This seems to be my week to rant....I swear I don't look for these things, they fly in my face...
It seems that several major cities that have passed no smoking bans in bars, restraunts, office buildings, public buildings etc., are not totally happy with their successes.
The moral right has now decided that the outside air should be "smoke free" along certain beaches, parks and now 10 to 25 feet away from whatever structure bans smoking. Smokers are being hounded worse than the drug pushers.
When I was teen I remember watching a movie that showed books being burnt because they had "wrong information" inside of them, people being watched constantly at home by their TV's and I remember an old lady hiding in a car in a junk yard trying to smoke a cigarette...so she wouldn't be caught. I don't know if this was The Big Brother movie or not...it just made such an impression on me. I fear it's all coming true.
I don't smoke. I did. I stopped. Myself. When I was ready to. Granted smoking is bad, but so are a lot of things that people do. Why not regulate people jumping out of perfectly good airplanes? So many die each year...if you (the righteous right) stop them -wow- you'd be saving lives. Oh, rock climbing is pretty dangerous too, as is scuba diving, jet skis too - boy, I could keep you guys busy for a year.
I'm totally pissed. How dare these people presume to dictate how we all should live? If the "silent majority" doesn't speak up...our rights, our freedoms will be gone. Even the right just to be.
30 comments:
You and I should write a tabloid about the morale right. We are thinking similarly.
While many of them stuff their bellies with all the fast food double burgers they can find, because they don't have much time to cook at home due to all the project meetings they attend to make sure that smokers don't cost our health care sytem too much money. Or, like one couple said to me (while I was tearing out their perfectly fine bath room which I had installed less than two years ago; they found a more appealing marble with a more attractive color in the veins) isn't it just a "waste" that some people choose to smoke? DAH! Waste? How ironic.
I'm with you, dear. Yep, I am also having Alert trouble.
Spencer
http://journals.aol.com/yeolecontractor/SpencersPlace
Try living in the UK ... not only are they doing the same with smoking but they have also banned owning certain dog breeds, handguns, fox hunting and now are about to ban alcohol on transport such as buses, trains and planes. So many laws so little pleasure ...!
Sandi how right you are - we all should rant a bit more - before all our Human rights as whisked away......Ally
Could all the people who drive cars please stop, they are so toxic, you can sit in a car, inhale the exhaust fumes and die, ever tried sitting in a car inhaling cigarettes and dying? Also could all these dictators please not use central heating, the fumes coming out of their vents contain carbon monoxide which kills people. When they stop these two things I'll stop smoking. Jeannette. http://journals.aol.co.uk/jlocorriere05/Welcometomytravels
this is one that burns my butt too - what happened to the right of the business owner to make their own rules? we had plenty of restaurants here that were already smoke free, and those were the ones I gave my business to. Government needs to get out of my life!
It's truly disgusting what the moral right is doing. Want to really get freaked out? Visit Theocracy.com. I don't smoke either, but increasingly the number of rights that are being taken away from us is a signal that something has gone radically wrong/right? within our country. I watched Jimmy Carter speak on Larry King last night. I really like him. I think he got a bum steer, what with the hostage debacle, etc. I wish we had politicians like him in our Houses of Representatives today. And especailly within our White House! (Keep wishing , Maryanne.)
Maryanne
i'm with YOU! come january 1, smoking on state property will be banned in NC - except at the legislative buildings, etc...(this is tobacco country, you know. according to one lawmaker who was interviewed, the smoking ban will not likely affect government offices in the state capitol).
and yet, the buildings they're banning smoking on the grounds for are loaded with asbestos and god only knows what other kinds of chemicals and molds.
i'm gonna stop now, but the freedoms that are being taken away while ignoring other serious issues burns me with a flame a mile high. great post, sandi!
I am a smoker ... When I started smoking ... it was a usual thing ... Now I feel like an outcast ... !!! Who decides when and where we should drink alcohol ... And the worst part is ... isn't smoking and drinking and pool the reasons for going to a bar ?????????????? I CANT EVEN SMOKE IN A BAR ... !!! AHHHHHHH!!
Thanks for the entry ... I enjoyed it ... ~~Emma~~
I agree with you, I'm a smoker, trying to quit, I have no problem not smoking inside, but big brother is getting ridiculous~ma~
oops, I make Alexis smoke outside on the deck or in the garage:)
Chris
http://journals.aol.com/swibirun/Inanethoughtsandinsaneramblings
http://www.bigoven.com/~swibirun
Love you blog, glad we had the awards tonight, this is the first time I've seen it. Can't wait to check out more of it.
Derek
here here!
smoking rules should be up to the establishment -
and I don't smoke.
succulent big brother wisdom here...
http://journals.aol.com/floralilia/SucculentWisdom-juicynessfromj-l/entries/1081
(and thanks for dropping by my journal earlier!)
I don't smoke either and I agree with you 100%.
Bravo for speaking out!!!
