Talk on other blogs is that come August 1, all the smokers will abandon Champaign and Urbana bars and head out to the Senator's Inn and the bowling alley bar in Savoy.
My response: so what? Buh-bye.
If any large-scale boycott happens, and I'm most doubtful, it MAY last 2-3 days. Probably less. Smokers do not go to bars simply to smoke. Despite what you'll read in the conservative free-trade-or-die blogosphere. They go to drink. They go to watch sports on TV. They go to play pool. Play darts. Eat. Throw peanuts on the floor, cuss, grunt and fart. And most important, they go to socialize with their friends. If your friends, your pool league, your darts league and all your other Cardinal fan friends are sitting around the Esquire (the thankfully smoke-free and suddenly pleasant Esquire) are you gonna sit with a bunch of disgruntled smokers in the cramped little Senators Inn bar and SMOKE all by yourselves? With clenched fists, a furrowed brow, a lighted cigarette clamped tight in your lips and a victorious frown on your face? You've beaten The Man! I doubt it, but if so, enjoy yourselves. That just means more room for me and my nonsmoker friends in more suddenly pleasant bars in Champaign and Urbana. Don't let the swinging bar door hit you in the ass. I really doubt you will be missed. Any revenue loss will be temporary.
Just be careful after an evening of heavy smoking and heavy drinking when you decide to drive back home. The cops will be waiting; you can bet on that. And there's no bus service in Savoy, remember? DUI anyone?
Mean time, just how many students are gonna leave Campustown bars because they can't smoke? If it's 1 percent I'd be surprised.
Mean time, it'll be my guess that about 5 percent of the smokers in other C-U bars may stay away -- temporarily. But it's a pretty good bet that that'll be offset by an increase in folks like me who had long since given up on nightlife because we tired of scratchy throats, itchy, bloodshot eyes and smelly clothes.
Fair trade.
Enjoy Savoy, folks.
I won't miss you. Neither will most bars. Not if they honestly admit it.
And so it goes.
4 comments:
Despite what you'll read in the conservative free-trade-or-die blogosphere.
And they wonder why I make fun of them on my blog about not making a big deal of other instances of government involvement.
Communist! Don't you know that free trade is all that matters in this world? It trumps personal rights, freedoms, everything. The private business is not just king, it's one true god over all! (It's why I enjoy reading your blog...)
Amen, Ol' Guy. I cannot wait for August 1!
Good rant.
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