Who rationalizes the most--Cig smokers, gun owners or drinkers?

[trumad]

Poll question: Who rationalizes the most--Cig smokers, gun owners or drinkers?

I say Cig smokers first

Drinkers second

Gun owners third

[DefenseLawyer]

1. Why stir the pot?

We have an election to win.

[trumad]

3. Should every thread be about the election?

General Discussion means just that---General Discussion.

But thanks for the advice.

[zanne]

4. Well, let's all just become Republicans.

Then we can win every election.

[Jed Dilligan]

31. A lot of state ballots have smoking bills

So that at least is an election issue.

I think the OP is borderline flamebait, though--so in a sense you are right, despite being a lawyer. :)

[zanne]

2. Gun owners are alot more dangerous than the other two.

So their denial is very strong. You can tell by the flaming of any anti-gun post.

[silverojo]

8. Tell that to anyone who has lung cancer

or any cancer caused by smoking. It's possible to use a gun safely; it's impossible for a cigarette to be safe, unless you leave it in the unopened packet.

[Totallybushed]

18. Nonsense.

Drunk drivers kill a lot more people than legal gun owners. So, to hear it told, do cigarette smokers. In fact, I find no downside to owning a gun.

[zanne]

77. I went to a cop's funeral yesterday.

He responded to a domestic and was shot to death. NO WAY could an assailant get close enough to this cop to kill him unless he had a gun. Guns can be purchased by any idiot who hasn't been caught being an idiot yet. Seeing as idiots are usually also cowards who choose to kill people from a distance instead of close enough to be hurt themselves, they're a very popular idiotic purchase. When was the last time you heard of someone being killed by a drive-by stabbing? I find it hard to believe people who say they're gun-loving liberals, because conservatives are oh so good at denial and that seems to be a hallmark of gun people. You just can't bring yourselves to admit that most violent crime in this country is committed with guns. You're no longer believable. I've responded to so many gun posts on this site and I've been flamed for it so many times, I'm becoming immune. So go right ahead. I'll just come right back the next time.

[Totallybushed]

84. Well, nobody's

making you own a gun. Unlike Switzerland, one of the more crime-free societies in the world. Be safe!!

[zanne]

85. I'd like to be safe. That's the point.

I can't be safe with a bunch of gun-toting people around me. It doesn't feel "safe" at all. I don't buy the self-defense BS, either. Society is a safer place without guns. And yes, I've been mugged. It didn't change my mind at all.

[Greyhound]

95. You can be very safe in a totalitarian police state, if that is your

criteria, Ben Franklin had something to say to you.

[zanne]

99. Funny, but YOU'RE being intimidating.

You have the NRA and the most powerful lobbies in the world behind you, telling us gun-control citizens that we have no right to be safe from gun violence and that our kids just have to take their chances at school. YOU PEOPLE are bullies.

[Greyhound]

102. "Those that will trade essential liberty for temporary safety, deserve

neither liberty nor safety", and that is the bottom line. To be "safe from guns" by disarming the general population leaves all of us, you and your children, vulnerable to the whims of tyrants who, be assured, will keep their arms.

I don't know who you think you're talking to, but I don't have the NRA nor any lobby, powerful or otherwise, working on my behalf. If the NRA is so threatening, why don't you join them? They are a member controlled organization and if a couple million members want to change their position, the position will change.

[zanne]

119. You have the Republican Party working on your behalf.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,guess what? It's a duck.

[Totallybushed]

111. We have no objection

to you being safe from gun violence. We just a)don't want you to violate our rights when you do so, and b) think the WE are safer if we own a gun or five.

[zanne]

120. I disagree

But you gun owners have all the power. Naturally. I don't care if you object to my opinion or not. If you own a gun, you're part of the problem. Since you're in the majority (and, after all, you're armed), your rights count and mine don't.

[Totallybushed]

135. since we are in the majority

you have no right to take our guns away from us. Even if we were not, the Constitution prevents you from doing so. As long as your opinion is not enforced on me, I don't care what it is.

People with guns are not the problem. We don't interfere with your right not to own a gun, at all.

