some kind of especially moronic behavior in a world of moronic behaviors
Everybody's going to die of something, I agree. If I were to watch a group of people playing Russian roulette, however, I know that their chosen game has about a 1 in 6 chance of killing them. If I watch the same group of people smoking cigarettes, I know that their chosen game has about a 1 in 2 chance of killing them. Yes, it is especially moronic. Smoking is not just a minor irresponsibility.
I'm not complaining here about the smell of cigarettes (which is rank) or the taste of kissing someone who smokes (which is actually even worse). I do rant, though, about the mathematical odds that what they're doing will actually kill them. For that matter, it also enters the equation as a potential cause of death for both people and domesticated animals that share space with them. It's not merely a bad habit like spitting. It's a deadly behavior.
There's a local gay bar called the Eagle that puts up a temporary tent each winter on their back patio. It creates a small warm space outdoors where the smokers go to get their fix. Here's a photo that I took with a bad cell phone camera before the snow arrived.
I call it "Auschwitz", that place where people go to suck in the air that kills them.
I know a local guy who is a heavy smoker. Whenever we're talking at the Eagle and he wants to go outside, I ask zhem, "Is it time to visit Auschwitz again?" I follow along, but I don't go inside the tent. Zhey compromises and stands outside in the snow with me until zhey finishes zheir cigarette, then we go back inside again.
If I have to watch people (as in, it would be wrong of me to tackle them and prevent them from doing so) slowly kill themselves, then they have to listen to me (as in, ignore me while I blah blah blah) tell them that I hate watching them slowly kill themselves.
I know that nobody can rescue an addict. Only the addict can do that. Nicotine is, for many people, as chemically addictive as cocaine. I don't pretend that it's easy to overcome an addiction. I just maintain that it's important to do so.
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Everybody's going to die of something, I agree. If I were to watch a group of people playing Russian roulette, however, I know that their chosen game has about a 1 in 6 chance of killing them. If I watch the same group of people smoking cigarettes, I know that their chosen game has about a 1 in 2 chance of killing them. Yes, it is especially moronic. Smoking is not just a minor irresponsibility.
There's a local gay bar called the Eagle that puts up a temporary tent each winter on their back patio. It creates a small warm space outdoors where the smokers go to get their fix. Here's a photo that I took with a bad cell phone camera before the snow arrived.
I call it "Auschwitz", that place where people go to suck in the air that kills them.
I know a local guy who is a heavy smoker. Whenever we're talking at the Eagle and he wants to go outside, I ask zhem, "Is it time to visit Auschwitz again?" I follow along, but I don't go inside the tent. Zhey compromises and stands outside in the snow with me until zhey finishes zheir cigarette, then we go back inside again.
If I have to watch people (as in, it would be wrong of me to tackle them and prevent them from doing so) slowly kill themselves, then they have to listen to me (as in, ignore me while I blah blah blah) tell them that I hate watching them slowly kill themselves.
I know that nobody can rescue an addict. Only the addict can do that. Nicotine is, for many people, as chemically addictive as cocaine. I don't pretend that it's easy to overcome an addiction. I just maintain that it's important to do so.