Gye Green, The Lady, and The Kid went to the local shopping centre to run a few errands. Unusually, I came with.
While The Lady and The Kid were eating in the food court -- The Lady has a sentimental attachment to McDingo's breakfasts -- GG and I nipped out to a printing shop located on the exterior of the shopping mall. We were curious as to their prices for printing a *.jpg onto a t-shirt.
As we left the mall entrance we noticed three males, perhaps twelve to fourteen years of age, sitting on a bench and sharing a cigarette between themselves. The printing shop was immediately to the right of the bench, and closed on Sundays.
As we returned to the mall entrance, GG made alternating eye contact with each of the boys and asked, ''You
do know that that stuff is bad for you, don't you?'' ''Huh?'' one of the boys replied.
''Smoking's bad for you. You know that, right?'' GG elaborated, as we continued to walk past. The boys mumbled something, and continued -- presumably -- to continue sharing the cigarette.
GG and I discussed his behaviour on the way back to the food court. He said that he didn't fully expect to change their behavior by ''calling them out''. At the same time, he did not feel that he could say nothing -- and, by allowing a behavior to continue without comment, tacitly approving. He says that if people do not comment against wrongs, then people will not realize that others disapprove, and thus continue their behaviour.
He acknowledged, however, that there is a time and a place. We saw those three young males, intentionally -- or ignorantly, in the felt invulnerability of youth -- shortening their lifespan even as their wide potential lay in front of them. Apparently, he felt that this was a worthy time and place.
Seeing these young people smoking made me sad.
Later in the day, we say a trio of teenaged males secretly -- so we thought -- distributing cigarettes among themselves. Again, GG commented on it to them.
What causes people to smoke? GG says there is a fair body of research on this, and one of the largest predictors is simply having parents who smoke. Unfortunately, this obscures whether it is some biological tendency, learned or socialized behavior, or a combination of the two. But certainly, it must be hard for parents to convince their teens to not smoke, when seeing adults smoke has been a normal and natural part of their youth.
I used to think that people who smoke were either ignorant, gullible, or weak. Although I think that still holds true to some extent, it is also consistent with what GG told me: that most adults who smoke, began as teens or before. Indeed: teens can often be ignorant and gullible. And they can be weak -- not having fully developed the level of resolve that they will have as adults.
The more cynical would say that it is simply Darwinian. Technically, it is not truly Darwinian, as they will likely reproduce before dying from conditions related to smoking.
In all, seeing anyone smoke -- in particular, people who are kind to others -- makes me sad.
--TG