[CTyankee]

104. My neice was the victim of handgun violence.

Her step grandfather kept a loaded gun (legally, this was in Texas)at his house for "protection." That gun got used once. He got drunk and started shooting. She was killed instantly, her mother and grandmother were injured but survived. He then turned the gun on himself. So two people dead. That gun certainly provided lots of safety.

[NickB79]

105. Many officers are stabbed to death in the line of duty

"NO WAY could an assailant get close enough to this cop to kill him unless he had a gun."

Tell that to the numerous cops who have been fatally stabbed while on duty. A Kevlar vest will stop a 9mm, but it won't stop a butcher knife or ice pick.

BTW, I wouldn't be typing this if I didn't have a gun when I was 17, so I too am immune to flaming on this subject.

[Maine-ah]

112. yeah

he was responding to a domestic violence call, and was shot in a dark ally going after the suspect. He was going after someone who was committing a crime, he was doing his job. You think he'd be going to someones house who was a responsible gun owner, not committing a crime and still get shot? Are you fucking high?

We have two guns in the house. I'm a democrat, and I believe in gun rights, and a certain amount of restrictions. I don't support the NRA, I'm also 37 weeks pregnant, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go shoot my baby out of my stomach once I go into labor.

People stab other people with knives, I guess we'll outlaw those. Hell, people strangle other people, I guess we should out law hands....

You can take your standard response of "denial, denial, denial" and stick it where the sun don't shine, right alone with this fucking piece of flame bait that you have posted.

There is no way you can compare a RESPONSIBLE gun owner, with those fucking idiots out there that shoot people. There are more of us than there are of them. It's like saying "all muslims are terrorists", when in all actuality the percentage of those that are, really don't compare to the full population its self.

Oh, and I drive an SUV, I sell wine for a living, and I used to smoke!

[zanne]

118. Well, you sound pretty pissed right now...

If you were drunk and had your gun on you, responsible citizen, are you telling me you wouldn't be tempted to use it? (And you can stick it where the shine don't shine, too) Nice language for someone who's about to have a baby. Watch that temper, honey.

[Name removed]

126. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

128. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[noahmijo]

19. I'm a gun owner have been all my life I don't hunt I hate the NRA

and I hope that I never ever have to use them to defend myself.

I abide by the philosophy that those who live by the sword die by the sword, however those who know how to use the sword never starve.


You should change your post to irresponsible gun owners are more dangerous because as it stands you sound completely uninformed and ignorant.

[zanne]

25. Denial, denial, denial.

[noahmijo]

26. So tell me what gives YOU the right to judge me?

What makes you such a wonderful holier than thou person that feels empowered to dictate to others what makes a good or bad person.

You can't even come up with educated retort. Right now you're sound no different than a religious neo-con freak who seeks sanctuary in judging others.

[orpupilofnature57]

46. Telling the creator of this message their "Ignorant and uninformed "

Because they didn't specify Irresponsible gun owners is Judgmental ,don't be so religious about guns.

[noahmijo]

55. That was a response to THIS post not the OP

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2447535&mesg_id=2447559

Don't be so religious about picking a fight-it usually lands you in the wrong one.

[orpupilofnature57]

61. Sorry ,you should learn to preface your insults.

[noahmijo]

67. So it's my fault that you don't take the time to follow the thread line

[zanne]

75. Well, there you go....

Judging again. Having a hissy fit doesn't make you right.

[noahmijo]

86. No the facts make me right

You on the other hand who labels an entire group could be called childish or possibly "having a hissy fit"

Then to boot you whine and get red when someone puts you in your place and you've nothing intelligent to respond with.

[benEzra]

117. Between a quarter and a third of Dems and indies own guns...

and fully half of gun owners are NOT repubs. Your claim that gun owner = neocon is false, and makes about as much sense as saying that non-atheist = neocon.

[zanne]

124. Care to provide proof of that?

Or wasn't Rush Limbaugh specific enough?

[benEzra]

136. Sure...

Care to provide proof of that?

