Why must people try to assume a position of moral authority based on the silliest things?

[Ertol]

I just hold my breath when I pass by someone who is smoking. Dosen't smell that great and I don't like to have to breathe it in and smell it.

 

[The Maddest March Hare]

While I am fairly careful to avoid a few of those things, such as not smoking or eating fast food (mainly because I personally don't like the idea of either), I don't believe they give me some moral high ground over those who do.

My sense of moral superiority is born almost exclusively from my narcissistic, misanthropic nature which paints me as one of the only damn humans I've ever come across with an ounce of sense.

The only exception to that rule appears to be the majority of this site's inhabitants. Most of you actually have opinions I find myself respecting.

 

[Jerious1154]

I don't think smokers have anything wrong with them morally (as long as they're not subjecting people who live with them to high levels of second-hand smoke). I don't think that they're necessarily stupid people. I just think that they're people who have made an incredibly bad decision. I look at them the same way I look at anyone else who has displayed poor judgment.

 

[Doclector]

I'm only morally superior about general morals, not any sort of enviromental or health concerns.

And to answer the title, human beings like to feel smart when actually 95% of human beings nowadays (and possibly the days preceeding said vague period of about now) are slavering idiots with all the intelligence and moral knowledge of a mole rat, endlessly protesting for whatever cause George Clooney/Brad Pitt/whatevershisface told them to protest for.

 

[Macheteswordgun]

Good for you, Aero. I don't smoke myself, but I hate the 'holier-than-thou' attitude I see here too. I'd rather live with a smoker than a self righteous prick any day.

What this guy said. That and im a smoker so we will get along fine since im not a self righteous prick ^.^

 

[CaptainKoala]

I have this attitude:
Oh, you smoke, that's fine and I have no problem with that. I won't judge you for smoking because I don't care what you do with your life because I am in no position to judge you.
No human is morally superior to another.

 

[Aerodyamic]

Anyone who deliberately gets on a metaphorical high horse and parade around on it frankly deserves to be pushed off it. So, yes, I agree.

I really don't think anyone was on their high horse in those threads.

This just looks like the OP is trying to make excuses for doing something he enjoys. Mostly via finger pointing.

Did you read any of the threads over the last month that concern smoking? I'd guessing that you had too many other, important things to do to bother. Let me give you examples from the 'poll without a poll' from the other day:

Your poll's missing a poll. And personally, I find it disgusting. I have friends who smoke, and I won't call them out on it or anything, but I do really wish they'd give it up. It's just a really filthy habit and anyone who does smoke is risking their life, the lives of those around them when they smoke, and are basically perpetuating and supporting an industry that does so much harm to people and profits from causing ill health in others.

Smoking is disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. I don't quite understand what stupid idiot introduced something so terrible into our society. My mom smokes. It's awful. She coughs all the time and my teachers at school were concerned about me because my clothes always smell like smoke until I told them that my mom smokes. I hate it. *Sniff* OK, now my eyes are watering. Smoking's always been a touchy subject. I know what it does to people. It, to me, is a complete disregard for common sense. I'm... concerned, y'know? Millions of people are suffering. Tortured. Having their lives controlled by tobacco. Throwing away thousands of dollars just to satisfy a craving that will, eventually, in some way or another, kill them. There have been many, many people who have lots loved ones to the cigar or cigarette. I just hope that I won't be the next one to lose someone...

Yellowed teeth, foul breath, acrid smoke. Yeeeeaaaaaah, no way that's attractive. Oh, did I mention the death?

These are the people I'm talking about. However, since you brought it up, nowhere do I 'justify' my bad habit; I do point out that I'm by no means as great a danger to the fabric of space and time as many other people, and yet I'm treated as though I have a penis covered with seeping boils growing from the middle of my forehead by people on these forums.

Funny, I don't ever shirk from admitting that my habit is unhealthy, but maybe I should point out that I'm an industrial roofer. Guess what the prevailing cause of death among roofers is?
Lung cancer. Lung cancer from inhaling fumes that are produced by the products we use to make roofs water-tight.

I think life is going to kill me before my cigarettes do, and I'm also obliging when people are willing to be adults about requests that I smoke in a way or place that won't cause immediate respiratory distress responses. For instance, asthma attacks, severe allergies, children or elderly being present, and the like.

Finally, I'm completely aware of the health risks associated with my smoking, but are you aware that if you walked up to me on the street and harassed me about smoking, you'd be accepting health risks too? Think about all those cars zipping by, producing exhaust, and tell me that it's so much healthier to breathe those fumes, which are being produced in much more massive quantities than my second hand smoke.

 

[MagicMouse]

I don't care if people smoke.

I DO care if anyone smokes any were near: ME, my house(inside,) my car, or any of my pets/family/friends.

I don't care if you don't mind the health risks, or how you make all your clothes/furniture/vehicle smell bad.

I just care if does those things to me.

 

[Aerodyamic]

snip

I think of myself not morally superior to you, simply...superior in a survival instinct manner.

