-----Original Message----- >From Michael Atherton Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 2:48 PM
The problem here is when it is acceptable to limit others' choices. The Nazis (and many others) thought it was acceptable to limit the choices of Jews by restricting them to ghettos. The Puritans limited all kinds of "acceptable" behaviors. My position is that when someone else's behavior has no effect on you, then you have no right to restrict their choices. [TB] Now you're comparing smoking bans to the behavior of the Nazis? Get real. The behavior (smoking) does affect others. Breathing smoke, be it "second hand" or inhaled is a known health hazard. There is no way to safely smoke. For years it has been public policy in this country (a good policy in my opinion) to promote safe work places. Auto body shops have special rooms for painting to protect workers from inhaling dangerous fumes. Workers wear ear protection to avoid injury to their hearing. The smoking ban is merely an extension of this good public policy in an area that has been ignored for many years. Then there is another way that smoking by others affects us. Economically. When people insist on smoking, I am forced to spend money to clean the stuff out of my clothing. Probably instead of the mere smoking ban that we've passed, we should put tobacco in the same class as other drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Terrell Brown Loring Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
