Delete comment from: Captain Capitalism
Wulf: Eating mushrooms doesn't affect anyone else. Smoking affects the people around you - you stink like smoke.
If some retard doesn’t service their car, that’s their business – but when it affects the people around them (i.e.: other drivers who cop a whiff of black exhaust smoke before they get the opportunity to put their climate control on recirculate), people complain and call the EPA.
If a bunch of fat arses wanna eat themselves to 200kgs, that’s their business, but when they sit next to both sides of you on an airplane, then I’m sure you won’t be “enjoying the flight”. (btw, check out http://franksemails.com/video/badflight.wmv)
I never said that the government _should_ ban smoking, I only said that I don’t mind a ban on it.
I also never said my folks felt that they _needed_ a legal ban on smoking in order to ban it on their premises. Really, they wouldn’t have minded so much if the ban didn’t take place. All I said was that they were happy that it became legislation because it meant that their shop didn’t stink as much – they never really had a strong opinion on it either way (otherwise they would have banned it themselves).
It’s obvious it benefits them because:
1) There is no stinky smoke in their shop any more
2) They didn’t place the ban, so therefore no customers would be pissed and go to other stores instead.
3) Less sh1t to clean up.
Despite the fact that it’s someone telling you what you can and can’t do, do you really think they care that people can no longer legally smoke in their shop? I don’t hear them complaining that it violates peoples freedom.
Do you really think restaurant owner/operators care that people can no longer legally smoke in their establishments just because some activist said so? I really don’t think they’d care either way. I did a quick search on Google and it says that only around 20 or 25% of the Australian population smoke now, so I don’t think the majority of people here would care that they can’t smoke in restaurants any more.
You’re right though – I hate it when some idiot tells me what I can and can’t do just ‘cause it suits them. Instead, cigarettes should be taxed to death (which they are in Australia) and then some so as to pay for the public health costs for the idiots that get sick smoking themselves to death – that’s the way it should be done. At least that way you’re not violating peoples’ freedom and at the same time it acts as a deterrent.
Jan 12, 2006, 2:51:00 PM