Smoking law offends

People in my apartment building like to barbecue in the courtyard.  I am continually exposed to the smell of cooking meat wafting through my door, windows and vents.   Since I am a vegan, I am extremely offended, and become physically ill by the smell of burning meat.  They can cook inside on the stove, so there is no reason to be outside polluting my air. The city of Santa Monica should ban all outdoor barbecues for the sake of all the people who endure this madness.  I have a right, just like everyone else, to not be subjected to this offensiveness.

Now this argument sounds ridiculous, right? Well, believe it or not it is the logical basis a new outdoor smoking ban in Santa Monica. The recently instituted law makes it illegal to smoke outdoors within 25-feet of any apartment building door, window or vent. So basically if you want to light up in Santa Monica you have to take a walk, or the chance of lighting your couch on fire. 

The ridiculousness of this smoking ban is that it favors non-smokers over smokers.  If you are going to accommodate those who don't smoke, you must also accommodate those who do.  It is the only way to be fair and just in matters of social dispute.

In the recent media coverage of this issue I've often heard the phrase: "If you have an addiction don't let it bother anybody else." However, we are all living on this planet and every single thing we do affects everyone else around us.

No matter how much you try and change others, they will do what they want, when they want and how they want.

It is unjust to favor one lifestyle over another, and unrealistic to think that people's personal choices can be strong-armed into submission. However, on the off chance this does, one-day work, I will walk straight up to my dad and tell him that he can't wear his pants up so high anymore, because it offends me.

I hate it when someone wears too much perfume, or cologne, and I must drown in his or her essence. And I hate it when my tone-deaf neighbor sings in the shower located conveniently close to my bedroom window.  However, such is life, and as much as I try to control the things going on around me, it just doesn't work that way.  Free will creates the freedom to do literally whatever you want—healthy or unhealthy.