"Your heart is that of a smoker's"
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 11:17 I'm thinking of compiling a book that contains some of the insults smokers, and those who defend their habit, are subjected to.
The intolerance is staggering and I blame tobacco control campaigners and the politicians who indulge them.
When you get government-funded campaigns with slogans like 'If you smoke you stink' allied to allegations that smokers are killing those around them it's hardly surprising some people think they've been given the green light to abuse smokers, verbally at least, or make moral judgements.
Sooner or later a psychopath will assault someone found smoking in a public space and use 'provocation' as his defence. In the meantime expect plenty of tut-tutting, stern glances and pained requests to "put that cigarette out".
Anyway, here are a couple of tweets that came my way after my appearance on BBC Points West on Monday, and my rejoinder to one of them.
I've had far worse ("I hope you and your family die of cancer", for example) but these are the ones that stood out for me.
@simonclark_ @exiledenglander @DeadTeamPlaying @Forest_Smoking You are honestly just the worst person.
— PowerofCBM (@PowerofCBM) February 4, 2015.@PowerofCBM @exiledenglander @DeadTeamPlaying @Forest_Smoking Wow, so many bad people in the world but I'm the "worst". #perspective
— Simon Clark (@simonclark_) February 4, 2015@simonclark_ @exiledenglander @Forest_Smoking But you have no morals, and your heart is that of a smoker's. You have sold your soul
— Chris Dukakis (@DeadTeamPlaying) February 4, 2015
Reader Comments (7)
About tine Simon. Pat Nurse, Dick Puddlecote and others have been pointing out this ugly side of anti smoking for ages.
Dick's 'cataloguing psychosis' is still online at http://dickpuddlecote.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/cataloguing-psychosis.html some comments on there should give you some ideas for your book.
Perhaps in future interviews you could quote some every time Arnett et all say "We're anti smoking not anti smoker".
"About time"?!!
I've been writing about this since this blog began in 2007. In May 2007, for example, I wrote a post entitled 'The uglification of England' that highlighted the abuse smokers received from the more extreme anti-smokers.
I've returned to the subject many times since then.
Oops! Wrist well and truly slapped.
Michael McFadden constructed a Wall of Hate made up of comments by antismokers. It's in the right margin of my blog.
Simon, I hate to say it but it probably won't be very long before your family are threatened by some pro-freshairer who is convinced you are a driving force behind The Murder Of Innocents. The sort of person who might become a violent Prolifer or violent Animal Rights activist is also the sort of person who will feel that violence is acceptable when defending The CHILDREN from the EVIL tobacco industry. (PS I'm strongly Prolife myself before any prolifers feel I am being unfair).
And Bristol is encouraging such behaviour with it's "empowering NonSmokers' to confront" (you just know they mean 'castigate') smokers in the open air.
The only one who ever approached me fled when I didn't react as expected. I was outside not near anyone when this woman came up and said, "your smoke will kill me". I responded saying your fat will kill you first! she must have been about 20 stone but she scurried off immediately. No doubt they will choose people who are ashamed of smoking having been brainwashed, but they are wasting their time with me and I am only 5' 1".
I'm proud of my smoker's heart which is as healthy as it ever was and still allows me to run, walk, and live life as I've always lived it - with compassion and tolerance. I'm so sorry to disappoint smokerphobics with the news that my death will be from old age and not smoking.
Simon has highlighted smoker abuse many times but Forest must be more pro-active and realise that when we are criminalised, so it too will be banned and probably put on some list containing terrorist organisations.
It is because of orchestrated abuse from anti-smoker organisations and their paid for trolls that I have come off Twitter. It is like swimming in scum and I've had enough.
I have instead given up the fight which is impossible without moral and financial support. Instead, I am now looking towards my own personal interests to avoid jail in my old age by looking for ways I can leave the country for one which doesn't believe smokers are murderers, child abusers, etc, etc, etc, and has actually got enough intelligent and mature perspective to see the bigger picture with the hate inspired extremist propaganda on smokers and smoking removed.