You want second hand cancer again? I'll stick with letting them take horse paste to cure the measles.

That's why driving cars is unconscionable. Especially near schools. Giving lung cancer to children so you can go zoomies is selfish and evil.

You are not owed clean air in public spaces. You are not owed air free of unpleasant smells. Your freedom ends where mine begins.

If you really care about unhealthy things you inhale, why aren't you spending your time ranting against car ownership? Emissions and tire wear produces magnitudes more harmful particles you inhale every day than being in the general vicinity of someone who smokes.

Naturally you could also ask a smoker to stand downwind from you at the bus stop, or even to not light up in the first place. But the smoker has just as much rights to the public space as you do.

If we try to regulate what smells you might encounter outside there are so. many. things I'd want gone as well because they make me feel sick to my stomach. Perfumes, foods, sweaty asses. Burps and farts.

I understand how annoying public smoking can be, I live essentially next to three bars. Not a weekend evening goes by without some fuckers smoking under my window, forcing me to close it.

But I still support their right to do so (see first paragraph).

Yup, though they have a "Raucherkneipe" sign outside (and they also tend to smell accordingly even when passing by).

It is true that the staff has to work in there as well but generally they just hire smokers as barkeeps for those places.

It depends on the state. Maps in reading direction: a) Public agencies of state and municipalities, b) prisons, c) gymnasia, pools, and similar, d) places of culture (community halls, museums, etc) e) taverns and pubs. Colors red complete smoking ban, yellow exceptions possible, green separate smoking areas, grey no rules / exempt.

That's a high-level overview you get more fine-grained exceptions, say general smoking bans at hospitals but psych wards are exempt because have you ever tried to stop a schizophrenic from self-medicating.

Some people may now be wondering "wait, Bavaria has a complete ban on smoking in pubs" and, yes. They have a snuff tradition to fall back on. Also CSU = Verbotspartei.

I'd be fine with that as well

"Is he gay or just European?"

Our government has pushed its tentacles. Most US Americans would rather we mind our own business and focus on improving the climate and our health and well being. There are exceptions and some real crappy US Americans. Just like the AfD or the Nationalists in France or Swiss Peoples Party or Finns or various Freedom Parties of Europe. We are not unique over here, but there are many disenfranchised voters (targeted by republican dubious laws) that were not able to exercise their right to vote and that made it seem like we are all ignorant over here. We are not. There are millions of people protesting and organizing. State news and corporate owned news outlets aren’t letting the world know.

it's hard for an outsider to understand.

That’s probably the only truly accurate part about America in your whole statement.

Prior to the current neo-imperialist period that began in 1945, the US was largely isolationist and non-interventionist.

Many current Americans don’t want to be a “champion of freedom and democracy” as you put it. Have you ever seen what happens if you kick a leg out from under a chair someone’s sitting on? You can’t just take it away all of a sudden.

The decisions and actions made by all parties since WWII have created these co-dependent environments and now it’s becoming apparent why they weren’t such a good idea.

As for thinking about their country, that’s pure speculation on your part as that “at least 50%” you call “proudly pig ignorant” would be about 160 million people.

I’d wager Americans think about their country every single day but they do so from a most impactful to least perspective. They think about it in terms of their local town or city, then state, then country.

Yep, I see name calling instead of intellectual discourse is your go to retort. Thanks for the enlightened conversation.

That one feels more appropriate for LemmyNSFW 😄