Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!aplvax!dan
From: dan@aplvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: I am a smoker.
Message-ID: <247@aplvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Aug-83 22:05:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: aplvax.247
Posted: Wed Aug 17 22:05:56 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Aug-83 16:13:32 EDT
Lines: 56

Well, its about time someone stood up for laura
at utzoo, so here goes.  First, laura has been
argueing against stomping on smokers even though
she is admitted nonsmoker.  It makes one wonder.
Where are all the smokers?  Why can't they stand
up for themselves.  Well, frankly, its because you
nonsmoking militants are a bunch of health and
safety fascists.  That's right: fascists.  You want
to kick them out of the US and Canada or shoot them
for your pure air cause (after all purity is holy
and can justify elimination).  You cite a 51% majority
for your cause.  So what.  Anyway, the reason you
get no smokers out here discussing their side is that
they don't want to be exposed to your abuse.  After
all, what could a dirty, filthy subhuman say that
would be worth listening to at all.  He should just
be stomped on, or shoot, or exciled.

So here I am guys: I smoke cigarettes.  And I don't
care whether you like it or not.  But...

I am a reasonable person, so I will adapt my habits
to certain social situations in which it might cause
undue aggravation.  In particular, I will refrain from
blowing smoke in your face unless I expect to purposely
start a fight.  In fact, I would agree that the blowing
of smoke in another's face could be viewed as a direct
assault, and should be dealt with as such.  There are
other situations in which I will not smoke.  
This includes the offices or cars of nonsmokers, elevators,
stores (unless there are ashtrays conspicuously strewn
about, and the owner is puffing away under a sign saying
"please smoke if you want to" - after all, its his store
and this is a free enterprise system etc etc).  There
are other situations in which I may or may not smoke.
And then there are situations I which I will always
smoke, whether or not it agravates those nearby.  This
would include places like nightclubs, discos, bars and
pubs.  If I'm at a bar and the dude next to me asks me
to put out my cigarette because its invading his air
space, I'll tell that dude what he can do with his air
space.  If he doesn't like it he can move.  But then
bars aren't really pure places, so the worst of you
health and safety fascists stay away from them.

To avoid going on & on with this during my debut in this
debate, I'm going to cut short.  The only message I
wanted to pass on today is probably that we are a
society, and we have many different lifestyles and
we have to live with each other.  We can do that without
legislating against something that approx 1/2 the
population does everyday.  Admittedly, there are pros
and cons, and there is such a thing a social manners.
There are all kinds of people that violate social
customs, and I don't think that this has been correlated
with smoking yet.