Idiots in need of slapping

Ah, Bucky. Sometimes I agree with him entirely, and I don't know if that should scare me...

Been thinking about idiots lately - particularly of the smoking variety.

It amazes me that we haven't yet made the cultural shift to thinking of smokers as disgusting morons. They still have some sort of stubborn pride in themselves and a reluctant respect from the rest of society.

The cultural zeitgeist concerning smokers at present is: "I disagree with what you do, but I suppose you have a right to do it to yourself. Just don't do it while standing next to my kids."

Think about it, folks, this is a behaviour that is both stupid and disgusting - not to mention very unpleasant. Someone who smokes is kind of like someone who scratches themselves until they bleed, and then picks at the scabs in public.

Sure, on one level the most harm is done to the idiot engaged in that activity, but there are known health risks for the rest of us, and it's just not nice to be in the same room with that sort of thing.

I know people who smoke. I get along reasonably well with them, but in the back of my mind I know I don't really respect them. It doesn't matter how nice and intelligent you may seem when you're talking to me, the minute you light up a cigarette you show me that you are, in fact, unpleasant and stupid.

We need to get this mind-set into popular culture. As long as our approach to smoking is "you know, you really shouldn't do that", we'll still have idiot kids taking up the habit at 14 and idiot adults smoking right next to the "no smoking" signs.

If, instead, our approach was "Eeewww - that's just disgusting, you jerk", well, then maybe more people would realise that smoking isn't just a bad habit - it's obnoxious and unacceptable behaviour.