Sure. One source is a 2005 Gallup poll, http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=20098. You have to be a member to have full access, but you can read some of the results here:

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article2844.html

The poll, conducted Oct. 13-16, finds that 4 in 10 Americans report they have a gun in their homes, including 30% who say they personally own a gun and 12% who say another member of their household owns it. These results show essentially no change since this question was last asked in 2000. At that time, 27% of Americans said they personally owned a gun and 14% said another household member owned one.

Certain groups of Americans -- men, older Americans, Midwesterners, Southerners, Republicans, and whites -- are more likely than other groups to say they personally own a gun.

Nearly half of men (47%) report personal ownership, compared with just 13% of women.

Americans aged 18 to 29 are slightly less likely than those who are older to be gun owners. Only one in five 18- to 29-year-olds (21%) say they own a gun, while 32% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 31% of those aged 50 and older report ownership.

Roughly one in three Americans who live in the Midwest (34%) and the South (36%) say they personally own a gun. Ownership is lower among those residing in the East (22%) and the West (23%).

Forty-one percent of Republicans say they own a gun, compared with 27% of independents and 23% of Democrats.

One in three whites (33%) own a gun, while only about one in six nonwhites (18%) do.

Their numbers show that around 1 in 4 Dems (23% of respondents) personally owns a gun, with the percent of indies admitting gun ownership at 27%. Since underreporting is always a problem with gun polls--check the literature on the topic, if you have access to a university library and know how to use it--the true number is likely between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3.

The statistics running the other way--what percentage of gun owners are Dems and what percent are repubs--comes from an NSSF survey in the early 2000's, as I recall. The numbers were 50% repub, 33% Dem, and the remainder indie/3rd party.

FWIW, the vast majority of gun owners (80%) do not hunt, although many more than that do own guns suitable for hunting. The source for that would be the U.S. Census Bureau, 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/FHW01.pdf), based on hunting license data so it's not subjective, compared with the total number of gun owners in the United States (~80 million).

Or wasn't Rush Limbaugh specific enough?

Rush, who is probably as ignorant of gun-owner demographics as you claim to be, would endorse your Rovian line that only repubs support gun ownership, and that Dems are uniformly hostile to gun owners.

I realize cognitive dissonance is a powerful thing, but you might check out the results of the following DU poll (posted in General Discussion, NOT the Gungeon):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1689245

[zanne]

122. You gave me the right to judge you...

When you called me ignorant. You can dish it out but you can't take it.Just the kind of person who should be walking around with a gun.

[Thickasabrick]

71. river in egypt?

[Random_Australian]

78. Boy, are you wrong! Please read about smoking before posting things like

that.

I doubt that the number of gun deaths even matches the cancer caused from the Rn/Po uptake from the silica on the surface of tobacco.

[MGD]

129. I'm a gun owner, and I have never killed anyone unlike cigarette owners

I imagine you believe Americans have a right to free speech and to privacy and to every other right guaranteed to us in the bill of rights so why are you so quick to abandon the right to own firearms?

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. People who think everyone should live a certain way. n/t

[trumad]

7. Don't get me wrong

A gun, a drink, and a cig-- no prob with me..unless you're Dick Cheney.

No--- I just want to know who rationalizes their choice the most.

[Bonhomme Richard]

14. I'm an expert at rationalizing smoking. n/t

[noahmijo]

21. I'll go with that one I hate alchoholics and those smokers who can't

let one minute pass by without having to light up right in front of me-but I can choose to walk away. What's more it's their life not mine why should I be concerned with changing their habits to suit MY lifestyle?

[SmokingJacket]

51. Drinkers of alcohol does not equal alcoholics.

Just saying!

I'm not sure any of those people "rationalize" so much. I drink because I like it, and I don't get drunk or hurt people. Rationalization? Not really!

Smokers usually know *exactly* how unhealthy their habit it and even have an inflated idea about how much other people hate it. They might make excuses for not quitting, but heck, it's hard to quit.

[KittyWampus]

6. Republicans

[1932]

9. Other: fast food eaters

Is it a coincidence that their are huge profits for huge industries behind all these rationalizations?

Why are people not more defensive about things like, the choice to walk or ride a bike rather than drive a car, or the choice to consume less (even though people are criticized for those things)?

