Thank You Phil
Thank you Phillip Morris for making my godfather sick. Thank you for making a spirited 50 year-old man look like an anorexic 98 year-old man. Thank you for committing him to bed until he dies. Thank you for the nicotine he needed everyday, and the tar, carbon and particulate he didn't. Thank you for the image you marketed to him, and the brand loyalty you inspired. Thank you for hiding behind your political buddies. Thank you for making tens of thousands off of his addiction.
Thank you for smashing his dreams of retirement. Thank you for having your product available in every corner store and grocery store. Thank you for the warning labels that mean nothing to an addict. Thank you for making sure you have young smokers to replace him when he dies. Thank you for letting him pass his addiction on to his children.
Thank you for taking away a good man. Thank you for keeping a man from ever meeting his unborn grandson. Thank you for breaking the hearts of three children, two little girls, one little boy, a wife, a goddaughter and a best friend. Thank you for taking away his human dignity. Thank you for making me fear a slow, painful death.
Thank you for your variety of brands for every taste, sickness, age and addiction.
posted by Franny @ 5:39 PM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
While I feel for your grandfather for being sick, he has no one to blame but himself.
Did the tobacco industry ever put a gun to his head and force him to smoke ?
Did the tobacco companies send him free cigarettes or did he seek them out and buy them ?
You live in Ontario, where there are pictures of diseased organs on cigarette packets, so he had to know the consequences.
Your grandfather made a choice to smoke. I understand your angry at something but perhaps some of that anger should be directed at your grandfather. He is the one ultimately to blame.
BTW, I am a non smoker who is a huge fan of personal responsibility.
Sweetie, I am so sorry! You know our thoughts and prayers are with you! I only wish I could be there in person.
And I can't even tell you how sickened I am by the first comment here. I guess there is no shortage of overly self-righteous and insensitive people in this world. Though I hope you know that your real friends do not resemble such crudeness.
Lots of Love,
Magda
Pete's right: both of my grandfathers are in their 70s and are in excellent health. Thank you guys for charging in on the white horses, swords drawn!
Though lacking in charm, I do agree with some of Shawn's points. Hey, at least it's not Big Tobacco after me...though I'm sure they're on the way.
If you find me in a ditch with yellowed fingerprint marks around my neck, you know who done it.
I am so sorry to hear about your godfather. It is never an easy thing to watch someone you love lose their life needlessly.
Please know that Francine and I are thinking about you, and sending you warm thoughts and lots of prayers for your godfather and his family.
Hello
As someone who has lost his mother to lung cancer, I truly feel for Fran and her family. I wanted to point out a fact that Shawn didn't mention...or maybe he did not know...back when my mother started smoking, there were no labels, nor any warnings as to what ciagrettes do to people's health. She started around the same time as Fran's godfather, who in turn, became addicted to the drug we call cigarettes. An addiction is an addiction, and the tobacco industry failed to mention this many, many years ago. One can be addicted to chocolate, alcohol, sports, we are all human. I too, started smoking, but realized that my family was more important, yet I still do not condemn those who suffer from any type of addiction, we are not perfect, none of us. Maybe Shawn is...lol... Unfortunately, God's will takes over, and this pain is unbearable, yet we can only hope that in heaven there are no such things as addictions.
There is a time and a place for blame and personal spin. This is neither the time, nor the place. Franny, I feel for you, and I understand your feeling of hurt.
Shawn's comments are those of a person who, in his own self-righteous mind, thinks that he can erase the feelings that one may feel when facing a loss such as this.
People like that are also the types who would most likely not let you in on the highway in traffic (because he is already on the highway and you would only be in his way), would not stop to let a woman with a baby cross the street (because it's 'not his kid'), and would not hold a door open for another person (as it would only slow him down).
Franny's comments are coming from a person who is looking at the imminent death of a loved one. Shawn, like I told you before, there is a time and a place for self-righteousness, and this is neither the time nor the place.
Please preach to another choir. I only hope that you may never feel the pain that this family will be feeling shortly.
Sometimes, it's not always about "me". Think about that.
What do you expect from a guy who four wheels, smokes pot (as if that's not smoking), likes "Dumb and Dumber", "Fight Club", and videogames. This person is a "shut-in".
Franny, please do not pay attention to that human being.
I feel for your loss.
Thank you Anonymous!
"Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom."
Theodore Isaac Rubin
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