Please don't smoke... - by Strangeblue
Ko0K on 17/7/2006 at 06:19
There are places where certain people don't find themselves particularly welcome. For example, I wouldn't step into *some* biker places or any bars where there is a floor with hay strewn about for line dancing - with cow bells hanging on the wall and shit - and expect to fit in. Anyway, no place of business is allowed to operate in the US if they post signs like that in public view. So, the answer is yes; you can get cited for being blatant, but that does not mean there aren't businesses out there that have 'preferences,' as a matter of fact.
Then again, that's not so dissimilar to what goes on around here. Unless anyone can confess to himself that he's never resented someone who came in his precious thread and fagged it up, we're all biggots in eyes of one person or another. That sounds pretty negative when it's written down like that, but that's been human nature from the getgo.
Stitch on 17/7/2006 at 16:45
Scots: As tough as it is for your wonderful wife, I don't really see why rules should be put into place to protect the very few at the expense of the very many. I agree that it sucks for the asthmatics, but they know their condition and it is their choice to walk into a smoky environment or not. People with peanut allergies probably shouldn't walk into a candybar plant no matter how much they love chocolate.
As for the general argument that banning smoking in public places like bars and restaurants is actually a move to protect not the very few but the very many, I call horseshit. Despite the fact that some nonsmokers imagine their health deteriorating the moment they catch the merest whiff of someone's distant cigarette, I simply don't believe secondhand smoke is all that dangerous, at least in the volume we're talking about. Cohabitating with a smoker can't be good for your lungs but it seems ludicrous to assume that the occasional night out at a smoky club is going to negatively affect your health to any noticable degree.
On a personal note, I tend to agree with Monkeysee (big surprise). My libertarian tendencies clash with the smoking ban in principle, and yet I love the fact that I can spend a night out without my clothes stinking like an ashtray afterwards. In fact, I'd go so far as to credit Madison's public smoking ban with largely facilitating my current "changing of one's jeans as infrequently as possible" initiative.
Shug on 17/7/2006 at 17:14
Quote Posted by Stitch
As for the general argument that banning smoking in public places like bars and restaurants is actually a move to protect not the very few but the very many, I call horseshit. Despite the fact that some nonsmokers imagine their health deteriorating the moment they catch the merest whiff of someone's distant cigarette, I simply don't believe secondhand smoke is all that dangerous
Not sure about your neck of the woods, but smoking here is very much a minority activity (but problematic due to the complete lack of proper ventilation in most drinking establishments), and no offence intended but the opinion of a guy qualified to write and edit english really doesn't inspire confidence in me in such a controversial area of human health - unlike most other areas, anyway
Rug Burn Junky on 17/7/2006 at 17:33
Quote Posted by theBlackman
But as is obvious from many of the comments here and on other forums, rude and obnoxious is the trend in the current society.
Well, then thank god you'll be dead soon and won't have to put up with it much longer.
theBlackman on 17/7/2006 at 18:08
Quote Posted by Rug Burn Junky
Well, then thank god you'll be dead soon and won't have to put up with it much longer.
Brilliant retort. I would have expected better from you. Are you off your feed?
Chimpy Chompy on 17/7/2006 at 18:12
Well I'm not much for witty retorts, but you seem pretty good at being obnoxious yourself.
Rug Burn Junky on 17/7/2006 at 18:16
Quote Posted by theBlackman
Brilliant retort. I would have expected better from you. Are you off your feed?
It wasn't a retort, I was just trying to help you look on the bright side for once. It must get you awfully depressed doing nothing but constantly telling us how much society sucks nowadays.
