smokers should read gay pride book

Justina is single, 52, and a smoker but she's not a happy one thanks to the abominable antics of the anti-smoking zealots. She thinks it's time for all smokers everywhere to counteract the hate by adopting the collective tactics of the gay pride movement -- or are smokers too laid-back or individualistic to bother about a collective fight-back?

"If you're as old as I am you'll remember how gays were once vilified to the point where bashing up a homosexual man was applauded," says Justina.

"Disgusted families would turf their homosexual sons out onto the street or send them to psychiatrists for re-programming or shock therapy. The whole scene for gays -- at school, at work and at play -- was so bad that gays had to literally live in the closet in order to survive."

"In the early 1980s, homosexuals were blamed for the AIDS epidemic, the rise of venereal diseases, the corruption of youth and falling birth rates."

"Terrible campaigns were focused on homosexuality as an unnatural abomination -- unfortunately it still is in some circles -- but by banding together and fighting the forces of evil the gay pride movement won so much support that it is now a hate crime to discriminate against homosexuals."

"Hooray for the gays," laughs Justina, "but unfortunately all the hate crusaders in our society have now turned their venom against smokers."

"There are plenty of correlations between gays and smokers," says Justina, "and while I've yet to hear about a smoker getting bashed up -- simply for being a smoker -- it's probably not far off."

"First comes artificial coughs, lip curling sneers, impolite comments." says Justina, "then comes a spit in your face, a push and a shove and before you know it we become fair game for a bashing."

"Homosexuality and smoking are ancient practices, preceding all religions and all laws."

"To be drawn to fire and one's own sex is part of the diverse nature of human behavior," says Justina. "And, by the same reasoning, so is being drawn to vilify and hate and murder others. A truly free and good society is one in which checks and balances exist to ensure that the zealots never take control."

"Being a homosexual or a smoker is not a lifestyle choice as the hate crusaders would have us believe. It's an innate part of our make-up. Before cigarettes were invented, smokers were probably drawn to professions that brought them into contact with fire -- cooks being a good example."

"Sure, plenty of gays and smokers can be forced or cajoled or shamed into converting," says Justina, "but you can no more turn a smoker into a genuine non-smoker than you can turn a gay into a genuine straight. The desire will always haunt them."

"Never mind that we started off living in caves filled with smoke from the fires we needed to keep us alive, and smoking was a traditional cure used by shamans for all sorts of ailments in ancient civilizations," laughs Justina. "These people think that smoking is unnatural and has no benefits whatsoever!"

"I think twice these days about going to see my doctor about a cough or cold because I know he is going to use the opportunity unfairly to lecture me on smoking," sighs Justina."I suppose gay men once had the same problem about seeing a doctor about a simple problem 'down there' that had nothing to do with their sexuality."

"How many gays -- and now smokers -- are going to die of something other than AIDS or lung cancer because the climate of hate caused them to avoid seeing a doctor?" asks Justina. "And while I've never heard of homophobic doctors refusing surgery on gays it's pretty common these days to hear about smokers being refused surgery by hate crusading anti-smoking doctors who are a disgrace to the Hippocratic Oath."

"And just like psychiatrists and psychologists made a lucrative living off gays -- even including homosexuality as a mental disease -- they are now making a lucrative living off unhappy smokers who have been pushed by the hate crusaders into seeking help to stop smoking."

"I wonder, too, if smokers are capable of being as collectively vociferous as the gays," adds Justina. "Individually we grumble about the extra tax we must pay and the extraordinarily abusive behavior we are subjected to, but so far none of us has made a call to arms (figuratively speaking). Why?"

"The gay pride movement -- as I remember it -- was almost exclusively led by young people. Are smokers, as a group, too old to take to the streets?"

"Or, because smoking is mostly a solitary pleasure -- something we do when we kick back and pick up a book to read -- are smokers too laid-back or imbued with individualism to bother about a collective fight-back?"

"There's no doubt that gays are party animals and that homosexuality, by definition, requires two people," says Justina, "so maybe gays naturally have the edge over smokers when it comes to collective action. Let's face it, I don't need another smoker in my life in order to enjoy smoking and, in the confined space of my home, two people smoking would create a need for increased ventilation."

"Or, could it be that as a group we are indeed suckers -- easy to scare and push about?"

"What is it that makes smokers so reluctant to collectively fight the anti-smoking hate crusaders?" asks Justina. "Or, let me put it another way, what will it take to tip us out of our comfort zones and into the streets with the placards?"

"We vote, too!"

"I must admit that my first reaction to some abominable behavior by an anti-smoking hate crusader who confronts me smoking in a park or outside a building is to shrug my shoulders and remember Churchill's reply to a lady who once accused him of drunkenness -- you know, in the morning I'll be sober but you'll still be ugly -- but there will inevitably come the day when this behavior extends to the personal space of my vehicle or home or when someone attacks me physically."

"I think invasion of personal space or physical assault would be the tipping point for most smokers," says Justina. "But, as with the gay community, how many invasions of personal space or physical assaults or violent deaths will be necessary before hard hitting collective action is taken?"

"For years I've passively fumed at the venom spewed by the anti-smoking hate crusaders and if laws were passed forbidding my smoking in my own space -- or if one of these zealots ever dared to lay a hand on me in spaces where I am legally allowed to smoke -- I would hope I have what it takes to override my good manners and turn-the-other-cheek-Christianity and do what needs to be done."

Read more by Justina on this issue:

New York Gays Win, Smokers Lose