Are you sure you are in the right forum???
If you read the post carefully, you will note that I gave SheLion a political strategy lecture............. 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?"......................Polybius
As a case in point, Mears, look at the replies by SheLion in Posts 157 and 159.
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You disgust me. Move on....SheLion
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All your in-your-face position regarding smoking will get you is to be squashed like a cockroach in the political arena.......Plybius
You threatening me?....SheLion
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Let's suppose ,Mears, that you want to send a lobbyist to a legislative body to work out a compromise to protect both the rights of smokers and non-somokers.
How far do you think that someone like SheLion will get?
Legislator: "My position is that any compromise keeps your smoke out of other people's noses and off of their person."
SheLion: "You disgust me."
Legislator: "With such an in-your-face attitude to the political negotiating process, Ms. She Lion, I can gurantee you that all your position regarding smoking will get you is to be squashed like a cockroach in the political arena."
SheLion: "You threatening me?"
Legislator: "Hello, Operatror. Please have Security send two officers to Representaive Smith's office right away."
Are you sure you are in the right forum???
What kind of terminally unconscious and delusional moron would presume to give anybody an unsolicited "lecture"?
Don't you have a dog?
An abused wife?
Cowering children?
A punching bag?
Interesting scenario.
I've been a lobbyist for nearly 20 years, both paid and unpaid, and saw a couple of interesting exchanges.
But I can tell you for fact that some of the nastiest exchanges I saw between legislators and lobbyists on the issue of smoking generally came from the anti-smoking crowd. I was working on an amendment with some bar owners about the smoking ban in Delaware and went to speak with a Senator with some of them. At first he was interested in hearing our concerns and willing to consider our amendment, and we set a meeting for the next day. Later that same day I happened to overhear one of the anti-smoker lobbyists inform this senator that if he supported our amendment, th Senator would be out of his seat next election.
The next day, at the allotted time we went to meet with the Senator and before anyone said 2 words, he said I don't have time for you and smokers have no rights.
Yes, I was told by a State Senator smokers had no rights, even though he knew this was about the rights of the bar owners, not the smokers.
So while you may not like the manner in which some smokers posting anonymously on an internet forum express themselves.....please note that in real life.......your side is far from the virtuous protectors of public health they claim to be.
and BTW - the lobbyist that threatened the Senator's re-election........being paid by the Lung Association. I was just helping out some friends that owned bars, on my own time and my own dime.
Its already been tried throughout this "tolerant" country of yours. Its been done by the bars/restaurants who have installed sophisticated air filtration systems and designated smoking sections so as not to offend non-smokers. Not good enough for the anti's who have successfully convinced communities to issue "anti-private-property" laws banning privately owned businesses from allowing smoking in their establishments. So much for compromise!
Its been tried by the airline industry when they first decided to put smokers at the back of the plane. Not good enough for the anti's who successfully coerced the industry into banning smoking on all airlines. So much for compromise!
It was tried by most of the airline terminals when they set up smoking sections so as not to offend the anti's. Not good enough for the anti's who successfully coerced the communities running the terminals into banning smoking entirely within such terminals. So much for compromise!
It was tried by many companies to allow smoking in only the individual offices and not in common areas. But that was not good enough for the anti's who successfully coerced such businesses into providing 100% smoke free environments. So much for compromise!After approximately 25 years of compromising, you will have to forgive us smokers if we seem to have lost all our tolerance for further negotiation. Keep that in mind the next time you walk past a smoker standing outside of an office building and be very careful in what you might say to them regarding cigarettes. That person might be me and I don't compromise anymore..........