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Originally Posted by Coats
I respect your opinion Martian...
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No you don't. You just think that saying that gives you a free pass. Or that's what I'd conclude from what follows, anyway.
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Originally Posted by Coats
...however, the bottom line is that while smoking individually is not the worst atrocity there is, it does affect the people around them.
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You cannot seriously argue from a medical basis that walking past a smoker out-of-doors will have any long-term adverse effects. Most actual smokers go 40 years or more before the serious health problems start kicking in. I'm also not buying a quality of life argument here; unless you go out of your way to put yourself in close proximity to smokers, you can't be spending more than a few seconds a day walking past them. I fail to see how this is going to do anything to ruin your day, unless you're just looking to villify smokers to begin with.
As I said above, smokers are already making reasonable accommodations. I'm all for banning smoking in the work place and in public buildings. When a smoker is outside, however, and not blocking a door, they're already doing as much as can be reasonably expected. I'm sorry you don't like smoking. I think vulgar t-shirts are stupid.
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Originally Posted by Coats
You know damn well that people will say "yea go head" even though they really mean 'wow you're addicted, stop smoking, but let's have a conversation while you smoke anyway' type of deal.
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Telling me what I "know damn well" is not respecting my opinion and is needlessly confrontational. Furthermore, I would suggest that okaying it with my companions is again making a reasonable accommodation. If they don't like smoking, the onus is on them to speak up when given the opportunity; that is, after all, the whole point of the endeavour. If they don't I can't be expected to know it bothers them. Nicotine unfortunately does not grant the ability to read minds.
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Originally Posted by Coats
Stop smoking.
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First of all, we read,
then reply. I did stop smoking. Secondly, if I
were still smoking I would find this unbelievably condescending and irritating. In fact, that I'm not smoking makes it more so, since it indicates that you can't even be bothered to read what I write before preaching to me.