Is it because there aren't huge industries spending a lot of money and influencing the media to give people an aresenal of reasons to be defensive about those things?

[brook]

101. With obesity

at the top of causes of death, this should be on the poll, imo.

Over-eaters are champs of rationalization. I neither rationalize, apologize nor make excuses for smoking. I'm not the least bit interested in unsolicited opinions on the subject.

[Junkdrawer]

10. They'll all addictions - been saying that for years....n/t

[Mountainman]

11. I wonder if this thread is what we really need here.

If there is one thing about DU that gets to me it is the fascist element here, By that I mean there are some topics where there is almost an enforced group think or an accepted opinion that we must have or be ostracized. Some of these topics are driving SUV's, having wealth, owning a gun and smoking. It's almost as if you can't be a real liberal or a real Dem if you drive a SUV or have wealth or smoke or own a gun. We are not the party of ideology. The right is the party of ideology. Bill Clinton just said in a speech this week something to the effect that ideology rejects truth or facts or discussion. I think he was right.

[talk hard]

12. thay all suck

[chefgirl]

13. Here's a thought

I would answer:

OTHER: People who think its their business to proselytize about what I do with my own cigarette smoking, gun toting, alcoholic ass!

Just sayin'

-chef-

[Llewlladdwr]

15. I don't even understand the question.

Rationalize what? My decision to engage in perfectly lawful conduct?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. Other: Anti

The anti crowd are by far spending more time and energy on their rationalizing as I see it.

[ecstatic]

17. you left out overeaters! lol nt

[devilgrrl]

20. You do.

:eyes:

[texasleo]

22. The bill of rights = rationalizing

:eyes:

[ThomWV]

23. Smokers and Drinkers Don't Have The 2nd Amendment On Their Side

So I really can't call it rationalization for gun owners. Shame on you if you can.

[zanne]

38. You realize that made absolutely no sense at all.

They don't have the 2nd Amendment on their side? For Pete's sake, why would people need an amendment to smoke or drink? And, DUH, shame on you.

[Alexander]

54. You've lumped "gun owners" into one huge monolithic category.

You are clearly ignorant. I have no interest in guns but the vast preponderance of gun owners (including JOHN KERRY) are law-abiding citizens and hurt no one.

If you don't like guns, don't get one. But there IS an amendment protecting gun ownership.

I suppose people who exercise their freedom of speech are "rationalizing" as well? :eyes:

[zanne]

79. Gun owners ARE one category.

And, by the way, I don't like John Kerry. OH--and there's something else. There was once an amendment that made alcohol illegal. Didn't last, did it?

[Boojatta]

103. "why would people need an amendment to smoke or drink?"

To drink, they need the 21st amendment:

AMENDMENT XVIII
Passed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919. Repealed by amendment 21.

Section 1.
After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2.
The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

[zanne]

116. The point is, amendments CHANGE

[bluedogyellowdog]

24. Don't forget

Internet users

they're the worst :sarcasm:

[Nikki Stone 1]

27. D. Republican pedophiles

Need to add that to the poll.

[Jed Dilligan]

28. I'd say it's people who don't smoke, drink, or own guns

rationalizing away all the dangerous, unhealthful, and destructive things they themselves do while vilifying those who smoke, drink, or own guns.

[zanne]

76. How's that working out for you?

[Jed Dilligan]

83. What?

[Lilith Velkor]

29. Gay Republicans n/t

[genie_weenie]

30. Those who believe in God. n/t

[TahitiNut]

32. Other: People who call themselves "liberals" but AREN'T!

:eyes: Hypocrites.

[zanne]

39. Like gun people.

[blockhead]

59. you mean that you can't own a gun and be liberal?

I didn't think you could be that closed minded and still be a liberal.

[zanne]

74. Denial, denial, denial nt

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

89. I'd rather hang out with liberal "gun people" than people who fancy

themselves to be liberal "Deciders."

[TahitiNut]

108. Indeed.

Heaven forbid anyone exercise a civil LIBERTY that's disappoved of by others. :eyes:

[NickB79]

106. Holy crap, JFK wasn't a Democrat?

One of the greatest presidents of the 20th century was not, in fact, a Democrat?

