Originally Posted by
hedur
Hilarious that you think smokers should have all the rights and those just trying to enjoy their balcony should "stay inside" if they don't like it. There is no compromise being offered by the smoker. Even though it's a non-smoking property they are going to smoke on their balcony if they feel like it because no one matters but them. Believe me, the message is loud and clear.
The "sense of entitlement" here is all on the side of those who feel anyone who doesn't want to breathe their smoke can "stay inside" if they don't like it.
^ Total common sense. Probably too much to be accepted around here, I'm afraid.
This is the problem with your reasoning that brings up the issue of entitlement. Where I have I said that smokers should have all the rights? And how do you know some smokers are not already compromising? Do you possess some sort of super secret sensor that allows you to collect data on how many smokers do not smoke on a balcony?
The problem is with your reasoning and your approach. If you are bothered by someone smoking on a balcony next to yours, or if a hotel does not provide you what you asked and paid for, smoke, by all means complain. Don't patronise that hotel. Ask the hotel for compensation. Sue them for breach of contract. Maybe even ask the smoker politely to not smoke while you are on the balcony. The smoker may or may not oblige you. But I am pretty sure, if you approach them with the attitude you have shown here, they will probably not comply. If smoking is not prohibited specifically on a balcony, and someone chooses to smoke there, the reality is that you are in a bind. You have lots of options, many of which I have mentioned in this post for the second time.
People make compromises all the time. Just because you are not aware of it doesn't mean they don't. How do you know a smoker is not smoking only half as much as he would smoke had you not been on the balcony?
A hypothetical smoker might reason, "hey, I don't fly, I take public transport or ride a bike. These guys who have flown half way across the the country to come and stay in this hotel have added some much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, whose effects my children and grand children, as well as yours and the whole society will have to bear. I am only smoking a cigarette. "
What's wrong with the yard stick used by the smoker above? Your yard stick is centred about what you like or dislike. His yardstick is not personal!
I am not saying that your yardstic is inferior or that the hypothetical smoker's yardstick is superior, but he does have a point.
This is all about compromises and negotiating. You don't always get everything you want all the time. Can you stop the tenant next door from smoking on his balcony? If not, what's different with a hotel?