[ Post a Response | The Sublime Desire of Cigarette Smoking ]
Posted by Pete on April 7, 2007, 9:41 am, in reply to "Pattern Recognition" I stick by this simple point that I’ve raised before: If suddenly tomorrow it was announced that no smoker would come to a premature death or suffer any ill effects from smoking do you really believe that vast majority would quit because that risk and danger element was removed? That smoking would suddenly lose its lustre? Would you quit? I certainly believe my girlfriend would be overjoyed to keep smoking. While for us dark siders of course it would lose it’s appeal but for the vast majority of smokers I think they would be more than happy to embrace such a scenario. I will say one thing it’s one of the more interesting discussions I’ve had in some time.
I agree with what you say but only up to a point. As I myself have said I can never really get inside someone’s else head or poke around in their subconscious. It’s very easy to throw in the word subconscious but very hard to actually quantify. Yes I can only comment on my observations and experiences from the outside and yes as a non smoker that may restrict me, but I will say one thing I have years of experience in listening and observing the world of female smoking to almost heightened level and yes a lot of my SF is interpreted through my ´´comeuppance´´ scenario as seen frequently in my fiction but remember a lot of the denial and rationalisations are based on what I’ve really seen and heard. But just as I taint my SF with my interpretations and fantasies it’s entirely true of yourself also, who I feel strongly bases your SF through heightening and exaggerating the danger and risk aspect because that’s and aspect that drives and appeals to YOUR SF. As you say if my comeuppance fantasy is undermined by a woman actively seeking and embracing the risk and danger then the same is easily applied to your SF by applying my stance in denial and her assurance that she can beat the odds, that the rules of the game wont apply to her. It as if almost we are looking in the same window but from different sides. Both valid I might add. Everybody brings their own interpretations to the table.
What I’ve never said is that smokers aren’t aware of the risks and dangers I just don’t feel they revel in that aspect to such a degree as maybe you’ve tried to sell me on or as seen in this weeks header for example. How many smokers who actually face the worst are almost sure to think ¨I just didn’t think it could happen to me?” While yes of course aware of the risk and danger denial is the key to the trick of keeping generation after generation smoking. Denial and rationalization are very strong factors I feel to mainstream smokers.
Pete
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