Okay, I’ve had it. Let me give you my perspective to those of you who wish to put the smoking ban through. You see, I smoke. I like to smoke. I know that the chances are that I am going to die because of some smoking related illness is likely. I’m comfortable with that. I don’t want someone else to suffer because of my addiction, which is why whenever possible I smoke outside. That is one thing that I do out of courtesy. One exception I hold to that is for my favorite smoky dive bars. I love coming out of those places stinking of high heaven of smoke. I think the reason why is because when I was a kid my dad (who is a staunch anti-smoker) would come home at night from a bar, give me a big hug, and I would breathe in the smell of bar smoke. It was comforting to me. I’m getting off subject here, so I’ll get back. I don’t want some namby pamby do-gooder taking away my ability to enjoy one of my few pleasures, drinking cheap shitty beer and smoking cigarette after cigarette in a loud, smelly smoky bar.

Now, more than likely the ban will go through, and we smokers will be cast outside whenever we feel the urge. I can deal with that, but do we really need to be treated like garbage? I felt like some scum sucking pariah at the last happy hour having to huddle myself outside in the rain. The irony I guess is that people who are inside destroying their guts with liquor are concerned about destroying their lungs as well. I know we’re all concerned about those service workers who have been working in smoky bars all of these years, but you know what I say to that? I did care before, but now I really don’t care. I went to a bar in Fremont the other night, and the barmaid was visibly pregnant. At first I felt sorry for her, until it was time for her to get off, and she sits right down at the bar, orders a Hakke Beck, and proceeded to chain smoke while playing the touchy game machine. All sympathy was lost at that point. These are not innocent saints here, folks. They know the risks of working in bars with smoking, and if they don’t want to do it, there’s nobody holding a gun to their head. Hell, I’ll even take their job, I’ve wanted to bartend for a long time now.

That being said, there is a way to compromise. I play open mics at a place called the Celtic Bayou in Redmond. It is one of my favorite bars, and you know what? It’s non-smoking. The reason I like it is in its design; the outside area is set up with smokers in mind, with a place to be protected from the rain, where you can take your beer out with you, and where everyone can get along. I think just to throw us smokers outside without any type of compromise is unwise and for lack of a better word unfair. Smokers are not second class citizens; in fact, they probably contribute more to the tax pool than you non smokers do. I don’t even mind paying the extra taxes that were imposed on us recently, because I know it’s for the better good.

I feel like the ultimate goal of this initiative is to ban smoking altogether. I’m surprised by the support for the initiative from the left, because to me the people who drafted this initiative are cut from the same cloth as those who oppose abortion, gay marriage, and favor the expansion of the war on drugs. It’s a vocal minority trying to make everyone acquiesce to their shrill demands. Maybe what we really need is an initiative banning sanctimonious assholes. That would probably be more effective.