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I was walking downtown today, when i saw a woman wearing one of those Lance Armstrong 'Live Strong' cancer support bracelets. They are a fantastic idea, a great way to raise funds and for people to express a cause important to them.

Unfortunately, in the other hand, the woman had a cigarette.

Alright, so does she not even realise what a hypocrite she is? She just got the bracelet to be trendy, most likely. Look at me! I care! Cough cough. I think i've got the black lung, pops.

This has been infuriating me all day long. I wish people put more thought into their own well-being and realised when they look just down-right stupid. If i wasn't so shy, I would have made a scene right then and there, putting her on the spot infront of all the other people there. She would have benefited from it, maybe woken her up a little.

*edited for a really misspelled word

This post has been edited by Jenny on 9th August 2005 00:46

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The first duty in life is to assume a pose,
and the second duty is...well, no one's found out yet.

We're all hypocrites. Maybe she's trying to quit smoking.

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FFXI (Siren server)
Tauu the Windurstian Tarutaru!
White Mage & Paladin

I searched around about the bracelet thing a bit. It just seems like a way to raise funds for cancer research and a way of saying "Cancer is an important issue for me, and I care about people with cancer problems". (Like you said, Jenny).

If she got it to be trendy then, yes, she is a big hypocrite. Then there is what i90east said about her trying to quit. Then there is a possibility that she does care about other peoples' problems while just not giving a damn about her own body.

I don't see any reason to try and publicly humiliate her. If it bothers you so much, then maybe you could have tried simply asking her some honest questions about why she is wearing the bracelet.

And you are right, there is something wrong with this world. But there is something right with it too.

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-- You're Gonna Carry That Weight --

I also do not see why this woman would deserve public humiliation for smoking...

Quote

If she got it to be trendy then, yes, she is a big hypocrite. Then there is what i90east said about her trying to quit. Then there is a possibility that she does care about other peoples' problems while just not giving a damn about her own body.

I, myself, am a smoker but that doesn't mean that I don't care for my fellow human being. I see myself as a conscientious smoker. I try not to smoke in places occupied by non-smokers. I keep my smoking to myself...and I could see how you could think that she is a hypocrite, wearing a live strong bracelet and blowing her second-hand smoke everywhere, but, I hate to say she is within her rights. I smoke and care a great deal about cancer. My mother had breast cancer, which thankfully, went into remission without her having to lose anything besides the time spent in hospitals. Maybe I could be healthier person as a result of seeing my mother going through all of that. Yes, I think about it all of the time and will quit when I am ready. Otherwise, I'm not hurting anyone. So, just because you smoke doesn't mean that you are an un-caring nuisance to public health. Non-smokers can be quite mean also. If that had been me you saw smoking in downtown and you did try to call me a hypocrite; I would have laughed in your face and proven you wrong.





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"You broke my f***ing sitar, mother f***er."
-Anton A. Newcombe

"Yet another 'use your sword to magically deliver death from above' character comes in somewhere between the Living Cabbage and Milkmaid character options." -red_beard_neo

We're all going to die. So she stops smoking cigarettes. Great. Does she still drink coffee? That's bad for you, too. She quits with caffeine. But, wait--she lives in a city, so she's inhaling polluted air every minute of every day.

Pick your poison. You have just about everything around us to choose from.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

I totally see where you are coming from, Jenny. If I witnessed such a thing firsthand, my first thought would probably be that the lady is a moron. What a few have said in here is true, though. Maybe she is trying to quit..... or maybe she cares about others but doesn't respect her own body so much. Who knows? At any rate, I think your shyness saved you from embarassing yourself as well as the lady in question.

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Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978

Quote (Jenny @ 8th August 2005 20:45)

If i wasn't so shy, I would have made a scene right then and there, putting her on the spot infront of all the other people there. She would have benefited from it, maybe woken her up a little.

I don't wear any clothing with flags, logos, or words on them, and I don't have any bumper stickers or Jesus fish on my car because I don't believe in wearing my beliefs. That doesn't mean I'm going to knock someone over and steal their shirt if it has Old Glory on it.

Having some random person come out of nowhere and scream at you, cause a scene, or just generally piss you off will never benefit you or cause you to change anything about yourself.

