ahochaude wrote:What pisses me off is that I was about to light up a cig on a sidewalk.
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God, do people hate smokers that much?
I suppose it's sad but true. But some anti-smokers aren't mature enough to distinguish between their dislike for smoke and the people who choose to smoke. Incivility isn't going to help anything, it's just a way of lashing out. But that's just human nature, and I don't see it just on the part of non-smokers. It seems to me rudeness is on the rise everywhere.
I remember I was in Australia once, eating dinner in a restaurant with some friends. I guess in Oz they do not have separate non-smoking sections, and at the next table , after she finished eating, a young woman took out her cigarette for a smoke. I asked her very politely if she would wait til she was outside to do that. She was totally flabbergasted! :) I guess in Australia, it's taken as a given that you can light up anywhere? I don't know. Well she held off for a couple minutes, out of shock, perhaps, but then she lit up anyway and wouldn't look at me. It was kind of funny actually. After dinner the people I was with all thanked me for asking her not to smoke. I guess they all would never have spoken up for themselves in a situation like that. Not me! I always say what I want. As long as it's said with a smile, you can say almost anything :)