Conversation With An Average American

Background: A woman in her early 40s (maybe younger, but she looked like she lives hard) sits behind me and a friend in a public space. She has smoked two cigarettes in the last 30 minutes, and the smoke was bothering my friend (who has severe asthma).

Me: "Excuse me, would you mind doing me a favor? Could you wait until the fireworks are over before you smoke again? My friend has severe asthma, and it really bothers her."

Woman: "So don't I."

M: "You have severe asthma, and you smoke?"

W: "So don't I. Yep."

M: "Well would you mind not smoking?"

W: "Well, I'm here, and if I wanna, I'm gonna have another one. You sat in fronna us."

M: "That's very considerate of you. You're a nice person."

W: "Yep."

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I'm sorry, but this woman is an inconsiderate moron. Inconsiderate because she doesn't care about the health of another human being sitting one foot away; and a moron because she is killing herself and others - at the very least giving herself asthma(!) with cigarettes and not giving a shit.

I'm sure she thought that she was exercising her "freedom" on 4th of July to smoke in public, and that she was proud to be an American in that moment where she could do whatever she wanted regardless of what other people asked of her. At the exact same time, I was embarrassed for her and for myself and for my country to think that pigs like her are loose on the streets, and I understood very well why so many people in the world hate Americans.

Are you wondering whether or not she smoked another cigarette? Well of course she did!

I want my Italian citizenship now.