WTW: NO SIR!
March 30th, 2005 at 9:19 am by Preston Taylor Holmes
WARNING: Post contains excessive Fisking. Apologies in advance.
NO SIR! That’s what area anti-smoking nazi Douglas Benton wants you to hear when you ask if you can smoke in Blount County (TN) restaurants.
Allow me to preface this by stating that I don’t smoke, never have, never will. HOWEVER, there is a lynch-mob mentality of anti-smoking nanny-staters who are hellbent on legislating the elimination of smoking (I’ve even heard of cases where people were sued for smoking in their own homes!), and they nauseate me to no end.
In Benton’s case, he and his group are trying to force private businesses to eliminate smoking so that they may eat their buffet mac-and-cheese in a smoke-free environment. Continue on…
Count him firmly in opposition to it.
Whew! That’s a load off. I was wondering what he might be thinking this morning!
“It’s pretty absurd what we have to breathe in restaurants,” Benton said.
No, you don’t HAVE to breathe anything in restaurants – if you don’t like it, DON’T GO. The owners of a private establishment don’t owe you a damn thing. For the time being, we live in a free market economy where the owners of such establishments have the right to allow smoking in their restaurants if they so choose. If you don’t like it – GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Or is that too difficult a concept?
OH, I see… It’s for the children. Then by all means, let’s pass a law!
There was almost a glimmer of actual thought there, but it must have passed pretty quickly.
Since Mr. Benton has been unable to achieve his goals through the courts, he’s organizing something called a “breathe-in”. That’s kind of like the die-ins you see out in Berkeley except they’re sitting upright.
Benton described it as an orchestrated, peaceful occupation of a restaurant by paying customers who sit at as many tables as possible, purchase not much more than a cup of coffee, possibly put on white surgical masks and try to, in Benton’s words, “influence restaurants to change their minds financially.”
So far, Benton said, he has told three Blount restaurants of his plan, which he says he intends to initiate “kind of soon.”
I recommend that Blount County restaurants pass photos of these clowns around then charge them a sitting fee. That will slow down the breathe-ins pretty quickly – whenever they start – which should be “kind of soon.”
The concepts here are all so very basic, perhaps they’re out of the reach of these simpletons. If you don’t like the atmosphere of a restaurant -whether it’s music, smoking, topless dancers, sports memorabilia, whatever – simply go somewhere else. Private business owners owe you JACK SQUAT. Patronize the establishments that meet your needs and leave everyone else the hell alone.
One of my favorite restaurants in town is Che Guevara – it’s pretty much smoking everywhere. I don’t take my kids there because I don’t want them inhaling the second-hand smoke. The restaurant doesn’t owe me a smoke-free section – all they owe me is a good margarita at a reasonable price, on the rocks, with salt.
There is a silver lining, however:
But his crusade, he says, is that important.
That’s what it is to the anti-smoking nazis, a religious crusade.
NO SIR has a website as well, if you’d like to learn more about this nanny-state organization.
Your White Trash Wednesday bloggers….
March 30th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
i’ve started a ban on perfumes and colognes in public. it’s for the children. yes, people who wear perfume and colognes BEWARE! you’re next.
*sarcasm*
April 4th, 2005 at 7:23 pm
I totaly agree with you,I in fact am a non-smokeras well.I have even writen the daily times with my opinion on the matter with much the same outlook.Keep up the good work!
April 5th, 2005 at 9:00 am
Thanks Phil – it’s nice to have a local visiting & commenting!