Cheers ~
Dianna
i haven't read all your comments, but this entry intrigued me enough to throw in my 2 cents .. as a person who is currently fighting for my life against the damages from cigarette smoking and as a person who has since stopped smoking .. and as a parent who feels i have done enough damage to my children from MY second hand smoke .. my perspective is a bit different than your own
to me, banning public smoking isn't intended to add additional stigma to smokers, but rather TO PROTECT non-smokers and give them the right to live in a smoke free environment
people DO have the right to kill themselves i suppose, but i am glad to see that they are taking away peoples rights to kill other people
second hand smoke kills .. its already been proven .. lets reduce children's exposure to smokers .. perhaps it will reduce their chances of becoming smokers too
pamela
In regards to Pam's comments. I understand the consequences of smoking. I am not for smoking, but I am against taking away the rights of someone else and then forcing my beliefs on them. Smoking in an enclosed area around people of all ages should of course not happen, the majority of the smokers recluse themselves from the non smokers out of consideration. Anyone who is or has been a smoker knows how difficult it is to decide to quit and then actually do it...someone standing in the sidelines going tsk tsk tsk..bad for you...does not help.
I'm protesting a law to stop someone, in the wide open outside air, from smoking. I thought I had spelled that out. Sandi
i came back to thank you Sandi, had it not been for your journal entry, i doubt i would have given the issue much though .. and i was (and still am) a bit surprised by my reaction .. a mere 6 months ago i felt the same as you .. i am just a few months into my new feelings, my new reactions .. i'm still trying them on for size and exercizing my new voice .. thank you for letting me practice in your journal :)
pamela
On this topic, I must stand in the same corner as you. Taking away peoples rights, stripping them away as such, has become some sort of happy go lucky group of goodie two shoes that you have to wonder whats next. No walking dogs around outside? I mean come on, what if they deposit something that could offend another. I say, let the people have their outside, leave them alone. Most smokers are pretty concerned about not smoking in non-smokers faces.
Rebecca
I am a smoker, and I am usually very considerate not to do so in the company of non-smokers, even in my own home. I should think there would be better things for our Legislators to address, but one can only hope, right?
LOL, I know someone else who would agree 100% with this entry. I'll forward it along...
Jimmy
It is not even only just that smokers cannot smoke anywhere in public, but they also get penalized by some companies if they smoke IN THEIR OWN HOMES. It is grounds for dismissal. I am not a fan of receiving a face full of smoke, but these actions are becoming far worse than took place during Prohibition. Good grief. I recall reading an article some years back that discussed the fact that burning wood in our fireplaces pollutes the air far more than cigarette smoke (and, no, it was not the R. J. Reynolds company who wrote the article). So inside and outside of the home, that burning wood is attacking people's lungs. Look how many cases of lung cancer are showing up in those who have never touched cigarettes or been around smokers. I dislike how obsessive the lobbying against smokers has become. What's next?
I agree with all that you said...I can see banning in an enclosed place b/c non smokers do not want to inhale the smoke of someone’s cigarette...but banning it outdoors seems so ridicules to me...it's beyond absurd to me. I live in Vegas and all the casinos allow smoking throughout...but they have excellent ventilation systems...and the buffets in the casinos have a smoking and non smoking area...I think that’s fair enough.
I didn't read all of the comments, but they seem to support your position.
I don't. Smoking isn't analogous to jumping out of an airplane. Unless your parachute fails and you land on me.
If smoking were only dangerous to the person who did it, I wouldn't care. But a smoker's smoke affects me. So get out of my face. Indoors and outdoors.
As for smoking outside -- sit behind a guy with a stogey in a football stadium and try to breathe. Hey, you're outdoors. But when you can't move away, it's as bad as being in an enclosed room.
As for moving smokers away from the building doors. Hurry up. I've already had to pass trhough a huge cloud of smoke on my way out of office buildingz too many times and I shouldn't have to hold my breath to get by those people several times a day..
Smoke makes me sick. Smokers have made non smokers lives a living hell for years on airplanes, in restaurants, theaters, homes, cars, hotel rooms, at work, you freaking name it. Lighting uup with no thought or regard for anyone but themselves.
Turnabout is fair play. At least my behavior won't kill you.
I can agree with non smokers not wanting to having to deal with second hand smoke but it's when they come up to me and lecture me on the dangers of smoking when I'm standing in a smoking area minding my own buisness and I have to deal with their opinions. I don't march up to people in bars and start lecturing people on the dangers of drinking and I would appreciate it if they let me be.
About the Big Brother movie, it reminds me when I first read '1984', it just shocked me how true the book was for something written so long ago.
Great entry.
Love Sam xXx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/misscarberry/NoLongerSweetSixteen
CArs need to be banned....do you know how many people die in them?
And bathtubs. My goodness, people die in them every single day.
Great entry.
