Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Never Saw That Coming Part I
« Boy Scout Does Right And Is Labeled Weird | Main | Never Saw That Coming Part II »All along I thought the smoking bans inside was just the first step to a complete smoking ban by the anti-smokers. It has nothing to do with "second hand" smoke and everything to do with their hatred for smoking and smokers.
The next obvious step would be to ban smoking outdoors. Leading the way to this new enlightened society is Bowling Green.
City Manager Kevin DeFebbo has issued a policy to eliminate smoking in almost all locations of the city’s park system. It will go into effect at individual parks, said Parks & Recreation Director Ernie Gouvas, as soon as signs announcing the change can be posted.
That will take awhile, but sooner or later most parks will only allow smoking in parking lots.
I guess the ventilation in the parks must be horrible down in Bowling Green. I didn't know you could be exposed to so much second hand smoke OUTDOORS. Maybe I am being a bit too cynical here. I am sure they have great reasons to ban smoking in parks?
DeFebbo said he knows smoking is a “very visceral issue” with many people, but this is part of the city’s effort to protect public health and set an example for the many children who use public parks.
Give me a break! Let me see if I understand this. They want to set an example for the kids who use the parks? Is this a joke? What we are really telling our kids by banning smoking is much more nefarious. We are demonstrating for them that it is OK to strip society of its freedoms one small step at a time. Something many more times evil than watching a hand full of people smoke cigarettes.
But it doesn't stop there. The "excuses" get better.
Gouvas said that while there are some safety concerns, such as the fire danger around playground wood mulch, the main thrust is toward promoting a healthy community.
I can't believe he sites the fire danger from the wood mulch at the playgrounds. I bet I could throw lit matches onto that mulch for hours and never catch a single piece of mulch on fire. I seriously doubt a cigarette would send a playground up in flames. He had to really stretch to find "reasons" to hide his smoking bigotry.
I think we are talking about two different things. I have no problems with people smoking a legal product in a location that will hurt no one else.
The issue of cigarette buts is different. That is called "littering" and should be fined heavily. I have very little patience for people who litter.
Secondly, Marijuana is illegal and should not be smoked everywhere.
Lastly, I have no problem with people drinking in the park as long as they don't drive away drunk. As far as beer cans scattered everywhere, see my statements on littering.
No, I was commenting on your main point that this is an example of our freedoms being stripped away. Why should smoking marijuana be illegal? Isn't that a freedom which was stripped away? Is there any argument against smoking marijuana which could not be applied to cigarettes? And if its ok to ban marijuana entirely, then whats wrong with a few limits on cigarette smoking?
Cigarettes are a legal product. Smoking them outdoors effects nobody else. Why the heck should we limit smoking outdoors? There is no logical reason for limiting it. Period.
To do so is to strip our freedoms away. You even make the point that we have been stripped of our ability to smoke Marijuana. Just because our rights have been stripped in the past doesn't mean we have to continue to allow the practice today.
There are already lots of things you can't do in a public park because they are nasty or disapproved of. Society has long imposed an outright ban on the ingestion of the smoke of some burning plants. Cigarette butts are ugly ubiquitous litter. If you aren't prepared to support the legalization of marijuana or allowing people to drink in the park and leave their cans scattered about, then just accept the fact that society can and does have the right to impose reasonable limits on our bad habits.