While waiting in line to see if I could change an airline seat assignment, I overheard a mother talking with her son. The woman was probably about 25 but looked nearly 40. She was white, about 5'7" and her skin was blotchy, eyes seemed a bit watery. She spoke with a drawl/lisp that seemed like it might have been alcohol-induced. She looked restlessly about the space and also fiddled with a variety of what looked to be over-the-counter as well as prescription pill containers in her purse. As it became clear that I would be waiting for longer than I had originally anticipated, my awareness of their conversation gradually became more acute. . . As I sought to catch up with where they were the combination of dim memory and inference combined to give me the context.
"Mom" had been complaining about how there was no where for her to go in order to smoke a cigarette. . . "son" asked her "why?" . . .
Mom: (snidely and sneeringly) The goverment [sic].
Son: What?
Mom: Well it used to be that people could smoke anywhere that they wanted to. . . then the government stopped that. They don't want us to have freedom.
Son: (mostly unintelligible - but something along the lines of) oh?/why is that?
Mom: Then they changed it so that the people who didn't like it could go to a "special" place away from the smoke - I think that's the way that it should still be - stupid government!
Son: How does it work now?
Mom: Well I can't even smoke anywhere in this stupid airport because of the government! That's why you have to fight them when you get older - will you do that?
Son: Yes.
Mom: They changed it for a while so that people could smoke in certain places - even that wasn't too bad - but the goverment is always trying to get more control and keep preventing people from doing the freedom things that they want to.
Son: (mostly unintelligible - but something along the lines of) oh?/why is that?
Mom: When you grow up, you have to promise me that you'll fight the government - will you do that for mommy?
Son: Yes, mommy, I'll fight the government. . .
I was at first dumbstruck in shock and awe of the interaction, but was just beginning to regain my awareness of just how wrong this interaction was, I was tempted to enter into the conversation, but just at that moment, the gate agent interceded and asked me how they could be of assistance. . . At the conclusion of that interaction, I had to make a mad dash down to a different customer service counter in order to finagle a change of seats, and so was unable to intercede. . . however, having now had plenty of time to comtemplate and rehearse, what I would have liked to say to that little boy (while completely ignoring his mother) was something along the lines of . . .
Son, I am a cancer survivor. That means, I am at increased risk for getting cancer again. When people smoke in public places they put everyone (including me) at increased risk for cancer. What your mother is asking to do is to have the right to increase my chance of dying of cancer. Now, while she may be so self-centered, selfish, self-destructive, that she doesn't care about shortening her own (and your) life. While the government is not perfect, and is in fact at times capable of perpetrating great evil, in this case I am extremely grateful that there is a government that represents me, you and the interest of the public at large and is willing to intercede and prevent your mother from doing this. Perhaps not now, but somewhere down the road, make sure to consider that the "government" your mother wants you to fight against also deserves some credit for at least trying to do the right thing some of the time. Right now, every cell in my body is very glad that your mother is not allowed to smoke a cigarette in this confined and enclosed space.
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