Since smoking is simply poisoning yourself and you are doing that and I'm not...get the picture?

I ***** not because I'm moral...but because i'm fucking sick of having to wait even longer for hospital treatment because some douchebag smoker with cancer or w/e is taking up a bed/using the oxygen tanks.

So yeah..smoke if you want, just don't get any medical care and we'll be great friends.

"Smoking is simply poisoning yourself."

So is stepping outside and exposing yourself to sunlight, which is known to cause skin cancer. Auto exhaust is known to cause the same kinds of respiratory ailments as smoking tobacco does. You could be happily walking along, and get hit by an out-of-control bus, driven by a man addicted to crack, which apparently did happen once, in NYC. Oh, and if you smoke pot, it's actually been proven to be at least as harmful as smoking anything else. You don't smoke pot, do you?

You're patronizing me, and I reserve the right to call you out on it; if I was actually mentally deficient, and unable to properly make decisions based on the potential health risks, I'd like society to step in and make those decisions for me. I'm not retarded, though, and I'm not taking up any hospital beds or oxygen tanks, either.

I'd also like to know what you would like to see happen if I was actually injured in some kind of accident:

"We've got an accident victim! Massive bleed-out and serious internal injuries!"
"Is he a smoker?"
"Ummm... yeah. Why?"
"Fuck him, let him bleed out on the street. We don't give medical assistance to smokers."

Does that seem plausible to you? If it does, you need to seek professional help, and reconsider your place in society.

 

[Necrofudge]

Well... I have at least 2 of those and I could carry a toddler on my shoulders to make up for the rest.

 

[Agayek]

Okay, OP... when you deem the risks of second-hand smoke as "the silliest things", you have officially lost all credibility. Look, if you want to suck on tar and ruin your lungs, that's your business, but second-hand smoke has caused many people suffering. Bitching about people vocalizing legitimate concerns is just dickish.

You do realize there's a very easy solution to that, and it doesn't involve altering or interfering with anyone's habits or behavior: Move away from the smoke. It's not that hard to walk away from a smoker, and it takes less than a few seconds to get well away from the smoke and whatever harmful chemicals it contains.

There's one, and only one, exception to this: If it taking place in a private building that you have some level of ownership of. Otherwise, just move the hell away. It's very simple, and does not require you to force your opinions on anyone else, which is a far higher crime than having to deal with a rather revolting smell for a few seconds.

 

[Shockolate]

I have no problems whether or not a person smokes, except being around said person.

Smoke itself really REALLY bothers me and sends me into coughing fits at even the slightest hint. No, I do not have asthma.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I don't think smoking is a good idea, but you can do it if you like, I don't care about other people's lives.

 

[Raven's Nest]

Snip

Just wanted to point out that none of the people you quoted said anything about believing they had the moral high ground over smokers or that their anti-smoking views make them the paragons of what society should aspire to. They have simply stated reasons they do not like smoking and feel that those who do are idiots for doing it. It has nothing to do with moral ambiguity. Many people have lost close family and loved ones to what is arguably a stupid thing to do, you can't blame them for being angry at smokers. Other people suffer at the hands of passive smoking forced upon them by selfish parents etc. These people have some seriously valid reasons for hating smoking and those who advocate it.

Everyone's entitled to an opinion man...

As an ex-smoker I can appreciate both sides but every point made about passive-smoking and the strain on hospitals for treating those with smoking related illnesses are fair game. Since there isn't a (sane) qualified medical practioner on the planet who would say anything good comes from smoking then your going to have to deal with the backlash and stigmata of being a smoker for the rest of your days (as a smoker). I respect your right of choice, just not your choice itself.

 

[Agayek]

I still think it should be illegal.

Are we going to get any elucidation on that? There's no real reason smoking should be made illegal, excepting possibly in the area immediately surrounding/within hospitals. Outdoor smoking should be legal 100% of the time (again, with the possible exception of the immediate area around a hospital), and indoor smoking should be left to the discretion of the owner of the building. It harms no one but the self, and anyone who's exposed to second hand smoke can fairly easily just walk a few yards away and it is no longer a problem. There's no reason to ban it.

 

[Ultrajoe]

But I am better than smokers because I don't smoke. It's not really a difficult concept.

It's your choice, but don't rant about how you don't like being treated poorly because you're dependent on inhaling poison for your chemical balance. If I told people I need to spray asbestos into the air so I could deal with, like, how freaking hot it is around here, man... yeah, I'm not going to be surprised when I get sneered at.

Smoking is a choice. With that choice comes some downsides. One of those is a sense of immense moral invulnerability, I have no doubt I am about to witness it.

 

[Raven's Nest]

I have this attitude:
Oh, you smoke, that's fine and I have no problem with that. I won't judge you for smoking because I don't care what you do with your life because I am in no position to judge you.
No human is morally superior to another.

Pit Mother Theresa and Adolf Hitler in a moral superiority match and tell me one cannot claim to be more moral...

(Yes Godwin's I know...)