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From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: reply to ** FRODO ** from laura
Message-ID: <289@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Aug-83 14:49:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: dciem.289
Posted: Wed Aug 17 14:49:19 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Aug-83 19:00:40 EDT
References: <1010@rlgvax.UUCP>
Organization: D.C.I.E.M, Toronto, Canada
Lines: 31

The great OZ somewhat misplaced his flame against Laura, in that she
pointed out at the beginning of the discussion that she doesn't smoke
and finds smoke irritating and annoying, just as does OZ. Laura's point,
with which I tend to agree, is that the majority doesn't have a blanket
right to legislate against things that are merely annoying. The assumption
that the power to do so is the same as the right to do so leads directly
to the dictatorship of the proletariat. I don't think that is what most
of the people who would like to ban smoking in public places would like.

Personally, I HATE people smoking in restaurants, at least where the
food is worth tasting, and I can't see why they do it (that is, pay for
good food and then refuse to taste it). When I am being irritated (very)
that way, I would like to "shoot them or legislate against them", but
before long better sense takes over.

What different societies legislate against is quite idiosyncratic in
lots of ways. Someone once said that the difference between a conservative
and a liberal is simply in what each wants to ban. I don't know whether
I agree all the way with Laura, since I have a sense that a system with
laws permitting everything that seems reasonable *might* lead to an
unstable society and thence to a counter-repression. But I see many
stupidly repressive laws (e.g. against keeping chickens or rabbits
in Toronto, or against parking on your front driveway), and those I
would like to repeal. Smoking in confined places, I don't know. There
clearly is more than annoyance involved; whether there is substantial
health risk, I don't know. If I had to vote, it would probably be in
favour of a ban on smoking in restaurants, hospitals and similar places,
as well as public areas where the air is exchanged less often than
X times per hour.

Martin Taylor