Music Banter - View Single Post

jibber · 10-25-2007, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayfarer

Hmm...how can I point fingers at people like you for who need energy to turn on your computers, when I'm doing the same thing? Wow, what a penetrating inquiry. Well, I wouldn't say that I'm pointing fingers, as I'm not a whiny, self-important asshole that goes around blaming other people for things. I am, however, an asshole that gets a kick out of accentuating hypocrisy, and in this case, it really wasn't all that difficult. You see, you non-smokers the ones bitching and moaning about 'saving' the environment and living a 'healthy' life, not me - and, the thing is, we're all contributing to this constant surge of cancer. Yes, we're ALL contributing, including you and every other non-smoker, yet you people seem to think you have the right to have the right to confine others to their homes, or fucking glass boxes in restaurants simply because they fancy doing something that might lead to your pretty little perfect lungs respiring a few carcinogens. I've got news for you. Countless other things around us in our daily lives are known to cause cancer. Yes, m'confrere, take a minute, let that sink in.

Alright, s'it in yet? Good. Ready for another mind-blower? Alright...some people smoke their entire lives...and still live to be ninety. Can you believe that one? Hell, on top of that, some people eat "right", exercise and avoid things that may cause cancer (as much as they can), and still die when they're thirty. Did you get that? Thirty years old!

And now for the most stunning fact of all...are you ready? Are you sure? Okay, here goes...

There is no way of knowing who will be able take in all of those carcinogens and live to be ninety, nor is there any way of knowing who will live as "healthy" as they can and still end up with cancer - the only certainty is that everyone's going to die eventually. Yes, I know. It's heart-stopping, isn't it? Oh, sorry...heartbreaking? Wouldn't want to augment anyone's fear of death - that might lead to you vainglorious, uncultivated half-wits doing even more bitching and whining and infantile finger-pointing than you already do, and I'm really getting tired of that...

I mean, don't you think it's time people just accept life as it is and, well...live it? No condemnation, no bloodshed, no deception, just...people...living? So what if the guy next to you likes to light up every now and then? Sure, it may be unhealthy, but you're at risk of getting cancer anyway, aren't you? Be it from the radon gas coming out of the ground, or the ultraviolet rays coming out of the sky. Certainly no need to look down on that smoker next to you, because if you look past him and into the horizon, you might just see a factory emanating some cancer-causing pollutants of its own - a factory that more than likely manufactures or generates something you use in your own life.

first off, to mookie wilson;

Thank you for producing an intelligent argument and not resorting to petty name calling.

Now on to wayfarer:

One of your main arguments is still that there are a huge list of other contributors to air pollution, and yet he has already stated that he is talking about the small confined environments in a smoke filled bar or restaurant, and not the environment as a whole. In case you didn't realize, that made your main argument pretty much a moot point. As for your rant on ultra-violet rays coming from the sun, skin cancer is only a risk if you spend hours a day outside in the bright sun or under tanning lamps. Human beings were meant to live in the outdoors to some extent; we are not mole people. Our skin can protect against a certain amount of UV rays, so your little side note about UV rays being more harmful than cigarette smoke is really quite ridiculous. I can slap on some factor 15 and put on a hat. I can NOT however, stop breathing around smokers filling the air in a restaurant to prevent second hand smoke from entering my lungs.

Your other impassioned argument certainly is interesting. I'm sure you were going for something along the lines of the idea that "something's going to get you in the end, so you may as well enjoy the ride well it lasts." That's all well and good, unfortunately, some of us would rather take on other forms of "living in the moment" rather than having cyanide laced smoke blown into the air I'm breathing by someone like you who isn't as concerned about their health. I take vitamins, eat well, and exercise at least twice a week, because I enjoy doing things that require a high level of health and fitness. I certainly don't believe that doing these things make me immune to cancer, but I figure I may as well make my chances for a long healthy life as high as possible. If you want to fill your lungs with tar, that's entirely your decision. Just don't do in a confined interior space, where other people who have chosen not to smoke have to inhale that garbage. And to answer your question, no, not everyone who condemns you for smoking is as health conscious as I am, and yes, I consider the people who stuff themselves with Big Macs until their arteries slam shut just as bad as smokers when it comes to healthy choices. The difference is that their fried chicken isn’t making my arteries clog up by being in the vicinity. Smoke if you want, but years of research have shown that smoking is without a doubt incredibly unhealthy. I believe smokers should stay outside for the same reason I don’t eat fast food; I want to be as healthy as I can be.