This is intended as a mature discussion of how smokers are treated. Thanks ahead of time to those who come with an open mind, and carefully chosen words. Those who can voice their opinions in such a way as to avoid rudeness are greatly appreciated. Also, this is a pretty long opening post, my sincere thanks to those who take the time to read it, and for those who won't I've provided a TLDR at the end.
At even the lowest of doses it is a dream potentiator, at moderate doses a stimulant, at higher doses the line between shamanic intoxicant and poison are tested. The use of the tobacco plant dates back to around 3000 BC amongst the native peoples of North and South America. Today those who choose to commune with the tobacco plant generally do so in the form of cigarettes. It is also worth noting that smokers are one of the few groups of people who, it would seem, it is perfectly acceptable to hate for no reason apart from their habit. But is that right?
As a kid, and all the way up until I got into college, I think it would be fair to say that I had an unmitigated hatred of smokers, though I probably would not have admitted to myself even that that's what it was. I gave smokers who I didn't even know dirty looks, in passing them I would make derogatory remarks to my friends (often loud enough so that the smoker could hear), and though I never did that fake cough thing people do to alert smokers to how hated they are, I always secretly approved of those who did.
I was taught to have this hatred by parents, guidance councilors, and other role models; though they never told me to hate smokers, it seems to me now from my years of people watching that the hatred of smokers is one of the inevitable repercussions of the way in which we try to prevent people from smoking. I don't know how many hours I spent in classes where people did nothing but inform me repeatedly of the same information about the horrors of smoking. It is one of the few areas in which the American school system did not fail to provide a wealth of information in a form which would cause it never to be forgotten. And it is only now that I can look back with enough understanding to see that the way in which I was "taught" about tobacco is not all that different from the way in which children in extremist religious schools are "taught" about those of other faiths.
I am not now a regular smoker, though I do smoke on occasion, and the story of how I came to start smoking is not all that interesting, suffice it to say that I started hanging out with people who smoked and learned to open my mind a bit. Having this dual perspective has given me cause to think about the way that we, as a society, treat people who smoke.
So let me pose a question: How many groups of people can you think of who it is societally acceptable to describe as "disgusting?" Child molesters? Rapists? Serial killers?
Smokers?
If you think I am wrong, feel free to visit one of the many threads about smoking that have been hosted right here on the Escapist, in which people openly voice their opinions of how disgusting smoking is. No one calls them on it, or says anything. It seems perfectly normal. But should it?
Let me qualify myself a little bit here before I go on, I am not trying to advocate smoking. There are genuine health problems related to smoking with which people should be concerned. I do think that restaurants and other public buildings should be smoke free inside. I understand that for many people the smell is unpleasant (though I would be very interested in research related to whether this hatred of the smell is something we are born with, or something we are trained to have), though personally I love the smell. There are very true negative repercussions to the use, and especially the abuse of the tobacco plant.
I do believe the good people of The Escapist are intelligent enough to listen with an open mind, so let me again pose a question to those who don't smoke, why do you think people choose to smoke? Does it not perplex you? Because I remember back before I smoked how strange it seemed to me that anyone would smoke. In all my years of sitting through classes about tobacco, not once did anyone mention any of the actual reasons people smoke. I'm not saying that they should, children don't necessarily need to know that the affects of nicotine on the human brain are pleasant and stimulating for the smoker. But, shouldn't adults know that nicotine, like any drug, feels good?
How many of you, like I once did, had no better explanation for why people would start smoking than "because they think it'll make them cool"? Does this explanation not lack at least a little bit of credibility once you think about it? My fellow smokers could no doubt tell countless stories about the nasty looks they've been given by people who don't even know them, the rude commentary from people not involved in their lives, and the words that have been used to describe their habits. People don't smoke because it's cool, the claim that smoking is cool is demonstrably false if you observe how smokers are treated. People smoke for the same reason that people drink coffee or energy drinks, because it helps them get through the day. Which of us can say that we've never needed help getting through the day?
I'm not asking that you try smoking, for many of us it would be better to never touch a tobacco product. What I do ask, is that we think about the way that we treat people who smoke. What I ask is that we choose our words wisely, so that even when abstaining from the use, we do not invalidate and dehumanize those who do choose to partake. Is it so much to ask that we, as a society, treat smokers like they were people too?
And finally, for those who could not do me the kindness of reading what has taken me a couple of hours in the early morning to type...
