tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post5827759990063715356..comments2024-03-29T08:01:51.705+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: It just doesn’t stopCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-52874322913000768972023-05-30T02:19:20.712+01:002023-05-30T02:19:20.712+01:00Well saidWell saidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-34293566148082684682015-08-20T11:45:03.347+01:002015-08-20T11:45:03.347+01:00Ha. For the record, my comments should have had a ...Ha. For the record, my comments should have had a (ducks) at the end, but it's always good to get the right-wingers frothing at the mouth anyway. <br /><br />Don't tell anyone on the horrible Left, but personally I'm actually not in favour of extending the ban.Sat In A Pubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08123038980796000837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-83058410399511743972015-08-18T08:18:35.734+01:002015-08-18T08:18:35.734+01:00@beermunster - the smoking ban was never about pro...@beermunster - the smoking ban was never about protecting non-smokers from second hand smoke, it was just another tactic in the strategy of denormalizing smoking to achieve erradication without actual prohibition.<br /><br />JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-49220661991730111432015-08-17T12:39:17.632+01:002015-08-17T12:39:17.632+01:00@Tyson - yes, let's kick the crap out of minor...@Tyson - yes, let's kick the crap out of minorities. The authentic voice of the political Left.<br /><br />@beermunster - management never liked smoking rooms because they were places the workers could spread seditious gossip. I recall there was a TV sitcom in the 2000s called "The Smoking Room".Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-25273223898757239372015-08-17T10:02:51.054+01:002015-08-17T10:02:51.054+01:00Many years ago (before the smoking ban) I worked i...Many years ago (before the smoking ban) I worked in Sainsburys. Smoking was not allowed in the shop, or in the staff canteen, but there was a smoking room where staff could go for a fag on their break. It was a simple room with a few chairs, and a large extraction unit that sucked the smoke away. I have never understood why such rooms were outlawed when the ban came in. Surely a room where non-smokers never go, which sucks all the second-hand smoke away would be a solution to suit everyone? Yet after the ban it was illegal and Sainsburys removed it from the staff room - instead forcing all staff to go outside. Madness.Beermunsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564489130909572144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-71797750899108028282015-08-16T16:51:28.354+01:002015-08-16T16:51:28.354+01:00It's nasty. That is what is wrong with that.It's nasty. That is what is wrong with that.Fredrik Eichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08442979299648454852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-89035885822196867452015-08-16T15:40:04.039+01:002015-08-16T15:40:04.039+01:00"the mentality now is 'let's kick the..."the mentality now is 'let's kick the crap out of smokers BECAUSE WE CAN."<br /><br />And what's wrong with that?! Sat In A Pubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08123038980796000837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-91176881754176681002015-08-16T13:16:36.647+01:002015-08-16T13:16:36.647+01:00Re comparisons to the Nazis, the antismoking lobby...Re comparisons to the Nazis, the antismoking lobby richly deserves them. Concentration camp atrocities were not the only thing the Nazis did, they started out offering an agenda that seemed reasonable to a lot of people. They were fierce antismokers and used junk science to push their theories (e.g. "Passivrauchen", passive smoking) - though NB, even they did not ban smoking in pubs! Not long ago, arch-anti-smoker New York mayor Mike Bloomberg seriously proposed a law to have notices placed on peoples' apartment doors to identify them as smokers - supposedly so that their neighbours would be warned about some non-existent threat. The real purpose, of course, was stigmatization. Many commentators compared it to Jews having yellow stars put on their doors, and luckily it didn't happen, but in NY you can't smoke either cigs or e-cigs in most gardens, patios, etc. There are rooftop bars which are completely nonsmoking - and of course it will happen in the UK unless the hospitality industry finally gets itself together and puts up a real fight. Meanwhile smokers are being bullied in many similar ways to Jews in the early Nazi era; excluded from certain places, denied jobs or insurance or leases, forbidden to adopt children, etc. No one is saying the smoking ban is as bad as the Holocaust. But people should be more aware that there is always some group within society being stigmatised, usually with convincing-sounding but phony justification, and smokers are just the latest target. Genuine (albeit exaggerated) concerns about health are long gone, the mentality now is 'let's kick the crap out of smokers BECAUSE WE CAN'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-92048839053140820062015-08-16T10:45:50.662+01:002015-08-16T10:45:50.662+01:00The amusing thing is that most of you kipper types...The amusing thing is that most of you kipper types have been hoping for a reversal of the smoking ban and then proceeded to do your best to fail. Then, when you might have a chance, small Tory majority, bones need chucking to back benches, you've now managed to convince yourself the status quo is a victory because the ban has not been extended.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-2898399478330485812015-08-16T01:55:59.450+01:002015-08-16T01:55:59.450+01:00Largely because the analogy is imperfect: comparin...Largely because the analogy is imperfect: comparing smoking and - perhaps - drinking bans to the Holocaust is not only in extremely bad taste, it is also absurdly stupid. If alcohol were to banned tomorrow, that is hardly the same as being stuffed in a gas chamber and murdered. Martin Niemöller's name or words should <i>never</i> be deployed in the context of restrictions on fags and booze. It is an insult to do so.Neville Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10923209266005338452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-55445093397360774082015-08-15T19:16:58.099+01:002015-08-15T19:16:58.099+01:00Entirely agreed, Ben, but it's hard to convinc...Entirely agreed, Ben, but it's hard to convince CAMRA members of the "first they came for the smokers" argument.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-46787218608868466182015-08-15T19:01:03.154+01:002015-08-15T19:01:03.154+01:00Creeping authoritarianism like this should concern...Creeping authoritarianism like this should concern everybody.<br /><br />It's all very well to be in favour of banning stuff you don't personally like, but what about when they come after your vices? Your pleasures? Your freedoms?<br /><br />Sounds a bit Niemolleresque, I know, but it's true.Ben Viveurhttp://www.benviveur.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-17536498996138308532015-08-15T18:04:28.244+01:002015-08-15T18:04:28.244+01:00The demands don't stop, though.The demands don't stop, though.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-91054828459237826592015-08-15T18:03:10.252+01:002015-08-15T18:03:10.252+01:00But it did stop: the ban isn't being extended....But it did stop: the ban isn't being extended.Neville Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10923209266005338452noreply@blogger.com