Letter to the Editor

To nonsmokers: Leave us alone

Sunday, May 17, 2009

To the Editor:

I am sick to death of all the gripe about cigarettes.

If everything people say was true, then why are we alive today?

Our ancestors all smoked.

Everywhere you went, someone was smoking.

Would someone please get smart and look up the word tobacco in the original encyclopedia, not the let's change the meaning one to suit ourselves.

There was a time when we really had freedom and rights in this country. Not anymore.

There are too many people with nothing better to do than to pick on others.

Why is it that when a real crime takes place, there is never a witness because nobody wants to get involved?

But you can be sure of one thing. The do-gooder will always say something to a smoker.

Maybe there would be a lot less crime if people like that would do the same thing to the real lawbreakers.

We smokers have been treated worse than a criminal.

I have always said if the Humane Society saw a dog left out in the weather like us smokers have had to do, they would press charges against the owner of the dog for cruel and inhuman treatment.

Tobacco is the one thing the pharmaceuticals have not gotten control of yet, so they put patches, gum and nerve drugs out to replace cigarettes.

We don't have to depend on overseas trade to get tobacco.

The tobacco growers create American jobs and keep our money here where it belongs.

Isn't it crazy for our soldiers to be losing their lives for other countries to have freedom while our freedom and rights are being taken from us here in the U.S.?

You can all feel proud that you are taking a person's rights from them now.

But rest assured, your turn will come. The government is not done with us yet.

Also, the smokers have all tried to be respectful to the nonsmokers, which just opened the door for them to control us more.

In my opinion, we smokers deserve a tax break because we don't have the right to sit and enjoy ourselves at a restaurant or any public place.

We are even discriminated against at our workplace.

Our employers only care for the nonsmokers rights.

I say make all employees stand out in the cold and see how they like it, including the employer.

We work just as hard and are just as dedicated as a nonsmoker.

Guess what, we even pay taxes.

When all of you lawmaking people run out of things to complain about, why won't one of you focus on trying to make our county safe for our kids.

Take for instance, installing a red light at the Staunton crossing.

I have done everything I can to get that done for two years now and nothing has been done.

I even notified INDOT.

Like I said earlier, to all those that have nothing better to do than to create laws that take away rights of us citizens, enjoy the victory now, because your turn will come.

Nancy Rutledge,

Brazil