No smoking, coño

Far behind are now the past times when medical doctors smoked while seeing patients, or students and professors smoked in lecturing rooms, or the dense, stinky smoke of cigarettes in bars, cinemas, or TV jornalists with frowning foreheads and intellectual countenances and a cigarette in the corner of their mouths, or times when the beginning of a friendship cound be count from the moment two aquaintances share a cigarette.

In Spain these times, so much real not many years ago, are gone, and now even more, as the new Law just came into effect. The law supersedes the previous one from 2005 and, surprisingly enough, it is not difficult to read!

http://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2010-20138

I do agree with the purpose of creating free-smoke crowded spaces, regardless of being public or not (the most visible aspect of law is the ban of smoking in bars and restaurants) and, as far as I have seen, the law is working just fine, and most Spaniards have warmly welcomed it and will for sure prefer it this way.

Nevertheless, some other aspects and, perhaps, the law itself as it is conceived is a common botch, wrong in concept and principle: the typical ideological rubbish to which socialism and socialist have gotten us accustumed to. Take for instance the first paragraph, which openly unveils the fight of the Government aiming to break the habit of smoking in people and to pull up by the roots completely the smoking in Spain. Stupid idea, vane purpose! Further, in the second one, the law-makers arrogate the right of protecting the health of the citizens, using the argument that official polls state that such is the demand of people.

Pure bullshit crap.

The examples of the sort are many but I don't want to explore this side of the issue, sadly expected anyhow. I want to take a look at a different angle, one characteristic feature of our idiosyncrasy.

First, an extraordinary nonsensical thing:

Now, something more substantial:

Every citizen must abide by the law and manifestations to openly defy law are signals of incivility. Now, it is true that a private business is that, private. However, on similar grounds to those forbidding illegal activities such as pedophilia, extorsion or drug dealing in a private appartment I find acceptable the arguments to tend to avoid smoking in crowded and open places like bars or restaurantes in spite of their privateness.

Now, my question is: why do we frontally oppose two radical and irreconciable points of view? Why are the only options we see black or white? What about compromise solutions? Alternatives? Oh! This is typical Spanish, my friend. Apparently, Miguel de Unamuno used to say that the brains of the Spaniard are "cojonudos" or tend to "cojonudismo", which is a manner to say that we think emotionally, having the emotions conveyed from that part of the male anatomy so much beloved... .

Part of the problem is the Government, of course, and I find a typical "tradition" in Spain, in dictatorship as in democracy, to rule with no consideration whatsoever towards the ruled. The basic translation of this new law is "no smoking, coño". For anyone thinking or acting otherwise, the law hands out a "shut-up" reserve sanctions as low as 30 euros and as high as 600,000 euros for the unenthusiastic. Can you believe it? Up to 600,000 euros.

Another problem, of course, is how to apply the law, and whether or nor judges will take part in authorizing sanctions or will be reserved to public functionaries such as police or Ministerial inspectors. Or who and how will discriminate between 30-euro and 600,000-euro fines... . But this is another problem I do not wish to talk about.

Just let me finish with two comments, one to politicians:
Impositions never worked and never will. People want to be independent and treated with dignity and interest. Even more! They will hate you if you treat them as suspects, delinquents or deviated from any canon you might devised.

Second, to the people who disagree with the law and defy it:
Law and law enforcement are sacred things, man! Be smart. Have you thought of any alternative? Let me ask you something: if the law would benefit you economically in your business, instead of being prejudicial, as you believe, would you obey the law? Would you still keep on saying that you are the owner of your business and that you have freedom to so and such if the net attendance of customers to your bar increases as a result of people actually preferring a smoke-free space?

I don't think so.

(PLEASE, LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS).