Wednesday, May 11, 2011

FIGHT THE TYRANNY



We'll soon be lamenting the anniversary of the imposition of the most unfair and draconian piece of spiteful legislation ever - the blanket smoking ban designed to socially exclude smokers, promote denormalistion of a selective group, and stop law abiding people from enjoying a legal product that has funded our NHS to the tune of £10 billion a year through tax for decades.

This year is the fourth of being ignored and so the time has come to make the Govt realise how strongly we feel about this and how little public support this law has.

The Third Reich - AKA unelected Tobacco Control - has been working hard to create the illusion that the smoking ban is being complied with by almost everyone, to make others feel isolated and not break the ban because they think they are alone or in a very small minority.

It is a very clever way of creating a sort of 'peer pressure'. It is not in the interests of the smoking campaign to have lots of court cases that create lots of press coverage that show there is substantial resistance to this bad law. They want YOU to believe that the smoking ban is working. That YOU are an exception to the rule and that everyone is complying.

In reality, MOST people, including non-smokers do NOT want a total ban - that is limited to a small minority of smokerphobes, despite what they try to get you to believe! We know that because ALL impartial polls proved it - BEFORE polls were ‘fixed’! Smoker haters ARE in a minority!

Tobacco Control is only surviving on propaganda and uninformed passive compliance - It can be beaten by people like us if we make ourselves known and heard and the planned ASHMob events around the country is one way of making sure we shout loud and proud that we are somebody too!

The 1st FlashSmoking event took place at Charing Cross Station, London, on the 2nd anniversary of the ban, the 1st July, 2010.

About 15 FlashSmokers formed an Ash Mob on the station concourse under the main clock, and as it reached 5:45pm, they lit up.

Hilarious consequences followed. After 5 minutes, with cigarettes almost finished, a BR employee turned up, and while he was upset about the smoking, he was more upset about being filmed while ranting. He called for assistance from the British Transport Police, who threatened to arrest him (the BR employee) for assault on Paul Wiffin, the (non-smoking) supporter who continued to film after the BR Jobsworth repeatedly pushed the video camera away!

The police officer, and the PCSO who was with him, had not the slightest interest in the smoking of cigarettes on the station concourse. Eventually the BR employee was restrained by his colleagues and lead away, while the rest of us finished our cigarettes under the watchful (and protective) eye of the policeman. The protest group then left the station peacefully.

Only one member of the general public said anything negative about the smoking, while several looked on enviously as they fingered their cigarette packets wondering whether to join in!

What it has proved is that:

By the time they realise there's a large group of people smoking, the cigarettes are almost finished. The police have no interest in stopping you smoking. There's little if any chance of the smoke police turning up to fine you. The general public don't care, and if there's enough of you, may well join in!

So verily, I say unto you, get out there and organise more FlashSmoking!

* Reports above from Mark Croucher, organiser of the London Flashsmoking event last year and pro-choice campaigner Steve Bell.

To get involved in a planned event in Lincoln go to my profile and email me.