JFK owned and shot several firearms, including one of the original M-16 prototypes. A special on TLC discussed his impressions of the gun after shooting watermelons with it (History of the Gun, I believe it was called).

[Nikia]

33. Smokers who complain about a limit to their activity

That gun owners and drinkers are used to. Most gun owners and drinkers realize that they do not have the right to use their guns or alcohol wherever they want to use them. Smokers seem to think that they should be able to smoke wherever they wish even though it might be harmful to others.
There are many things that we cannot do wherever we wish. Why shouldn't smoking be one of them?

[magellan]

70. I don't think I should be able to smoke wherever I wish

And I haven't met a smoker in ten years who thinks they should be able to smoke wherever they wish. We understand the health concerns others have and abide by the law as much as drinkers and gun owners. So much for your generalization.

Here's the difference I see: when a smoker breaks the law, those within proximity are exposed to a few moments of second-hand smoke before the idiot is told to put it out. But when someone drinks and drives, or a gun owner uses their gun illegally, too often innocent people wind up severely injured or dead.

[TahitiNut]

109. Yeah. Like their own homes. (Sheesh!) What are they THINKING?

Golly. :eyes: Everyone knows NOBODY drinks in their own home!

[Nikia]

114. I am fine with people smoking in their own homes

It is the attitude that it is Facist to prohibit smoking in public places. If your home is a business, then during business hours when it is open to customers or employees it could be considered public during those times.
There are lots of other activities that are prohibited in some or all public places that individuals can do in their own homes or other designated places.
For example, I might want to bring my dog inside a restaurant with me, but since that is prohibited unless it is a service animal, I cannot. It doesn't mean that I don't have a right to keep a dog or that society hates me because I have one.

[TahitiNut]

121. I'm sure they're happy to have your (conditional) permission.

What if their "business" is selling tobacco products? Does anyone find it fascinating that the "no smoking" rule for businesses makes no exception for tobacconists?

It's also interesting that if this kind of thinking were extended, we'd outlaw microwave ovens because they pose a threat to people with pacemakers. Instead, we permit their use ... as long as there are warning signs saying "Don't Enter!" Why the same isn't used for smoking is beyond me.

I tire of this presumption that we somehow have the moral right to impose such beliefs on others.

[Nikia]

131. Maybe I don't understand

Why do you have to smoke in public places.
When I go to a restaurant, I go there to eat. I don't go there to do oil painting, blow glass, play with my dog, play golf, have sex with my husband, show off my gun, do lab experiments, or engage in a wrestling match. Why do you go to a restaurant to smoke? Why is that activity that monumental in your life that you cannot avoid doing it the hour that you might be in the restaurant or step outside? I can avoid doing any of those other potentially harmful/illegal/offensive activites in the restaurant that have nothing to do with eating. What is the big deal about not doing the activity of smoking when you are in a place that isn't designed for that purpose?

[TahitiNut]

132. Your (or my) 'understanding' is not a prerequisite to another's exercise

... of their civil liberties. You see, they're not being tried and I'm NOT a prosecutor of those who exercise their liberties. I think it's insanely presumptuous to contend that someone else must seek my agreement and understanding to be free to engage in activities that might harm them. Maybe that's because I've not been habituated in that kind of thinking by being a parent. I notice that people who've been parents are far more inclined to assume that their approval must be sought before another person can do things they don't. Strange.

If I hated it enough, I'd wear a breathing filter before I tried to impose my 'vote' on the civil liberties of another. But that's because I'm a liberal and I live it instead of merely talk it. I find it truly surrealistic that people think it somehow unthinkable that another might opt to wear a $20 filter mask rather than engage in a jihad against smokers - a jihad that, under the 'best' of condition will surely continue to expose them FOR YEARS to a threat that's so large - and yet it's not apparently large enough for them to actually protect themselves. Imagine that. How can it possibly be large enough of a threat to engage in a jihad but not large enough to take a $20 precaution? That just makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

[NaturalHigh]

34. Well, owning guns is a right.

So are smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol, the last time I checked. Is it really any wonder that the talking heads take every opportunity to tell the public that Democrats want to take away our rights? From what I've seen of a good portion of posters on this board, it's true.

