Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Abeg Hear this One Oh!!

I'd like to thank everyone for their feed back so far! and pls if you have any qsts on ur mind, just ask me!!lol...and no i cannot wire you money!
My question today is: Does Smoking Make you a bad person?
The ideology that people who smoke are bad, has been fostered by a majority of Nigerian parents and I dare say the society.
But as with the theme of the month it's out there, we,(this current generation) should talk about it!
In essence what are you going to tell your kids
I recall a time my uncle was dating this babe, this was smtime in the early '90s.
I didnt know a lot at the time, but at home, all I recall my mother saying was that she shouldnt smoke in the living room, or around us. Zero condemnation.
But every time we went out and she pulled a stick, I got mixed perspectives; some people looked at her, like a rebel, you know, sooo cool, I'd hear ppl snicker 'mehn see that babe!', some guys wanted her because she was 'so bad! as in-'!, others gave a more 'your soul in hell shall burn' kinda response, but she didnt care jo, she smoked her thing and when she was done, threw it on the floor.
I recall then , that i felt a level of 'cool' standing next to someone who was 'defiant'
Now I ask, who determined that it was defiant to smoke, or 'bad' in the same sense that being clad in leather on a Harley is kool?
Seriously!
Not so long ago, a friend of mine told me that she smokes, and I, personally am opposed to it, not because my parents or the society i lived in told me it was bad, but I dont think its a wise way to die!
(It still kills right?) and also because, a lot of ppl i know didnt have a good reason 4 doing it, by that I mean, its all part of this, 'I'm a rebel' I'm a bad guy! kinda image.
But you see, somewhere in that discussion she explained to me that she smoked for fun, to chill.
And that got me thinking.....
When i want to chill, I have some chocolate or ice cream. In fact, just about every time i have a novel, I have chocolates to go with it.
But one image is projected, good, fun and ok, and the other, bad, not fun, oh not okay
Think of all the ice cream commercials you've seen, fine woman, chilling on front of tv, wiv a cone or a tub, smiling and licking the spoon! Nonsense, half the ppl that I know aprt from movies nights, use ice cream as comfort food when they are sad and weeping over heartbreaks? do they add that in the commercials? NOoooooooo
But then you have cigarrete or cigar commercials and there is most often a bike(Why?) and leather(i really dont get it!) or a glass of whisky and a guy in a suit, not the one that looks like a carpenter sewed it, but a power suit,(think of everytime u've seen Jay-z puff on a cigar) and its in slow motion oh!
That's where I'm caught up and need your opinions, what do all these subtle statements mean?
I am a housewife for ice cream and I'm a boss when I have a cigar in my hand?!!(it does kinda have an appeal to it sha, imagine urself on ur CEO desk and puffing in slow motion, I mean that sounds better that a tub of ice cream in ur hand!)
You recall my statement that, i dont like the idea of smoking because it kills, right?
but if i had a bar of chocolate for every stick my friend has, wouldnt we be on teh same level, but only killing different organs?
The same goes for drinking as well, some ppl again, drink bcus if their parents caught them, they would ship them to reform school, but then others just sit home on a Friday, watch a movie with a glass or 5 of Bacardi, are they bad?
Same thing goes for piercings.
chai, i remember this woman at the saloon when i was little, mehn that woman put the fear of piercings in my life!
She was ranting about how if you had two or more piercings, you are telling the world that you are an confirmed ashewo! Like she came and wagged her finger in my face and made a face that made me feel condemned even though all I had was one!
What does that 'bad' even mean sef? Are they the ignorance of generations past?
What do think is 'bad'?
Is your decision based on you, your personal ideology, or is it something that society has nurtured you to believe?

10 comments:

kommytila said...

well i see smoking as drinking. same reason some ppl drink some smoke... wen sumppl r tesed stressed they smoke odas drink... bout the killing aspect errthing kils init? drinking(liver),smoking(lungs),sugar(diabetes),salt,deodorant... u get me ryt... 2 much ov d above kills . u feel me? kommytila hass spoken

Rene said...

it's everything that kills when done in excess. I hate smoking personally majority because of society instilled beliefs and also it causes me to have headache....but I don't mind people smoking beside me so far I don't inhale too much. I've even been thinking of trying it just for fun

chayomao said...

never puffed in my life.dnt plan on doing so. Who doesnt drink? i knw i do!
But yea, dont overkill..
bliv it or not, society is opening up,accpeting things thot to be forbidden

Anonymous said...

Its a bit of both, funny cos i've been thinking abouth this too, I am a Christian and there's no where in the bible God forbids you to smoke or is there?

Smoking, drinking and piercings just gives off the wrong impression because it is has for long been associated with rebellion.

Fabulo-la said...

Everything in excess is bad ofcourse.But rmba the society we live in, u r judged based on ur appearance.
Like someone told me once dress/behave the way u want to be treated. i dnt want to be mistaken for a gangster so therefore I will not plaster my whole hand with tattoos.
Thats an example. Albeit a lame one, but u get my point..
Besides, smoking is kinda a dirty habit naa. The smell that follows it?




Oh and this is Brokeass. Or I was Brokeass rather.
xxx

Anonymous said...

Yh..in Nigeria..well before, smoking was seen as a VERY bad thing...lol...even in Nigerian movies you'll see that the bad people always smoke hehe...people do it for different reasons..I mean my dad used to smoke when he lived in the US because he was not used to the cold and that was like the only way to get over it (he stopped when he got back to naija)..but now, I mean some of the nicest people I know smoke so personally, I don't really see it as being notorious or whatever anymore..it's just a habit like drinking, overeating like you said or even biting your nails..although the danger of different habits vary lol...sorry about the long arse comment lol.

Devine said...

lol...tis ok nwanyi!
yay...found my dear brokeass!!

miss.fab said...

i think everyone here pretty much mirror my opinion. my thing is, do you. if you want to smoke, na you sabi. it's not my problem and i certainly won't think you're a bad person because you do. just don't smoke near me and/or in my face. i will flip the hell out. i don't smoke... never did, never will.

pretty damsel said...

good or bad...everyone has their life to live, I dont smoke nd i find it very disrespectful of smokers, who smoke without considering others........I have colleagues @ work who have no regard for non-smokers.

bottomline....its obvious,some ppl smoke just because; oh well just to look cool.....anyhoos,my opinion

Only wish, they buy as much deodorant nd breath mint.

Tomibecca said...

I really feel what your saying!
I have been thinking about piercings in particular.My friend who is Nigerian has like a belly piercing and several ear-piercings and her mum is fine with it.Her brother has a piercing too and he had this shoulder length dreaded like hair thing.

And I was just asking myself that what really makes the piercings they have so bad.I know my mum would FREAK if i return home and have just ONE ExTrA piercing.

Sometimes I wonder...I really do.As for smoking,the nicotine is addictive so when some people start they get stuck to it.I don't smoke for health reasons I really don't think its healthy at all.