage advice.
How breathtakingly condescending.
And it's that way with most state lawmakers. Every time they have a budget shortfall, they raise taxes on cigarettes. Smokers are damn tired of carrying the state budget on our soldiers.
Here is an excellent saying:
"When you're too spineless to cut spending, stick it to the smokers and tell them it's for their own good."
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