Few things get me "riled up" these days.

You see, I'm not from Milwaukee, or even Wisconsin, or even the Midwest. I'm from the South—a much slower place, where we're too busy struggling with a poor economy, poor education system, racial tensions, droughts and hurricanes to waste too much time attacking (via editorials) for trivial reasons. I guess that's why I was so offended by Lindsay Fiori's "column" (I use the term loosely) about smokers from the Nov. 25 issue of the Tribune.

Fiori's rant was nothing more than an infantile whine session, slathered with passive aggressive attempts at being witty, meant to ostracize smokers. I find it odd that Fiori would specifically target smokers for, and I quote, "decreasing the quality of air and life for so many of us." I really hope I see Fiori picketing dairy farms for decreasing the quality of hearts for the rest of us.

I really hope I see Fiori fighting the good fight outside the brewery for vicariously decreasing the quality of roadways and bathroom floors because of what they produce.

I really hope I see Fiori atop a podium screaming oh-so-witty parallels about taking candy from babies and other trite stuff like that, in front of the Harley plant for decreasing the quality of air and for noise pollution.

It'd be a shame if she was merely picking a group of people for the sake of elevating her own ego, rather than actually genuinely caring about people and their health. Oh wait, she rants about health and whatnot, and then mentions how much smokers ruin the bar scene. I may not be a haughty armchair journalist, but I do know hypocrisy when I see it. We aren't smoking in front of your gym or in the hospital. It's a bar. Deal.

So allow me to be the one to bring you, Lindsay, some utterly shocking news: Most people who smoke don't actually want to. Most of us secretly want to quit, but haven't been able to for various reasons. You have no right to judge us for that. We don't judge you for your columns and how they pollute paper, so why do the same to us? Why don't you just walk around us and ignore us for the leper-pariahs that we apparently are?

Despite our smoky exterior, black lungs, yellow teeth and fingernails, and wheezing, we're sort of human. Quit giving us a hard time.

Or, if you're going to give us a hard time, at least be clever about it.,”Jeremy R. Hager, first-year law student, Marquette Law School”

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