An extreme case of gullibility
I was catching up on my on-line reading last night when I had one of those laugh or cry moments.
As a lot of people are aware, Scotland has brought in that daft “ban on smoking in cars when there are kiddies” present lark. It is a stupid unenforceable law as has been proven in the rest of the UK and Ireland.
There are few sensible people around who really believe the crap put out by the Anti-Smokers that “this is a major step in preventing harm to children” or their farcical contention that opening a window increases the concentration of smoke in the car, but the ink is barely dry in Scotland before they reveal their true intent – to ban smoking in all cars.
The Anti-Smoker Industry has always used the salami slice technique – introduce restrictions a wee bit at a time using the “next logical step” argument. The car business is a perfect example. They knew all along that the current new law is unenforceable so “the next logical step” is to ban smoking in all vehicles. They knew they couldn’t introduce a complete ban immediately as there is no justification for it whatsoever. My car – my smoke – my business – fuck off and mind your own.
Simon Clark wrote about this yesterday and I had little to argue with in his post. However my What The Fuck moment happened when I read the letter he quoted.from an irate non-smoker and in particular the second paragraph –
I note from your comments on the Forest website that, in response to a doctor’s suggestion that smoking in cars should be banned regardless of whether there are children present, you reckon smoking in cars does no harm to others. I would beg to differ. Many are the occasions when I have been behind a car with a smoker and that foul smoke has penetrated my car.
Now one line bears repeating –
Many are the occasions when I have been behind a car with a smoker and that foul smoke has penetrated my car.
WHAT???
Somehow the smoke from a car in front is sucked out into the atmosphere and immediately makes a bee-line for his window? Is this bloke really serious? I note the word “penetrated” which conjures up an image of a stiletto knife piercing the steel bodywork of his vehicle. And he has not only been penetrated, but penetrated “many” times. I have come across some dimwits in my time but this bloke is seriously deluded, brainwashed and in dire need of a straightjacket.
But I have come across similar arguments before. I had a chap comment on this site taking me to task about smoking in apartment blocks and claiming that the smoke from the flat next door was somehow seeping through the walls and choking his daughter.
It really baffles me how people believe such shit. Believing in the Tooth Fairy is one thing but this brings gullibility to a scary new level.
I despair.
Hi,
To be honest there will always be idiots like the ones you have spoken about, the ones I despair about are our glorious elected leaders who vote this shit in and do not give a crap about the consequences of their actions in doing so, just to get these idiots votes.
Isn’t it far more likely that what he was smelling was traffic exhaust fumes? (Unless he’s a latterday Princess-and-the-pea.)
He smells what he believes to be tobacco smoke and presumes that it is coming from the car in front. Pots for rags.
This must be one of the greatest examples I have ever seen of the power of autosuggestion. Tell an idiot about something and he actually believes he experiences it, despite all logic and science. I suppose in theory a few molecules of cigarette smoke [heavily diluted by fresh air and exhaust fumes will blow in through his window or ventilation system but in such quantities as to be virtually undetectable.
While I’m sure you may have noticed, and possibly commented on, this before, The SNP are way beyond a bit of a smoking ban … Lest we forget … This is The SNP running around with no clothes on splashing ‘jelly’ on their ‘members’ …
http://no2np.org/named-person/
Just what we need. Some fucked up spinster telling us how to bring up our kids. What could go wrong?
Quite what anyone North of ‘The Border’ thinks of this is anyone’s guess. I’m thinking pitchforks and fire but I’m more than willing to listen to the arguments in its defense.
Many apoogies on behalf of my pet gremlins for the trouble you had posting a comment! It happens the odd time [mostly to myself – I have to wait a while before my comments ‘settle’].
That Named Person is just beyond belief. This is the Nanny State literally forcing Nannies onto the kids. There is surely a Supreme Court, or a Court of Human Rights case in there somewhere?
What a dick.
It IS possible, on a still day, at low speeds in town or whatever, that you could catch a whiff of ciggy smoke from the car in front. Bloody unlikely, but possible.
It’s fag smoke. A mere whiff of it will do the square root of Jack to you. Can we find this guy and slap him with a wet fish please?
A wet jellyfish preferably. Anyone got a spare Portuguese Man o’ War swimming around we can use?
Hi Grandad,
I don’t think that these people are idiots at all, they’re activists. And you are spot on with the descriptor “The Anti-Smoker Industry”.
Like all activists, they have their campaign and make a nice living from it (or, if they are lower down the campaign food chain, other benefits like feeling important & rightious). That’s why activists will never say “we’ve achieved all we set out to do” – the funding would stop.
And they are not stupid, as here. No chance of banning smoking in cars, so ban smoking in cars with children in them. When that proves unenforcable they can lobby to ban smoking in all cars to protect the children so badly failed by the previous ban.
As Kate on SDA had as a banner a while ago “not turning up to riot is a failed strategy”…
PS: have you seen Ms Raccoon has a new post?
It did strike me that the letter was probably from a Tobacco Control Lackey doing their dirty work for them. No sane person would come up with an argument like that. But then we are talking about the modern world where there seems to be an exponential decrease in general IQ as time passes.
Indeed I did see Ms Raccoon’s piece. There is hope for the world yet!
What I have noticed is that new cars no longer have ashtrays or cigarette lighters fitted. The car makers have already taken steps to make smoking more awkward.
And just where am I supposed to plug in my SatNav? A damn good reason to stick with my old banger.
[the car, not Herself]
Next door neighbour came to the door a few years back telling us he had strange smoke appearing in his living room – its a semi detached house with a shared chimney – he then knows that me and my ma both smoke, and postulates its fag smoke magically passing through two courses of brickwork into his gaff…
Then he backtracks and blames our gas fire, – result – the fire was checked and condemned by the landlord, we have no gas fire anymore, the landlord put a nice new expensive to run leckkie one in the breast!
Funniest funny pay off to this story is the neighbour is a fucking builder…!
Modern cars have 12v power source, slightly different shape from a cigarette lighter but sure you could get a plug in or keep the one from your old car.
I’m sure smoke could come in some particularly older houses…….well the smell….. we always know what our neighbours are cooking by the smell through the wall./or ceiling joint. Rented house so no one is that bothered.
I think that there are some people who are so wedded to the idea that there is a group of people that they can justifiably feel superior to – at the moment that’s only smokers, sadly – that they’ve become addicted themselves to the feeling of being somehow more “worthy” than those people and therefore owed more “rights” than them. And, like all addicts, they’ll believe anything which enables them to continue with their addiction. Even more so if the latest story actually reinforces it, no matter how incredible that story may seem to anyone not addicted. Which is a bit of a sad reflection of how unimportant they truly feel in their own lives if they can get so deeply hooked on the feeling of being better than a bunch of total strangers.
Unfortunately, yes. Such is the level of insidious propaganda that has been thrust upon the populace this past few decades.