Whether people realize it or not, more & more of our freedom is being eroded away every day - to the point where our country is slowly becoming what Nazi Germany was in the 30's. Jon
I remember, years ago, when I smoked, I didn't want to be TOLD not to, or that it bothered others. I wasn't interested and I didn't see how it should matter to them. I never was so inconsiderate as to light up in a restaurant, after I had finished MY meal, ablivious to the others who were just being served, as so many smokers were--before the law was instituted to STOP that very activity! Sadly, it takes such laws to get the MAJORITY to go along with what should be common sense! Even now, Santa Monica, among other cities, has an ordinance about outside smoking areas, where they CAN be located and where they CANNOT. I thought it was a pretty silly law too, but one day I happened upon an doofus smoking a big cigar--you know the type: so big it looks stupid in the middle of their face--and he loosed a big cloud of smoke just as I took a breath! I almost staggered from the sudden involuntary intake of smoke, but what really got my goat was the fact he thought it was funny, as I choked and sputtered, trying to fan the smoke away, so I could get a clear breath of smoggy air! Smokers have to share the blame for their woes these days; they litter casually and are understandably defensive when someone says anything about their habit, but they do it with little regard for these, or any other, consequences. On our trip this summer, we had to spend a night in a smoking room, the only room available, and it smelled just like an ashtray! I hadn't realized how distinctive and distasteful the habit really was, until that moment. When I woke in the middle of thenight, the 1st thing that occurred to me was how foul the room smelled! Itreally is a disgusting habit. oh, yeah, I quit New Years Eve, 1971, almost 35 yrs ago! Bruce
Bruce..good for you that you quit. I quit like 5 years ago. But I never was a heavy smoker. I agree that some people are totally rude about their habits and they make it difficult for everyone. My point in writing this piece wasn't to champion smoking, but to show that our rights to personal freedom of all sorts are slowly being eroded. Someone doesn't like something that is in print, or painted or spoken and they try to pass a law against it....we have become a country of Madeline Murrays....and it is not for the betterment.....
I am a smoker. I do fell that bans are being taken to the extreme. Banning smoking outside is taking it way too far. I can understand a smoking ban in most establishments, but not in bars. I myself do not smoke in my house. My husband and 3 of my kids have asthma. What's next???????? Our right to eat in public?
I find it a bit strange that the human body can be afflicted by so many types of cancer: brain cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes) to name just a few. And so it seems that almost all of the organs in your body can be inflicted with some form of cancer......and yet....the ONLY ONE that we can find any cause for is LUNG CANCER. I really find it difficult to believe that there is any connection between smoking and GETTING lung cancer. I do believe that smoking deteriorates the lungs themselves to the point at which it could make it harder to fight it off (before you've discovered you have it). I also believe that smoking causes some other illnesses so don't think I am trying to say that it is healthy or good for you. I don't believe that. I think that each person is born with a certain number of dormant undetectable cancer cells in their body. I think it's luck of the draw whether they become active and if you are a non-smoker you should have an easier time fighting it off before it would even become noticable.
So IMO sit in your non-smoking section and quit whining, or go to a restaurant that has CHOSEN to go non-smoking, OR stay home. YOUR CHOICE. Smokers don't have a choice anymore. You can be the one to tell the 85 year old veteran who fought in many battles to keep the freedoms we still have, that when he wants to go out to the VFW or American Legion and hang out and share war stories with his buddies that he can sit outside this January in below wind-chilled temperatures and smoke, and that even on the outdoor patio, his kindly server is not PERMITTED BY LAW to wait on him. He'll have to hobble in with his walker to order a beer and carry it outside himself.
There's alot of talk about how selfish smokers are.....you bet they are, they need to stop putting their butts out indiscriminately and need to be respectful of others nearby who may not smoke....BUT non-smokers are way more selfish, because they believe, that even though they endure air pollution every day from industry and cars, that they have the right to infringe on smoker's rights EVERYWHERE. That is not right at all. The country may be falling in line like idiots to follow this latest trend, but it will have it's backlash.
I am disgusted with the way this country is going. When did everyone become wimps! When I was a child we didn't wear bike helmets, wear seatbelts, use car seats, our parents drank and drove, smoked in front of us, and spanked us. If we didn't get our own way in a store or from a business OH WELL. We simply took our business elsewhere. We celebrated Christmas in school and even got to dress up as dracula or a witch for halloween. Now we have to by law wear a seat belt (with the exception of minors who cannot make the decision for themselves) which is silly because you wear it because it's safer and if you don't you are only hurting yourself WHO CARES. (the government needs $). Parents are not allowed to spank their children, instead they scream at them or put them in front of the television so they can learn to grind like britney or wear their pants down to their knees like the hoodlum rappers. They've lowered the legal limit for DUI to .08 in most states which is like two drinks. That is nowhere near enough to impair you enough to cause an accident. But there again the government gets double the incentive for this law. Punishing the SINNERS who drink and making $. Our children can't dress up at anything scary for their FALL FESTIVAL party, so they can choose a Disney costume instead (???? which do we choose, cinderella whose stepmother enslaved her after her father died, Ariel who ran LOL away from home, or Jasmine who snuck out of the house with her boyfriend to fly all over on a carpet?) And don't even get me started on the stupid lawsuits, the man sues a drycleaner for $54,000,000.00 for losing his pants!!!!! LOL. How about the stupid woman who sued McDonalds for serving her hot coffee that she burned herself with. DUH.
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