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"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

Just because you're a smoker doesn't mean you're ignorant towards the plight of Cancer and it's effects on others. I've seen many smokers wearing the bracelet and now, in my area, they're even giving out dog-tags, and yet they still are very much concerned with their own well-being and that of those around them. Different people have different reasons. Some support the idea but can't quit smoking. Some just want to do something helpful without having to give anything major up.

Does it matter that she might be a hypocrite? Her money went towards the bracelet and that money goes to a good cause. Be it because she wants to look trendy or because she genuinely cares, she did a good thing. In the end? That's all that matters.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

I'm with i90east, that she probably is trying to or has tried to quit... And I say this because a friend of mine is a smoker, trying to quit, but having a tough time--she still bought that bracelet though, because she still does care. It's just that it's hard for her body to immediately escape that long-time habit.

What bothers me is how those "Live Strong" type rubber bracelets have become so trendy, that now you'll see similar bracelets everywhere except saying things like "hot stuff" or something just as pointless

Well, even if we don't want to, we're hypocrites sometimes. Also I'll say a popular old saying.
"I've never regretted for not to have spoken. Often ,I regretted to have spoken "
I'm trying to say, like in Jenny's example, sometimes its best not to talk.( like Hamedo said) If you do you can be in problems, perhaps that woman was smoking just for doing a stupid, ironic joke, maybe she is ignorant enough , or maybe she was protestating against the cigarretes,( in a peculiar way, if you ask me...).
Also, I don't smoke,( though I smoked during 2 years...) because I know you can get Cancer..and I'm quite sure smokers know the risks, too. Everyone, are going to die, someday, somewhere...that's inevitable. But I prefer not die of Cancer..

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"Its no cheating if you don't get caught"

Should she not have the right, however, to contribute to charity as much as anyone else? Even if she did buy it to be trendy, she has given as much to charity as someone who buys one because they want to help the fight against cancer. Live and let live, I'd say. I'd rather see a smoker wearing one than not wearing one, because she, atleast, is helping. I'm not saying it's not an embarrassing thing, but she has as much right to give to charity as anyone else, even if she just did it to look cool. If she did, fair enough, because she's getting something out of it, too. And why shouldn't she?

As I've said - sure, it's a bit hypocritical. I'm not defending her for doing something a bit stupid. But is it really directly harming anyone other than herself? (By which I mean, she's smoking.) If anything, she's helping.

I can imagine it looked very moronic at first but perhaps the lady in question simply can not over come the addiction, but wishes she could... who knows? I hate everything to do with smoking by the way. It's a terrible thing.

But I believe there is no way, screaming at her, could have been in any way beneficial. Although I have been guilty of 'thinking' similar things in the past. I'm sure most of us have, but thankfully we think better of it and avoid a pointless confrontation.

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'Let that be a lesson to all oppressive vegetable sellers.'

I'm a smoker who quit four years ago, started up again during some hard times, quit again about six months later, then started up again a li'l less than a year ago. Sometimes I care about what I'm doing to my body, other times I don't, but I still care 'bout the effort to research and find a cure for cancer. Maybe that lady thinks the same way.

Even cell phones can allegedly give you cancer, along with several other electronics that may or may not emit small amounts of radiation, but I bet a load of those who've purchased a bracelet have used a cell phone at least once, and more were probably carrying one with them when they did so. Point is, just 'cause someone participates in an activity that could lead to cancer doesn't cross them out as legitimately being concerned about the cause. People get the common cold by, in some cases, not washing their hands adequately, but I'm sure at least half those people would still be overjoyed if there was an actual vaccination.

The woman probably did look hypocritical, but she may not have really been. Buying a bracelet is just a simple way to contribute to the charity; us smokers sure as heck aren't gonna be able to enter one of those multi-mile runs to do it.

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Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Those bracelets are (or were) the latest craze. People jump on stupid bandwagons all the time. At least this one was for a "good cause". Maybe it was a choice between that bracelet and a Best of American Idol Cd.

This type of stuff crops up all the time. I'd hate to count the number of sinners sporting "WWJD" bling a couple of years back.

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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"