[boolean]

47. Where is the discussion of rights?

The OP was asking who rationalizes more. I say smokers.

[SoCalDem]

35. All humans rationalize their own "vices & virtues"

and demonize those of "others".

It's human nature...dammit :)

[MadHound]

36. What a shame that you don't have "other" in your poll.

That's what I would vote for, sanctimonious, judgemental people who think that they are oh so perfect. Confront one of these people on their attitude, and watch the rationazlizations fly.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

37. Other: Holier than thou assholes.

[Bluebear]

42. Gets my vote.

[banjosareunderrated]

63. yep

[johnaries]

64. As someone who is all 3 of the other, this one gets my vote. nt

[Blue_Tires]

40. other: speeders and other bad drivers

[cigsandcoffee]

41. Conspiracy theorists.

They do mental gymnastics like Mary Lou Retton on speed.

[orpupilofnature57]

43. I smoke and my rational scares me.

[frustrated_lefty]

44. Self-righteous, pompous f*&^tards?

[boolean]

45. SMOKERS!!!!

I've never seen a bunch of people give more excuses for their morally wrong behavior.

At least gun owners and drinkers, while sometimes misguided, don't kill you by having a gun or a drink. At least not directly. (You can make the argument for increased gun crime and drunk driving...)

Only smokers give me cancer.

[fizzgig]

48. and how is smoking morally wrong?

how is it immoral for me to smoke in my home or my car? and who are you to make that judgement?

and yes, i can make the arguement for drunk drivers. in my job i've seen far too many serious injuries and deaths caused by drunk drivers. they, imho, are far more dangerous than i am as a smoker.

[boolean]

49. If there are other people in the home, or in the car...

Even if those other people are smokers themselves, it's morally wrong.

[fizzgig]

50. i repeat the question

how is it morally wrong?

[boolean]

52. Second hand smoke kills.

Is that wrong enough for you?

[fizzgig]

53. how can i kill anyone if i don't smoke around other people?

alcohol also kills, does that make drinkers immoral as well?

[Bluebear]

56. And after all, it's been a full day since we bitched out smokers here. nt

[Individualist]

57. Self-righteous assholes

[NuttyFluffers]

134. correct! but phrase it in the form of a question

:7

[Raine]

58. Smokers nt

[JeffR]

60. Other: you're bad

Best. Shit-disturbing post. Ever.
:toast:

[upi402]

62. depends

alcoholics irrationalize the most -hands down.
Gun owners are utterly neoconned all the way down the line.
Cig smokers are hooked and have flipped the "I don't give a switch" firmly in the off position.

[Quantess]

65. Don't start smoking.

It's the worst addiction ever, over the long run.

[Vidar]

66. Another useless piece of flamebait gets hidden.

[Temporary1]

68. Alcoholics and Cigarrettes

imo

[Cetacea]

69. People who believe the Warren Commission, Re: JFK

[madmusic]

72. Who cares? They can rationalize all they want.

That's life.

[Red Right and BLUE]

73. Let's just all be the SAME PERSON! We'll have a grand time.

The hide button is your friend.

[Random_Australian]

80. Smokers, if I remember correctly, scored the highest on the tests on it.

Before I continue, I will point out these 'tests' are little more than correlational data on the likelyhood of someone holding a viewpoint that includes something like "people have the right to destroy their health if they so choose", but if I remember correctly the smokers got the highest scores.

I have no idea about the second two.

And yes, remember what correlation means folks!

[LWolf]

81. 1 and 3. n/t

[Vinca]

82. None of the above. I vote for chocolate eaters.

Dark chocolate is good for you and must be consumed daily. (That used to be my excuse for swilling red wine until I went on the wagon.)

[Beelzebud]

87. You forgot a choice: Holier-than-thou Control Freaks.

[BlooInBloo]

88. They're the Chosen People on DU...

[mmonk]

90. Where's the choice of

people who don't own guns or have any vices?

[trumad]

91. Kick

thought it would go good with the current thread running on DU.