TLDR: How should we treat people who smoke? For those who don't smoke, how do you treat people who smoke, and why? For those who do smoke, perhaps you would like to share stories about how people treat you because of your smoking?
At even the lowest of doses it is a dream potentiator, at moderate doses a stimulant, at higher doses the line between shamanic intoxicant and poison are tested. The use of the tobacco plant dates back to around 3000 BC amongst the native peoples of North and South America. Today those who choose to commune with the tobacco plant generally do so in the form of cigarettes. It is also worth noting that smokers are one of the few groups of people who, it would seem, it is perfectly acceptable to hate for no reason apart from their habit. But is that right?
As a kid, and all the way up until I got into college, I think it would be fair to say that I had an unmitigated hatred of smokers, though I probably would not have admitted to myself even that that's what it was. I gave smokers who I didn't even know dirty looks, in passing them I would make derogatory remarks to my friends (often loud enough so that the smoker could hear), and though I never did that fake cough thing people do to alert smokers to how hated they are, I always secretly approved of those who did.
I was taught to have this hatred by parents, guidance councilors, and other role models; though they never told me to hate smokers, it seems to me now from my years of people watching that the hatred of smokers is one of the inevitable repercussions of the way in which we try to prevent people from smoking. I don't know how many hours I spent in classes where people did nothing but inform me repeatedly of the same information about the horrors of smoking. It is one of the few areas in which the American school system did not fail to provide a wealth of information in a form which would cause it never to be forgotten. And it is only now that I can look back with enough understanding to see that the way in which I was "taught" about tobacco is not all that different from the way in which children in extremist religious schools are "taught" about those of other faiths.
I am not now a regular smoker, though I do smoke on occasion, and the story of how I came to start smoking is not all that interesting, suffice it to say that I started hanging out with people who smoked and learned to open my mind a bit. Having this dual perspective has given me cause to think about the way that we, as a society, treat people who smoke.
So let me pose a question: How many groups of people can you think of who it is societally acceptable to describe as "disgusting?" Child molesters? Rapists? Serial killers?
Smokers?
If you think I am wrong, feel free to visit one of the many threads about smoking that have been hosted right here on the Escapist, in which people openly voice their opinions of how disgusting smoking is. No one calls them on it, or says anything. It seems perfectly normal. But should it?
Let me qualify myself a little bit here before I go on, I am not trying to advocate smoking. There are genuine health problems related to smoking with which people should be concerned. I do think that restaurants and other public buildings should be smoke free inside. I understand that for many people the smell is unpleasant (though I would be very interested in research related to whether this hatred of the smell is something we are born with, or something we are trained to have), though personally I love the smell. There are very true negative repercussions to the use, and especially the abuse of the tobacco plant.
I do believe the good people of The Escapist are intelligent enough to listen with an open mind, so let me again pose a question to those who don't smoke, why do you think people choose to smoke? Does it not perplex you? Because I remember back before I smoked how strange it seemed to me that anyone would smoke. In all my years of sitting through classes about tobacco, not once did anyone mention any of the actual reasons people smoke. I'm not saying that they should, children don't necessarily need to know that the affects of nicotine on the human brain are pleasant and stimulating for the smoker. But, shouldn't adults know that nicotine, like any drug, feels good?
How many of you, like I once did, had no better explanation for why people would start smoking than "because they think it'll make them cool"? Does this explanation not lack at least a little bit of credibility once you think about it? My fellow smokers could no doubt tell countless stories about the nasty looks they've been given by people who don't even know them, the rude commentary from people not involved in their lives, and the words that have been used to describe their habits. People don't smoke because it's cool, the claim that smoking is cool is demonstrably false if you observe how smokers are treated. People smoke for the same reason that people drink coffee or energy drinks, because it helps them get through the day. Which of us can say that we've never needed help getting through the day?
I'm not asking that you try smoking, for many of us it would be better to never touch a tobacco product. What I do ask, is that we think about the way that we treat people who smoke. What I ask is that we choose our words wisely, so that even when abstaining from the use, we do not invalidate and dehumanize those who do choose to partake. Is it so much to ask that we, as a society, treat smokers like they were people too?
And finally, for those who could not do me the kindness of reading what has taken me a couple of hours in the early morning to type...
TLDR: How should we treat people who smoke? For those who don't smoke, how do you treat people who smoke, and why? For those who do smoke, perhaps you would like to share stories about how people treat you because of your smoking?
