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I'm trying really hard not to be judgmental, but chances are good that if you're smoking outside while I'm out with my son, I probably hate you.

I know, that sounds really awful. But I look at it like this: you're choosing to basically poison yourself. If I don't know you, I don't care so much about that aspect -- I'm pretty live-and-let-live, and what you do in your own house with your own body is really your own deal.

But I'm just not cool with you indirectly poisoning my son. Especially when he's really vulnerable to stuff like that because he's under six months old.

Here's the deal: secondhand smoke kills.

And I know you're persecuted and people are mean to smokers and it's this whole big boring tragedy that you're starring in, but really?

I don't care.

I sit outside at restaurants so my son doesn't scream and bother people.

You sit outside so your noxious fumes don't contribute to the deaths and diseases of innocent people eating lunch.

Guess what? I win! You should leave as soon as we sit down.

I know all about addiction (yeah, read other posts) but I'm much more sympathetic when those addictions just hurt you. It's hard to quit, sure. It's hard when you're tethered to a burning stick that you need to gnaw on every couple of hours, obviously. It's hard when people like me give you dirty looks and gripe (loudly) about how I wish you'd find another table.

But it's also hard enough being a parent without people sitting next to you in restaurants obliviously blowing smoke (literally!) into your little space of air.

So please don't smoke.

And if you do, well, just know that I'm griping because I think you're a pretty awful person.