smoking crap

i've started thinking about smoking outside building entrances as being analogous to defecating in those same spaces. i'm almost certain that most smokers would agree that if someone would make a habit of defecating right outside their home or office entrance they would want measures to be taken to prevent such behaviour.
one difference though: second-hand smoke is carcinogenic, whereas shit can be cleaned off your shoe.

instigator one: while i agree mostly with your perspective, the one thing that always bugs me is how no one rants and raves about getting stuck in carcinogenic traffic jams. smokers contribute a fraction of the pollution but remain a constantly criticized group while here we are daily sucking so much exhaust...everyone needs an easily identified scapegoat, i guess.

no, the fact that i detest walking through clouds of smoke with a pregnant wife or a newborn child does not mean that i don't have a problem with vehicular pollution. but smokers hanging around entrances to buildings is not a necessary evil, it's a choice borne out of laziness. and i firmly believe that as many people as possible need to get off the roads. we need to reduce our consumption (going electric, going nuclear, increasing the use of public transport, sourcing local), and we need to stop consuming animal products. but also - and this does not compare with those things - we need to stop blowing smoke in other people's faces. and stop flicking cigarettes that are still lit.

instigator two: i will come crap outside your building and tell me what you prefer

the point of the analogy is that forcing people to suck in your second-hand smoke is offensive. your response to that is the equivalent of "well, if you don't like me punching you in the shoulder i'm going to kick you in the shins and see how you like that"

the other opinion: this comment reminds me of my theory about parties. everyone loves to stand in major traffic arteries like doorways and hallways regardless of the amount of space in an open area adjacent to the hallway or doorway. if people just paid attention to their surroundings things like this wouldn't happen. it's like that guy in traffic who insists on never looking at his/her rear view mirror while he is sitting in the fast lane, driving slower than the pace of traffic. my opinion, we should just have a campaign about paying attention, then we wouldn't have to be specific, it can cover all the things that annoy us people who actually pay attention to our surroundings...

absolutely! but i suspect that that's a campaign better targeted at young children, i fear that adults require more precise focus.