Hello I'm Rich Brown and this is my personal website and blog. I'm just your simple, average, down to earth, professional, out gay man and aspiring circuit boy, living in Phoenix, Arizona with a few things to say while trying to find my place among all the scary, conservative, religious nuts in this sick and twisted world.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Smokers Annoy Me
Ok I'm just going to throw that out there. I was reading Jerry's blog entry on MySpace the other day about how tolerant we non-smokers are with smokers, but I think we've been forced into that position by the smokers. Smokers typically exude the attitude of 'I don't give a shit, I'm smoking, Get over it!' This attitude has been reinforced by rude smokers time and time again at clubs, bars, even standing outside the main entry doors at most non-smoking establishments including my office.
As non-smokers we've just learned to deal with the rudeness of smoke being blown in our faces, the floor being used as an ashtray and even having our clothes and skin burned by irresponsible cigarette carrying smokers, all the time knowing that if we said something it would most likely end in an unpleasant exchange of words between parties. We've gotten to a point in society where it feels almost un-pc to tell a smoker that they're being rude.
I personally don't care if people smoke or not, that's their business. I have my vices and I prefer not to be judged based on my choices, but what I do care about is when it starts to affect me personally. I care about my clothes and hair smelling like smoke after a night out or walking through the large group of smokers standing outside of my office doors in the morning. I care about not being able to breathe or open my eyes from the smoke in air. I care about getting burned from someone waving around a cigarette in their hands with no regard for anyone around them. I care about the potential health risks from second hand smoke inhalation. I think smokers should understand that many of of the non-smokers in the world actually care about these things. I mean seriously, there's obviously a reason many of these public non-smoking bans are being passed these days.
The reason I was thinking about this today was prompted by the smoking area here at my office in Wilmington. It's a very nice campus with a beautiful outside courtyard area inside the secure inner ring of the building with flower gardens, trees and some seating areas. I was thinking it would be nice on a crisp day like today to be able to go out during lunch to get some fresh air and enjoy the gardens. That was until I looked through the window and saw all the smokers standing out there huffing and puffing in an attempt to curtail their oral fixation for a brief moment. Frankly it disgusted me. I immediately thought it was such a waste to have such a beautiful landscaped area just to be littered with cigarette butts and filled with smokey air for only a few people to enjoy.
I realized today how much smokers annoy me. I guess I should feel lucky in the fact that most of my friends don't smoke and the ones that do have always been extremely sensitive about their smoking around the rest of us. If only the entire smoking community would be so courteous. Lastly, if you smoke and a non-smoker says they don't mind kissing you, that's the biggest lie you'll ever hear. It's the most disgusting taste in the world and no matter how much gum you chew, it's still there. Sorry but I just thought I should tell you the truth. Cheers.
Dude, you can't imagine Asia. I just got back. Everyone smokes. Cigarettes are cheap and stink more than anything I could put into words. Cheap, maybe 50 American cents a pack.
And people smoke. And they smoke everywhere.
I ate, ate! at a communal table in Shanghai with the guy next to me chain-smoking. His ashtray was a couple of inches away from my plate. He was eating with a cigarette burning the whole time. It was so disgusting. Seriously, if I spoke Mandarin, I'd have a serious BF, but when I moved his ashtray, I got the look of death. Seriously, this guy was gonna Ninja my ass. But it was making me sick.
The bars? Couldn't breathe. Plus they're tiny to start with. My contacts watered. My clothes reeked. You can even smoke in airports (Shanghai). Ask for non-smoking and I wish you luck.
Not that I'm slamming all smokers. I used to smoke myself and have a degree of empathy, but still, kissing an ashtray is kissing an ashtray.
|______________________________________________________________________ posted by jetboy747 @ Thursday, December 14, 2006 7:21:00 PM
well i guess i won't kiss you, then!
i suppose they are outside smoking because you don't want them inside, either
i smoke - and i can't stand the smell, either
i will say that i am spoiled by the california culture in regard to smoking - when i have traveled east, i noticed that smoking is more prevalent, smokers are more rude, and there are less "non smoking" areas
i concur about the kissing part - if i really really want to kiss someone that can't stand it, i quit because i love kissing
i will say that it is somewhat of a double standard to say they don't have a right to smoke -- yet you have the right to fresh air and ...
you shouldn't have to put up with it
|______________________________________________________________________ posted by robert @ Friday, December 15, 2006 11:05:00 PM
