I’ll grant those who choose to smoke cigarettes their right to do so.
Just as long as they do not inflict their smoking on others.
To that end smokers who toss cigarette remains on the sidewalk, street or in the gutter are flipping the finger to the rest of us who should neither have to look at the mess nor pay towards cleaning it up.
Perhaps if enough folks speak up when they see this happening we can put an end to it!
BTW, smoking in a truly public place like a bus stop, walking down the sidewalk, in a park, etc., surely constitutes a form of assault if your smoke ends up in someone else’s nostrils.
BTW, smoking in a truly public place like a bus stop, walking down the sidewalk, in a park, etc., surely constitutes a form of assault if your smoke ends up in someone else’s nostrils.
I’m assuming by this that I can also make the same claim–globally speaking–about those who consume fossil fuels, whether in their car or in their home or elsewhere. They are, after all, endangering me and the rest of the planet, wiping out whole species, and destroying–now and in the future–entire habitats.
I only say as much because we spend so much time berating and badgering those we can identify that we fail the reductio ad absurdum test against those who assault us en masse, on scales we can barely comprehend.
[Truth in advertising: I’m a smoker. I grow weary of anti-smoking advocates finding the smallest thing to assail while the largest attacks on our health and wellbeing go unnoticed save the occasional diatribe.]
Jason,
I appreciate your point. And, yes, when we drive we are similarly committing an assault though one that seems more diffuse. At least, until you can see the smog…
We do need to think globally about many of these types of issues.
And, we need to act locally.
I have no problem with you smoking…we still live in a marginally free country.
I trust that you as a smoker do not leave your butts for someone else to pick up and when you are going to smoke in a public area you probably make sure that others are not going to be down wind from you or walking closely behind you.
To a lot of folks cigarette smoke is pretty rank. Not at all in the same class as certain other smokables (though I’m sure there are many that put any kind of smoke in the yuck category).
Anyway, I do not intend to distract us from the larger issues facing us. Nor do I pick indiscriminately on smokers. I’ll publically nag anyone leaving any kind of litter.
BTW, I love the pictures you post!
You’re absolutely correct that I don’t toss my cigarette butts anywhere except in an ashtray. Actually, I find littering of any kind to be offensive and malicious.
And yes, I also stay mindful of those around me and do my best to stand upwind or away so I don’t bother them. My mother raised me to be a thoughtful gentleman, I suppose.
Well thank you so much, Steve! I’m glad you like the photos. To be honest, it’s becoming a bit of an obsession–and that’s interfering with getting my first novel completed (let along the next several). All in due time, however.
Um, and obviously I meant downwind, not upwind. I wish I could use the excuse that English is my second language…