[Zorra]

92. Who rationalizes the most -- pot smokers, book owners, or gays?

Just where do you want to draw the line of intolerance?

Don't we have the fascist republicans already taking away enough of our personal choices, freedoms, and liberties without liberals jumping on the big brother big government totalitarian repression bandwagon?

[Beelzebud]

93. Well said.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

94. Great post.

I must be consumed with rationalization as a pot and tobacco smoking, drinking, book and gun owning gay.

:rofl:

[Greyhound]

96. You left out amerikans who think of this wasteful, unsustainable,

lifestyle as their birthright and don't consider, nor care, about the terrible price that the whole world pays to maintain it.

[helderheid]

97. Other: Who cares?

[stop the bleeding]

98. thank you

I was looking for this one - isn't there more important issues -

How many people died today in Iraq?

in the Sudan?


How many on our streets here in America - from hunger, mental illness, murders and suicides?

I need a drink now

[helderheid]

107. These posts make my head spin. n/t

[LeftishBrit]

100. I don't see that it matters whether they rationalize!

All that matters is whether their actions harm others.

So long as they don't drive when drunk, smoke in unwilling people's faces, or shoot anyone deliberately or accidentally, then I don't see why they can't rationalize. That doesn't harm people.

[EstimatedProphet]

110. Since I have been all three of those things - ME!

[BlackVelvet04]

113. Good God Almighty.....

you guys just beat this shit into the ground.

The people who rationalize the most are the friggin' nanny state supporters. You sound like the rightwingnuts ......"protect me, protect me."

[benEzra]

115. Other - Petty Dictators...

who rationalize coercing people to live by THEIR lifestyle choices, under the "it's for their own good" mantra.

My body, my choice. You are not my mother, so please don't try to assume that role, or get others to do it for you.

I don't drink, don't smoke, do own guns (so does my wife), but I reserve the right to do all three. I respect your choices; please respect mine.

BTW, I ran a 5K this weekend. Do you run? If not, do you feel a need to "rationalize"?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

123. Human beings. All of them about darn near everything.

I rationalize most about my diet or lack of it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

125. why make stupid inflammatory threads bearing no real ties to politics

[MGD]

130. because someone wants to undermine our pending massive victory?

[Radical Activist]

127. cig smokers by far

Too many are in denial about it being a simple drug addiction (at least to others) and about the reality of how deadly their smoke is to others. Claiming a "right" to kill other people in public places is just insane.

[NashVegas]

133. By "Drinkers" Can I Assume You Mean Alcoholics?

yes?

[Rex]

137. What if your all three?

nt

[walldude]

138. If you are all 3 your thread gets locked for being

flamebait, but this little gem of a poll gets left open :eyes: I need a smoke...

[Maine-ah]

139. makes a lot of sense doesn't it....

and I wanted to ask, if I own a gun (or 2), drink (but not in excess) drive an suv, am a former smoker, BUT I'm an athiest, where exactly do I fit in?

LOL, I thought it was a great post walldude.

[walldude]

145. Thanks... It kinda pissed me off... now I'm just another bitter

smoker. Love the Carlin quote in your sig btw ;)

[Rex]

142. Well if it means anything...

I feel your pain. Lemme add :eyes: :eyes: and a third :eyes:

[walldude]

144. It does... thanks... and I'm just bitter

I think I'll have a drink, then put my cigarette out in it when I'm done... :toast:

[nam78_two]

140. REPUBLICANS

The war isn't killing people, its spreading freedom.

We need to cut trees cause they cause forest fires.

Giving rich people huge tax cuts helps the poor.

etc. etc.

No one rationalizes more than Republicans....

[Catchawave]

141. I drink, smoke, have a gun ... and menopausal....

..any questions?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

143. Why do you like killing people?

Just kidding.

I drink, smoke, and the family has guns. I enjoy all three.

[walldude]

146. I see the "Anti-Poll" was locked but this one remains open...

not very um... DEMOCRATIC!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

147. I'm going to lock this.

I think we've taken smoking threads as far as they can go.


best,
wakemeupwhenitsover
DU Moderator