On liberty and banning stuff.
I wrote a brief item on
How on earth can anyone support such a gross infringement on individual choice and personal freedom? Don’t like smoking? Fine, don’t go to places that allow it, and tell the management/owners why. Market pressure will (and is) changing British pub culture, and an increasing number of establishments are no either entirely or almost completely non-smoking. But some people like to smoke while they eat. Others (like me) don’t mind it if it’s not too intrusive. I cannot, and will not support a blanket ban on individual behaviour. I don’t want the Government telling me, or my friends, where I can or can’t do something that is perfectly legal.
Market pressure will force clubs and pubs to change, but it will also allow encourage a minority to continue to cater for those that, unlike me, like to kill themselves in a different way. Anything else is, well, just wrong.
An anti ban rant from an avowed non-smoker? Yup, you did read that right.
[Edit: Greg has responded in the comments on his own journal, and made me think of some issues I hadn’t, especially unenforced bans and the affect on those with medical conditions. Worth a read here.]