Kabbes,
trust me on this. Smoking will always be cool, no matter how well you argue to the contrary.
If you don’t believe, think music (sex pistols, ac/dc, metallica, early stones, nirvanna) or films (on the waterfront, a few dolalrs more, once upon a time in the west). Nothing quite projects the sheer “can’t give a fuck” attitude that is the epitome of cool quite as well as a cigarette.
Sorry, but it’s just the way it is. Healthy living just seems a bit dorky in comparison.
I’m sorry, but when I see someone in real life (as opposed to a movie) puffing on a fag, I simply think “sad and pathetic”. 100% of the time, anyone, anywhere.
In me it just evokes pity - about as far from envy as you can get.
There they are, huddled over and pathetic, desperate to feed their sad little addiction. Their clothes smell. Their breath smells. You find them standly morosely outside buildings in the rain. And this is supposed to be cool?
Hey, a lot of what I’ve said above goes for other activities too - and there are plenty of smokers out there who in other ways are the very epitome of I-want-to-be-them cool. But the evil weed is not part of this. The movies are not the high street.
pan
Say what you like, all I can tell you is that every time I’ve shot the bad guy, saved the world and gotten the girl I’ve done it whilst smoking.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to pop down the shops for a packet of Camels and some ammo.
At least kabbes you keep your opinions to yourself when you’re with RL smokers 
No yoj, you know that in every other way you’re one of those epitome-of-cool I-want-to-be-them types. So no worries there 
(Besides, I must admit that it’s always somewhat different in a bar, where smoking becomes merely neutral - something one does - rather than a weakness)
pan
No - now. A very different sentence!
Ah, I see your point. Like all vices, it really is something that should only be done when the occasion warrants. Say you’re out for a drink, or you’ve just made passionate love to Rene Russo.
Time and a place, and all that.
Quite. When you’ve just reversed the polarity on the supervillain’s bomb, causing his trousers to explode, I’ll be the first in line with a lighter for you.
Damned decent of you - but aren’t I meant to casually light it off his still burning corpse, uttering a viciously witty put down as I do so?
Silly me. Forget my head next.
And don’t forget to stub it out on his twisted and evil forehead.
pan
There are few things I seriously hold against people. Offhand I can only think of two. Anti-smoking clap-trap like this is seriously one of them. Trying to make all the smokers like prisoners and soldiers? Just want to show off that you can have power over us? What the fuck? We retreated from restatraunts. We backed off from busses and movie theaters. We left 'em at home when you asked us not to smoke at your house. We no longer smoke at the office… if we’re lucky you’ve designated a small portion of your precious “work environment” (why it is not also our work environment was never stated) with which to smoke. What fucking more can we do and keep our vice? Apparently line the fucking government’s coffers. And then what? Should we just foget the tax and bribe you directly? Or does that come after the tax?
God bless the fucking slippery slope because you’re sending us right down it. Get out of my fucking life already you fucking bastards.
First, get your smoke out of my lungs, my eyes, my hair, and my clothes. Then get your butts off our streets, sidewalks, lawns, forests, and mountains. Then grow, process, and consume your own tobacco. At that point, when you have gotten yourself out of my life and our commerce, I promise you will be 100% left alone.
minty green, I really hope that you don’t drink, drive a large car, play your music too loud, fly, or do any one of about a thousand activities that I could post an equally holier than thou critique of.
and then you stop everyfucking thing that annoys me.
Fuck you.
Yojimbo - me, or mg?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by minty green *
First, get your smoke out of my lungs, my eyes, my hair, and my clothes.
[/quote
Fair enough. I try very hard to make sure that non-smokers are not bothered by my habit. Within reason. If you are 100 feet away from me outdoors but are annoyed that you can merely see me smoking, too fucking bad. Also, if you are perhaps one of those folks that wears too much cologne/perfume, I would appreciate that you stop doing that because I don’t like the smell of that either. There should be a law.
As I’ve already stated, I don’t leave cigarette butts anywhere. We are not all part of that problem.
So you are saying that you are against things being sold that are bad for people? Hmm, that opens a can of worms. Following that logic, we should get rid of candy, fast food, SUV’s, cell phones, alcohol, etc. Following that, you will probably have to distill your own scotch that you admittedly enjoy (a truly disgusting habit in my opinion). Once you are willing to get your vice out of our commerce, then we can talk.
damn coding.
(preview, preveiw, preveiw)
All’a you bastards. Fuck up and leave me alone. I’m trying to build my desert paradise here and you keep knocking over my hut.
pan
Well it’s not you as you don’t come across as a self-righteous SOB with a girder rammed up their shitepipe.
Relax, gentlemen. I was responding solely to erislover’s hyperventilating “leave me alone” argument. As long as we choose to live in civilized, democratic society, nobody will be left 100% alone. When erl retreats to a Unabomer shack in the woods where his actions have no conceivable effect on other people, he may then reasonably expect to be left alone.
Yes, Gary, I sometime drink, drive car, play my music loud, fly, and probably do any number of those “thousand other things” that you might get holier-than-me about. I even occasionally smoke. (Man, those were some good Cuban cigars in Cozumel last week.) But I don’t fucking whine about it when my activities that impact others–or even merely myself–are regulated or taxed in ways that infringe on my ability to engage in those activities whenever and however I want. Do you folks really not see what a bunch of crybabies you are? Wah, you have to spend $5 for a pack of cigs. Wah, you can’t light up wherever you want. Wah, people nag you to quit. Get fucking over it and get on with your lives, already.
musicguy, I was very careful to not accuse all smokers of leaving their butts all over the damn place. If you don’t do so, thank you very much and more power to you. From my observations, however, you are among a distinct minority of smokers who do not behave as if the world is their ashtray.